The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-19
MRS. PITzELS SAD STORY.
Wonderful Influence of Holmes
Over the Children.


Over the Children.
CHICAGO, July 1S.-Mrs. Pitzel,
who left late last night for Toronto to
identify the bodies of the two children
found in the cellar of the house at
No. 16 st. Vincent street, talked about
her past life and her husbands deal
ings with Holmes. just before leav-
ing.
Mrs. Pitzel is broken in health and
mind, the victim, she believes, of a
hypnotic influence exerted by Holmes.
Her story was straightforwardly told,
and it is impossible to believe after
being any length Of time in her COM
pany, that she was either a cOnfed-
crate or accomplish of Holmes in the
commission of any of his crimes.
A Peculiar Influence.
Holmes, whom I had never met"
said Mrs. Pitzel, but once before the
death of my husband, seemed, from
the time he asked me for the care of
the children until his final arrest, to
have a peculiar influence over me. I
felt controlled by him. He had a sway
over me that l then thought ~lturaL
since he had been the intimate friend
of my husband Besides, my husband
had repeatedly told me that l could
trust him: that he was a good man,
and that he would always be true to
us. The children idolized him. There
was nothing that he could not do with
them.
Again and again my husband told
me how much ne thought of Holmes
and how honorable he was. until I
came to the same opinion myself, al
though at first I did not like the man.
and told my husband so and begged
him to have nothing to do with him.
Interested with Holmes.
q saw my husband last on August
q. 1894. He had gone to St Louis. He
was teen heavily interested with
Holmes in whatever the enterprises
were they had on together, and I was
lying sick with my baby. I was very
sick. I could not go to Philadelphia to
identify the body which they suspected
to be that Of my husband I could
net be moved. Holmes came to me
and Alice was taken, and she identified
the body. 1t was after that that
Holmes told me the body was not that
Of my husband; that it was bogus
body made up to look like him. and
that If I or the children said ANYTHING
about it the insurance company would !!
get hold Of Us and we would be pun
ished severely
'T was very sick and believed /
Holmes. He talked kindly and offered |
to take Alice. Nellie and Howard awav /
from me and educate them He said |
he would put them to school and nav /
all of their expenses. The children 1
loved him, and I was alone in the |
world and poor I let him take them. /
and they went away. At this time /
ard all other times Holmes acted to |
me like a gentleman.
wanted Her Children.
'He constantly kept me under the
impression, though. that I and the
children were to be mixed up in tha
bogus body, which, he said. was found
in Philadelphia. He said PitzeI was
still alive and that I would see him
again when the trouble was over. he
zvsshed, though, to save us from ar
rest, and after the three children were
gone I moved about the country.
Began to worry about the children.
wanted to see them and wished to
know where they were Holmes al
ways put me off with the story that 7
must keep quiet until the detectives
stopped their work.
.sWhen he took Iie to Detroit it was
he who registered ME there as Mrs
Adams. He told me so when he came
up to the room where Bessie, my oldest
daughter, and I were. told him that
he did wrong to put my name down
wrong, but he explained that the de-
sectives must be kept off the track
and frat was protecting my t3lsband
by this finally heard the I ldren