Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-07-22
SILENCE BROKEN.
Holmes Talks of His Past Life
for Publication.
Says He Is innocent of Murder of the
Pietzel Children.
Can Prove That He Was Not in Toronto WheI
Deed Was Committed.

| fnliauelphla, July CLINE Press
prints an interview with II. III. Holiness
who was visited in his prison cell by . re-
porter of that paper. Holmes insists that
ne can prove an alibi with reference to the
murder of the Pietzel children in Toronto,
and says the authorities here cannot prove
that Pictzel was murdered in this city
| In view of the finding in Chicago of u
| charrcd body, supposed TO he that of Min
ME Williams, Holmes statements with
| reference to that young woman are inter
esting.
He says: II am as innocent as the new
born babe OF the charge of numbering tho
Pictzcl children. don't believe they were
ever murdered, and if they We're am not
| guilty. Why, the last time saw the boy
Howard Pictzel, was in Indianapolis, Miss
Williams was then in Detroit, and we had
| arranged that she take Howard east So
one afternoon l sent the boy to her in De-
troit, later she took him east, and stopped
in Buffalo. l then came east with the two
girls, and finally wound up in Toronto.
We had been there a short time when my
wife arrived. She knew nothing of tho
existence of the Pietzcl children. Mrs
Pictzel, Dessa and the baby came to To
ronto shortly after.
Il had good reasons for not letting Mrs.
Pietzel know of the proximity of her two
children for she was then in very delicate
health. We thought of sending Mrs
PictZel along with Minnie Williams and
her children to Europe, but her delicate
health precludcd that That man Hatch
was in Toronto at that time. Finally l
decided to send Alice and Nellie Pictzcl on
and Howard We're. Everything was got
ten in readiness for their departure and l
had quite hard time keeping the chill
dren's presence hidden from Mrs. Pictzel
succeeded, however, and escorted them
to the railway station, where Hatch had
gone by Encouragement.
They Leave Toronto.
1.-THE four of us got on the train and |
rode probably few miles out of the city
with the children. When l was able to
get off the train Hatch suggested that he
accompany the girls a few stations further
so that there would not be any mistake
about their tickets. Nellie and Alice
We're travelling on half fares and l wanted
to be sure that they got along on one
whole ticket which the conductor had not
taken off when I left the train So he
went with the children, and he can tell
where they are to be found if anybody
can.
Il came back to Toronto about o'clock
in the afternoon, and four hours later
Mrs. Pictzel and the two children had
boarded "a train for Burlington, as it was
better she should rest in some quiet
healthy place. Before leaving Toronto
for Burlington with my wife the next
morning l met Hatch. He seemed all
right, but there were no questions asked
about the children. as l wanted the mat
ter kept from my wife. He stayed there
after us. When we arrived at Ogdens-
burg, on our way to Burlington, Mrs
Pietzcl was there.
"Aftcr sending my wife to a hotel |
went to see Mrs Pictzcl. Hatch came to
town in few days and rented n vacant
house whore he put in n bed, chair and
little stove. These things We're to be
found wherever Hatch was, as he never
lived in a hotel for private reasons. All
our trunks were taken to this house and
kept there until we left for Burlington
One afternoon | took Mrs Pietzel to tho
Hatch household and showed her tho
trunks, one of which needed mcnding.
She saw the bed, the chair and the little
stove and can tell about it to this day
We stayed in Ogdensburg for over a week
and then went to Burlington Hatch
went to Montreal to attend to some bust
ness. | may say here that Hatch and nv
self We're engaged in buying furs and
other goods and smuggling them across
the border. That's why the trunks were
sent TO the vacant house in Ogdensburg.
when we were about two weeks in
Burlington, or three weeks after the Pict-
eel girls had left Toronto, l went to a tcle-
graph Office to wire Hatch in Montreal To
go to Niagara Falls and see the Pictzel
children and Miss Williams off for Europc
What He Would Like to Know
Il had written the same message and
was about to hand it to the operator when
Hatch walked into the office 1t was a
surprise to me to see him there when I |
was under the impressitl that he was buy
ing stuff in Montreal. Where he had been
since left Ogdensburg up to that time | |
don't know. l wish | did aud | don't |
think Moyamcnsing prison would be my
home today if knew that. Shortly after
that was arrested.
Now the district attorney, Superin- |
tendent Linden and all these insurance
people will tell you Hatch is a myth Tho
insurance officers and agents know better. |
Why, l had scarcely thought of the oc- |
currence in the telegraph office in Burling |
ton, when one day last December Peary. |
the insurance agent, asked me who that |
man was whom l met in the telegraph |
Office. / answered that the man WAS
Hatch
The company's detectives tracked me
all through the country, although tried
my best to avoid them. They know very
well who Hatch is. and they know that
he was in Burlington. 1 am almost posi-
tive that they know much more about the
movements OF Hatch than / do.
Going back to Toronto again and the
finding of the two bodies in the cellar of
the st. Vincent house | can say with all
confidence that I can prove an alibi to anv
charge that may be brought against mo
there. | can at least get six Of the best
known business men to swear that could
not have rented the house where the bodies
were found at that time stated by all those
witnesses.
Tod 81.