The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-07-20
Little Doubt Now that the Notorious
Insurance Swfndler Committed
Many Horrible Crimes.
MRS. PIETZEL'S TWO GIRLS
THEIR REMAINS IDENTIFIED AT
TORONTO BY THE MOTHER.
Circumstnntial Evidence That Tends
to Prove Holmes Buried the Bodies
with His Own Hands.


crime will be laid at the door of H. H.
Holmes, the notorious insurance swindler
and the alleged murderer of the Pietzels.
That Minnie Williams, of Fort Worth.
Tex, met her death at the hands of
Holmes there is scarcely doubt. That she
died in this city, in a violent manner. has
been proven almost conclusively. Late to-
night the police found in stove. in the
three-story brick building at No. 7o1 Sixty
third street, which was built by Holmes
and in which both he and the Williams
girl lived. a quantity of charred bones. but
tons known to have been on dress owned
by Minnie Williams and partly melted por-
tions of a watch chain which was positively
identified as having been the property of
the girl. The chain was instantly recog-
nized by c.. Z. Davis. who occupies por-
ton of the store formerly used by Holmes
when he was in the drug business. as one
that he had seen Miss Williams wear and
which he had on two separate occasions
repaired for her. Davis also claimed to
recognize the buttons as those he had seen
on a dress worn by Miss Williams.
The ghastly discovery was made late to-
night by force of detectives working un-
who had all day been at work searching the
building from cellar to garret. The floors
were taken up in parts, the walls sounded.
and the big iron vault carefully inspected.
The walls OF the vault were found to be
heavily packed with asbestos. which. the
police believe. was placed there for the
purpose of deadening the sound. The search
of the house was undertaken by the police.
who, this morning. received a communica-
ton from the Philadelphia authorities. The
building was carefully gone over, and the
dummy elevator, which ran from the top
floor of the building. where Holmes had
his office, to the basement, without exit on
the intervening floors, was tried and worked
in every possible manner.
On the top floor in the room which was
used by Holmes as an Office stood an i'm
mense stove fully eight feet high and three
large enough to admit of the admission of
a human body into the interior An ex-
animation of the contents of this stove
had never been made before. Inspector
Fitzpatrick opened the door and poked
carelessly among the debris with his cane.
Almost the first thing he turned up was
hastily jerked it out and found
used by Holmes as an office stood an i'm
that it was beyond all question
to admit OF possible Identification as be-
longing to any particular portion of the
body were also found. number of small
buttons, said TO have been worn on the
front of Miss Williamss dress. were picked
chain which she wore. The buttons were
of peculiar make, with strands Of twist
ed wire running from the head up into the
shank. which prevented their falling apart
in the flame. All the ashes and debris re-
moved from the stove were carefully pre-
served and taken to the police station,
where more careful examination will be
made of them tomorrow.
The police are now of the opinion that
not only Minnie Williams, but her younger
sister, Anna. and the boy. Howard Pietzel
met death in this house. Tomorrow MORN
ing at o'clock, they will renew the
search of the house, beginning with the
basement, which will be carefully dug up
They are of the opinion that they will
find either the body of Anna Williams or
that of Howard Pietzel before they have
concluded their work.