St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-16
BODIES OF THE PITZEL GIRLS
UNEARTHED IN A TORoN-
TO CELLAR.
BURIED NINE MONTHS AGO.
HOLMES, WHO KILLED THEIR
FATHER, HAD LIVED IN
THE HOUSE.
THE LITTLE BOY STILL MISSING
Promises of the Insurance Swim
der to Put the Children
at School.

TORONTO, Ont, July 15.-Found
buried in the cellar of the house at
No. SIC st. Vincent street this after
noon were the bodies of Alice and
Nellie, the two missing daughters of
Benjamin F. Pitzel. Detectives Cud-
dy, of Toronto, and Geyer, of Phila-
delphia, made the discovery, and all
doubts as to their fate have been
set at rest. 1t is now a matter al
most beyond doubt that H H
Holmes, when here last October, de-
Hberately murdered the pair, and
thus rid himself of two troublesome
young beings after he had murdered
their father in Philadelphia. The in
quiries begun by the police led to
the knowledge that Holmes and the
children lived at the house in Ques-
ton, and a search was made by the
two officers. A photograph of Holmes
was shown to Frank N. Nudel, of the
educational department, who owns
No. SIC, and without any hesitation
he identified 1t as that of his ten
ant. When they reached the cellar
1t appeared to the detectives that
something had disturbed the floor,
and, arming themselves with SHOW
els, they began to dig. A short dis
tance below the surface they came
across the arm and a portion of the
head of one of the little murdered
girls. Further work soon revealed
the bodies of the two sisters. They
were both naked, and had lain there
in all probability since last October.
WHERE IS THE BOY?
The last trace the officers had of
the children was at. Detroit. The
children were taken there from Chi
cago, where they had been attending
school. They boarded on Congress
street west one week in October,
1894. Holmes secured possession of
Alice, aged thirteen, first taking her
to Philadelphia to identify her faith
er's body. Then he went to st. Louis
and told the mother that he would
put Howard and Nellie in a good
school in Indianapolis. This was on
Sept. 2S, 1894. Mrs Pitzel received
two letters from Holmes at Indian
apolis, and, acting on his advice,
she went to her parents home in
Illinois. Becoming worried about the
children, she went to Chicago, where
she received word from Holmes to
go to Detroit. She met him in that
city and demanded the children, but
was induced to go with him to Tor
onto, and then to Burlington, VT.
So far as known the boy was never
SEEM n Detroit.
ASPHYXIATED IN A TRUNK.
There were no traces of violence on
the bodies, and it is thought Holmes
decoyed the children into the trunk
under some pretext and took them to
the house. Then gas was inserted by
means of a tube through a small hole.
The trunk. with a hole in it neatly
covered over with a strap tackled
down, was found in one of Holmes
rooms. The little girls when found
We're naked and had been buried with
out coffin of any kind. No trace of
the boy Howard, a lad of eight, has
been found, but he is thought to be
dead. The st. Vincent street house
has been taken possession of by the
police and an inquest will be held to-
morrow night. AS the crime was prob
ably committed in this country. II
will be necessary to extra aSite Holmes
and put him on trial for the murder
here.