The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-10-30
TIVE HOLMES TRIAA.

The Alleged Murderer ~ Twenty-Five Fer
sons Is Weak as a Cross Examiner-How
the Body of Pietael Was Found-A Wit
ness Tells of Holiness Identification of 1t
as That of Vietzel-An Awful Recital of
Horrible Grimes.
Philadelphia, Oct. 2s-The second day
of the trial of Holmes, alleged arch
field, murdered of twenty-five persons,
opened with the promise that the prose-
oution would have good part of it's
case in by the time court adjourned
for the day, with the echo of District
Attorney Graham's opening ringing in
the ears of those who heard it. 1t was
a mastery effort, that opening, as it
must needs have been, with such sup
ply of awful material so abundantly at
hand, He needed but to reoite the facts
as they were supposed to exist, and
that he did; plainly and patiently, with
out any attempt att effect, following step
by step the awful work accredited to
the defendant.
And it was recital as had never
been heard in a court of justice-some-
thing almost too horrible for belief,
First, the murder of Pietzel father;
next, the slaughter of the infant son
and the burning of the butchered body
to destroy evidence of the second crime;
third, the taking of the fourteen-year-
old daughter of Pietzel to a house, after
she had unconsciously added Holmes
in his awful work by Identifying the
remains of her father, and outraging
the child; then killing her and her
younger sister and burying their bodies
in quicklime, and lastly, the effort to
make away with the mother and her
only remaining child, an infant by try
ing to get her to carry a large guam
tity of dynamite.
And when a visible shudder of horror
ran through those who listened breath
lessly in the court room Holmes almost
sneered in the face of the man who
| told it. He was the least affected of all
| in that crowded court room. 1t was
not an exhibition of nerve; he clearly
didn't realize the position he was in.
| The plain truth Is he is deficient in just
that sense-of realization. And that
was his work with but one family, as
the district attorney said, all done that
| he might get control of a sum of money
amounting to little less than $lo,OoO
| There was no insurance on the lives OF
any others of the Pietzel family.
INSISTS ON BEING HIS OWN LAW
| YER.
| Holmes destroyed them just as he
| might destroy a piece of paper or any
| other thing which might be converted
into evidence against him ait some fu-
| ture time. He had studied it all out,
so his studious appearance was not at
all for nothing. He was certainly a
| student in crime, if in nothing else.
HIS ATTEMPT TO KILL MRS.
PIETzEL WITH NITRO GLYCER-
| me.
| Before tho first witness was called
| Holmes arose and, in that unsteady
voice of his, asked for further privileges
| from the court. He wanted diagram
| of the Callowhill street house in which
| Pietzel was found dead. The district
| attorney had one and said that Holmes
might examine it whenever he saw fit.
He wanted to know from District At
| torney Graham what explosive COM
| pound was referred to yesterday in the
| opening speech.
| DO you mean in Vermont" the dis
trict attorney asked, and then added
nonchalantly: your statement shows
it to be nitro glycerine. You wanted
l "a from mart
of the house to the other"
That announcement created not a
stir in the court room. The spectators
| have become so accustomed to expect
ing all manner of outrageous things
attributed to Holmes, that small mat
ter like blowing any one into eternity
with nitro glycerine doesn't create any
particular interest.
When Holmes seated himself, the first
| witness was called, in the person OF
Jeanette Pietzel one of the children OF
the dead man, who escaped the fate
of the bigger part of the family.
She was a slim girl, with rather dull
features and by no means pretty. She
was attired for the occasion and con
scious of it. Miss Pietzel was kept or
the stand long enough to identify a
crayon portrait of her father as pre-.
senting an excellent likeness Of him as
he appeared two years ago.
Holmes cross-examined her for mo.
ment as to whether there hadn't been a
change in the appearance of her father
accustomed by the removal of his beard
She said her father had had small
goatee ait one time.
Holmes looked her straight in the
eve as he questioned her, and the CIR
seemed uncomfortable under his gaze
She kept her eyes on him while he ques
toned her, but it was plain she coulo
| have done so but little while longer.
The next witness was one Of import
ance-Eugene Smith, carpenter, the
man who found the body of Pietzel
He told how he had gone to the house
once. He knew Pietzel by the name OF
Perry. but did not see him. He waited
awhile and went away.
He returned to the house on the fol
lowing morning and saw the hat anc
cuffs in the same position. None Of the
furniture in the rooms was disarrangec
on either occasion.
IT was on the second visit he spoke O.
that Smith discovered the body of Piet
eel and as Smith told of it there came {
point where an objection would be o
GREAT value to the defence. Holme!