The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1895-11-08
IT'S STRONG EVIDENCE
THE HOLMES TRIAL DOWN
TO BUSINESS.
Assistant to the President of the Mutual
Life Association Which Holmes Swim
deled Relates the Facts of the Detect
ion and Arrest of tho Arch Fiend.

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 81 - In the
Holmes trial this morning after two
unimportant witnesses had testifed,O
Laforest Perry, assistant to the pres
ident of the Fidelity Mutual Life as
sociation, was then called. This is the
company that was swindled out of
Sc, 600, for which Pietzel's life was
insured, and it was Perry who began
the investigation into the conspiracy.
He first identified the policy issued, in
which Carrie e. Pietzel, the widow, is
beneficiary. 1t was dated November
10, 1898. Next he identified receipt
for 50, 7l5.s5, the amount of the policy,
less expenses paid to and receipted for
by Jeptha D. Howe, the st. Louis at
torney, who represented Mrs. Pietzel.
This was dated September "a, 1894.
Perry was present when Howe
received the money. When Holmes
came to this city at the re-
quest of the company to identi-
fy the body, Howe and Alice
Pietzel were in the Office. Holmes
came in afterwards and was
introduced to them. He and Howe
met as strangers, but he said that he
had met Alice before and she remem-
bered him. After the payment of the
money the matter was closed, until
letter was received by President Fouse
intendent Of Police Harrigan of ST.
Louis. This contained the declaration
of Hedgpeth, the train robber, that
while in Jail in St. Louis he had over
heard Holmes and Pietzel talking of
forming conspiracy to defraud an in
surance company ont Of $4,000 by the
substitution of corpse for Pietzel.
Inspector Gray of the insurance COM
pany was sent to st. Louis and inter-
viewed Hedgpeth. On the information
thus obtained, a. warrant was sworn
out for Holmes on the charge of con-
spiracy, and upon this he was arrested
in Boston.
The witness said that when he met
Holmes in Boston, in the presence of
Deputy Superintendent Hanscom,
Chief of Police Watts and John Corn
ish, a private detective, in Chief
Watts office, the following conversa-
tion took place: Il asked him where
Mrs Pietzel was and he replied that
he did not care to tell. Then asked
him where Pietzel was and he said he
was in South America or on his way
there, and the boy, Howard, was with
him. Alice and Nellie, he said, were
in London with Minnie Williams. He
said he had given Howard to his
father in Detroit and had sent Nellie
and Alice from Toronto on a train on
which he rode short distance to
meet Minnie Williams-either at Buf--
falo or Niagara Falls-I forget which.
Inspector William Gray of the in
surance company told of trip to st.
Louis where he had procured Hedg-
peth's statement. This was produced
but not vet introduced in evidence In
consequence of it the action against
Holmes was begun He was first To-
Gated in Ogdensburg, N. Y, then at
Prescott, Canada, then at various
points in New Hampshire, Burlington
VT, and Bost1
orringte;s,3ot nscom, deputy su-
periptags.Ida aes, snllice of Boston, di-
IS rom IS II re9as, ea ssying ss7Sgg1@ he
ann d was wanted Ss for the larceny Of
xlWh xllpne horse . Hamae fines stoed at this.
when arrested dimes 4 he did not
svant to go tort Wos il but that he
APhilade1pb i,vwhere he Dt z, q defrauded
% He fl Fidel1Cl Insurance Company of
S10,WpO. This was entirely voluntary.
Shortly after noon Inspector Hall of
the Toro2t9 police department arrived
with Mr.. Ryves, who is expected to
swear thathe lent Holmes the spade
with whicl1hs dug the graves for the
i,,s ST