The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-25
But the Substance Failed to
Remove All Traces of the
Foul Crimes.
STORIES TOLD BY JANITORS.
At Toronto the Coroner's Jury Re-
turned a Verdict Against the
SWindler of Murder.


several new and important developments
in the Holmes case here to-day. A num-
Der of human bones were dug up by the
laborers who have for several days past
been excavating in the cellar at the house
at the corner of Sixty-third and Wallace
streets. The bones found were apparently
part of the trunk of female child. There
were eighteen ribs, number of vertebre
and piece of much corroded bone which
could not be assigned to any particular
part of body on account of being in an
advanced state of decay, apparently from
the action of some chemical. This bone,
however, is supposed to be a portion of
either a hin or skull bone.
With the partial skeleton was found a
piece of torn skirt or chemise which bore
marks that may or may not prove to be
human blood. The sleeves of this garment
were too long for the arms Of a child, and
although the opinion prevails that the
bones are those of female child, the
gown would seem to warrant the conclu-
sion that they are part of the skeleton of
woman, the more so as it is well known
that the bones of many women are little
larger than those OF children.
Besides the I'm ding of the supposed re-
mains the detectives are tonight congrat-
uIating themselves on another matter
which seems hardly less important. This
is the rounding-up of the two ianitors who
are believed to be more or less cognizant
of the crimes of the insurance swindler.
Word was sent to Joe Owens of Bluffton,
Ohio, and Patrick Quinlan of Evanston to
come to the Holmes building at once. The
word came from Chief of Police Badenoch
and was imperative. Both men obeyed at
once and this afternoon went to the
Holmes building. They were taken down
into the cellar where the bones were found
and there on the scene asked what they
knew about the matter. but both stoutly
maintained their complete ignorance of
the whole affair. Quinlan acted as a man
who was badly scared, but Owens did not
seem much perturbed.
Both of these men were employed at the
Holmes building in 1898, the year the
Williams girls are supposed to have been
murdered. Owens was the janitor of the
building, while Quinlan was a sort of Jack
of all trades, turning his hand to any work
which came up for him to do, and Holmes
with his many queer schemes, kept him
constantly busy. While neither man was
| placed under arrest on arriving at the
building, both were from that time on un-
der police surveillance. At present the
detectives have nothing to hold them by
save the strong suspicious they have that
the men could tell considerable about the
doings of Holmes if they cared to.
A preliminary examination of the men
was made late this afternoon, before put
ting them in the sweat-box tonight
Quinlan would say nothing, but Owens
talked rather freely. The object of the
preliminary examination was to get few
statements out of the men and then COM
pare them with those made on the finalin
quiry in the hope that it might in this way
be ascertained whether they were sticking
to the truth or not.
Owens was examined by Detective Fitz-
patrick, brother of the Inspector, who
has charge of the Chicago end of the case
In regard to the mysterious box which by
many was supposed to have been used by
Holmes as receptacle for the body of one
or both of the Williams girls, Owens said :
II helped to carry the trunk to the third
story, which Holmes and Pietzel took, from
the depot in August, 1893, about the mid
die of the month. In November, 1893, in
conversation with me about the insurance
he told me he wanted me to keep the Will
liams girls in hiding; that he did not want
them to be seen by any of the insurance
people, and that he could get $1,000 any way
"About last November or December, 1893.
I assisted Holmes to establish the firm of
Campbell, Yates & Co., for the pur-
pose of getting insurance on the building
at the southwest corner of Sixty-t third and
Wallace streets, which insurance he re-
ceived about November, 1898. Holmes
came to me and instructed me to repre-
sent to the insurance company that I was
the secretary of the company, which | did
and | made an affidavit to that effect I
also represented that 1 had met Yates and
received stock from him. He also in
structed me to make the statement then
that had met Minnie r. Williams, which
| did. He induced me to make these state
ments by promising me my back wages,
by his hvpnotizing ways, and l candidly
believed that he had certain amount of
influence over me. While was with him
I was always under his control. / never
received my back wages"
Owens stated substantially the same
thing to the reporter for The United Press,
and the following additional remarks: II
never knew the Conner woman. / had
heard OF her, but had never met either her
or the Williams girls. / never saw any
woman around the place. Pietzel was the
man who hired me and met Holmes one
day in the basement"
The bones found this morning are be-
lieved by the Central station detectives to
be those of Gertrude Conner, the daughter
of Mrs. Julia L. Conner, who is now believed
to have been one of the swindler's victims.
Mother and daughter disappeared about
the same time. A warrant is now out for
Holmes on the charge of numbering Mrs.
Conner. The bones were found in a corner
of the cellar. They were covered with
quicklime, but were nevertheless in fair
state of preservation. All were as black as
if carved out of ebony. Not far away from