Arizona weekly citizen., 1895-07-27
TELLS HER TALE Mrs. Pitzel Believes that Holmes had Hypno-
 tized Her.
 HER CHILDREN LOVED HIM. The Wholesale Murderer Some times Lost his Nerve and this Will Lead Him to
 the Seaffold.

CHICAGO, July 19-Mrs. PitZel who
 left last night for Toronto to identify
 the bodies of the two children found in
 the cellar of the house at 16 St. Vincent
 street, talked about her past life and
 her husbands dealings with Holmes
 just before leaving. Mrs. Pitzel is brok-
 en in health and mind, the victim, she
 believes, of hypnotic influence exerted
 by Holmes. Her story was straightfor-
 wsrdly told, and it is impossible to be- lieve, after being any length of time in her company, that she was either con-
 tederate or an accomplice of Holmes in
 the commission of any of hls crimes.
 "Holmes, whom had never met but
 once before the death of my husband" {"
 said Mrs. Pitzsl, seemed from the time
 he asked me for the care of the children
 until his finsl arrest, to have 8 peculiar
 control over me. I felt controlled by
 him. Be had influence over me that
 thought then to be natural, since he
 had been the intimate friend of my hus-
 band. Besides, my husband had re- psstedly told me that could trust him,
 that he would always be true to Us. The children idolized him. There was pothing that he could not do with them.
 Again and again my husband told me how much he thought of Holmes and how honorable he was, until l came to the same opinion myself, although at first l dld net like the man and told my husband so and begged him to have nothing to do with him.
 "I saw my husband last on August 14 1894. He had gone to St. Louis. He was then heavily interested with Holmes in whatever the enterprises were that they had on hand together, and 1 was lying sick with my baby. 1 was very sick. could not go to Philadelphia to identify the body winch they suspected to be that of my husband. could not be moved. Holmes came to me and Alice was taken east and she identified the body. It was after that that Holmes my husband, that it was a bogus body
 A o40 VI IOOh ilhO Alug duQ ludb LQo children said anything about it the in- surance company would get hold of us and we would be punished severely
 "l was very sick and believed Holmes He talked kindly and offered to take Alice, Nellie and Howard away from ms and eduaste them. He said he would put them to school and pay all of their , expenses. The children loved him.. and was alone in the world ana poor. I let him take them and they went away. At this time and all other times Holmes acted to me like gentleman.
 "He constantly kept ne under the i'm pression, though, that and the children | were to be mixed up in the bogus body | which he said WAS found in Philadelphia | He sad Pitzel was still alive, and that I | would see him again when this trouble was over. He wished, though, to save us from arrest, and after the three child ren were gone I moved into the country. I had to worry about the children. l wanted to see them, and wished to know where they were. Holmes always put me of with the story that I must keep quiet until the detectives stopped their work.
 "When he took me to Detroit it was he who registered me there as Mrs. He told me SO when be came to the room where Desire, my oldest aud were. told him that he did wrong to put down my name wrong, but he explained that the detec- tivee must be kept off the track, and that 1 was protecting my husband by this. I finally heard the children were in Toronto, and Desire, 1 and the baby went there at once to search, but with out success.
 "Since then I have been working for the location of the children, with Dis- trict Attorney Graham of Philadelphia. MT. Meyer, the detective of Philadel- phia, and the officers of the life insurance nave done all in their power to aid me. You must understand that when my children were first really missing l was ocked up and could not communicate with anyone. I was not allowed to see the newspapers or receive mail. In Homes trunk there was found letter from my daughter Alice to me which never reached me, showing that all my mail was intercepted. Since have had my freedom the Philadelphia authorities and the insurance company have work eu lO Orink LuI CAluIcn OhCh tO Luc, ahd l have aided them so far ss ,ould.
 "When I gave the children up to Holmes in St, Louis l was too sick and trusted him too much to p~y careful at- .ention to what dId. He told me to go nome and recruit there with my parents and he would keep the children in school When he took me to Detroit and I sup, posed we were being hunted by detec- lives. Holmes paid most of the bills. Sometimes I was compelled to pay my own expenses. I believe Holmes intend sd to kill me. I think he intended to kill me in Burlington. Vermont, but he must have lost his nerve, for he still had the children on his hands and hesi- , ,ated. cannot give any other explsns- ion of why be spared my life. He In- ended to kill my entire family" (
 TORONTO, July Blowing to 8 mis- lnderstandinG by the present jury as to