The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-07-17
HOLMES MANY CRIMES.
Startling Evidence Against Insur-
anoe Swindler Holmes.
PERHAPS SIX TIMES A MURDERER.

Tho Missing Boy, Howard Pitezel, Prob
ably Murdered by Holmes In Indian
apoiis and His Body Taken Away in a
Trunk-The Accused Non-CommittaI.
PHILADELPHIA, July 17-The discovery
Of the dead bodies of tho two girls, Nellie
and Alice Pitezel, in a cellar in Toronto,
Canada, by Detective Geyer, OF Philadel-
phia, Is the all absorbing topic of CONVEX
sation In police circles, The girls are be-
lievod to be tho victims of H. H. Holmes,
the insurance swindler, now in Moyamen-
sing prison awaiting sentence for swind-
ling the Fidelity Mutual Insurance com
pany out of $4,000.
Holmes, who has himself onfessed that
he has committed enough crimes to hang
him half dozen times, Is supposed to
hnve first deliberately murdered the
Pltezel girls father and brother and then
the girls themselves
These murders are alleged to have been
committed for the purpose of getting the
victims' money. Besides tho above crimes,
Holmes is supposed to have done away
with Minnie and Nellie Williams, whose
money he admits having obtained,
swlndlcd several fire insurance companies
out of large amounts, and otherwise COM
mitted depredations which will hand him
down as one of the most notorious addi-
tions to the criminal annals of the coun-
try.
Holmes was in consultation for nearly
two hours with Assistant District Attor-
neys Barlow and Finletter yesterday. Tho
prisoner has grown a beard, and this and
the other changes he has undergone would
serve to be valuable aids TO him if he was
again escaping from justice.
District Attorney Graham hnd issued an
order to Superintendent Perkins, of Moya-
menslng, that Holmes was not to be per-
mitted to see any newspapers in which ap-
pearcd an account of the finding of the
Pitezel children. Before the order had
reached the prison, however, some of tho
morning papers had reached Holmes, and
he was rending an account of Detective
Geyer's terrible find In Toronto when the
special officer entered
1t was evident that the publication pre-
pared him for the subsequent examination
by Assistant District Attorney Barlow,
1t was learned that Holmes clung to his
old story of the disappearance of little
Alice and Nellie Pltezel. 1t is said he
feigned surprise that their lend bodies
had been found. He professod to know
nothing of the whereabouts of Howard
Pitezel
Although nothing definite could be
learned about the examination further, it
was intimated that Holmes threw no fur
thor light on the terrible mysteries which
are now sh Allowing the case
Holmes was visited in Moyamensing
prison later by his counsel, r. o. Moon,
who subsequently made the statement
that his client had positively denied all
connection with the murder of the chill
dren. He assorted that tho last time he
saw them was in October Of last year in
Toronto, where he had left them in charge
of Minnie Williams, tho girl he met in
Chicago. He asserts that he knows moth
ing of what became of them after that
time, and that he always believed the
Williams girl had taken them to Europe.
He also insists that he knows nothing of
tho boy, and that he had nothing to do
with the death of Pltezol.
Superintendent of Police Linden declares
that there is no possibility of convicting
Holmes of the murder of the man found
in the Callowhill street house, and says
tho authorities here will not oppose extra
dition to Canada.