St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-30
MONSTER HOLMES.
HIS HORRIBLE TALE OF THE
DEATH AND MUTILATION OF
PIETZEL.
A CLAIM OF SUICIDE MADE
TO HIDE TRACES OF SELF-DE
STRUCTION HOLMES BLEW v
HIM UP.
CIGRAND,s SKELETON IS FOUND.
ArticuIator ChappeII's Son De-
cIares His Father Has Been
Insane for Years.
ArticuIi

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, July 90
The Bulletin today prints the follow
ing: An entirely new statement has
just been made by H. H. Holmes,
the supposed murderer of the Piet-
eel children. In it the man of many
crimes gives in detail his version of
how Pietzel came by his death last
September, and also states his
| CHolmesO connection with the TRACE
dy. The statement was given to
close friend of Holmes in Philadel-
phia, who gave it to a Bulletin re-
porter today. Holmes says that on
the Saturday night preceding the
death of PietZel the latter came to
his house on North Eleventh street,
| where he was staying with Mrs.
| Howard" Pietzel told Holmes
| heartrending story of his pecuniary
| difficulties and of the sickness of his
| daughter in ST. Louis. 81 must have
| money!" he said, or words to that
effect, "to send to my wife in st.
| Louis" Holmes demonstrated with
Pietzel as to his spendthrift habits,
| and spoke substantially to him as
| follows: ben, you have been a
good friend of mine. I'll admit [
have made lots of money through
you, but I cannot keep this thing
up. Where is that $50 1 gave you
the other day? If you don't quit
drinking you and I will have to sep
arate." This conversation is said to
have been carried on along Eleventh
street, the men walking north until
Norris street was reached. When
they arrived at the corner Pietzel ex-
| claimed: ST am of no benefit to
anyone. 1 will soon get rid of my
| difficulties Life has become a null
sance to me-"
| HE COULD USE HIS BODY.
Holmes then AYERS that he jokingly
| remarked to Pietzel: "Well, your
body is as good as any other, but
l would not advise you to do any
thing rash.' Holmes accounts for
making this remahk by saying that
he and Pietzel had under considera-
| ton the defrauding of the Fidelity
| Mutual Insurance company. Holmes
says Pietzel then became angry, and
again vowed that he would commit
suicide. Holmes explains that Pietzel
left him with the intention of going
home. He gave Pietzel no money
that night, but promised to meet
| him at the Callowhill street house
| the following morning. 1t was about
10 o'clock the following day (Sun-
| Un1n fn that
he went to visit Pietzel at the Cal
lowhill house. When he reached the
place no one apparently was about.
Holmes sat in the kitchen for almost
twenty minutes, waiting for PietZel
to appear. The latter, he supposed,
had gone out for breakfast. Time
wore on and ben" was not to be
seen. The conspirator then says that
| he became anxious about his friends
whereabouts, and began TO search
the house for Pietzel "As I arose to
go UP stairs" says the criminal, 81
noticed a note lying on the counter
in the front part of the house. 1t
was addressed to me-" Then Holmes
explains that he opened the note.
1t directed him to go up to the sec
ond floor and open a closet, in which
he would find a large blue bottle
containing another note addressed
to him. Holmes followed the direc-
tions. He found the note in the bot
when he read it. 1t was from Ben
jamin PietZel, and advised Holmes
that his PietzeFs) dead body could
be found in the house. The letter
pleaded that Holmes look after
PietzeFs children, and suggested
that there would be no difficulty in
getting the insurance money from
the Fidelity company, now that the
dead body of Pietzel could be pro-
duced in evidence.
REMOVING EVIDENCE OF SUI
eide.
Holmes told his friend of the an
pearance Of the corpse and said that
he sat in the room with the body for
over anhour. He was dazed and hardly
knew what course to pursue He
finally made up his mind that since
Pietzel had taken his life there would
be no harm in destroying evidence of
suicide, so that he might be able to
I
out any difficulty. Holmes has con-
fessed that he thereupon dragged the
dead body to the second floor, laid the
corpse on the floor, pried open the
mouth of the dead man with a pencil
and poured in a quantity of explosive
chemicals. He then, he says, placed a
lighted match to the mans mouth,
when the explosion which so horribly
disfgured the corpse followed To
give the more forcible impression that
Pietzel came to his death by an acci-
dental explosion, Holmes stated to his
friend that he got a pipe of Pietzers,
filled it with tobacco, lighted it, then
blew out the flame, after the tobacco
had been partly consumed and placed
the pipe beside the dead mans body.
1t was neary o'clock in the evening
before he left the Callowhill street
house. He put on a hat of PietzePs
to partially conceal his identity and
placed his own hat, which was a felt
under his coat. The criminal went
directly to the Broad street station, sc
he alleges, and inquired at what hour
the first train left for Chicago
Holmes says he does not distinctly re.
: member at what hour the railroad of
ficials told him Chicago train would
leave Philadelphia, but believes that II
. was between 8 and $50 o'clock al
: night. He then went to the house
where he was staying and made prepa-
. rations to leave the city. He and his
wife, Holmes alleges. left for Chicago
!, that night.
He HEARD PIETZELS THREATS
It Is understood that If the prose