Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-05-08


Chicago police found several skeletons In
the Castle, and two Of them, they think,
are all that remains of the hapless VIII
liams sisters.
II should he stated here that Holmes,
making a trade of murder, employed a
private artieulator and had the skeletons
Of his victims mounted. and then sold for
cash. He neglected no opportunity.
The murder of Emily Cigrand comes
next in interest. She came from Lafayette,
Ind She was blonde, and the prettiest
of Holmes victims. When 10 years old
she was employed as a stenographer by
DR.. Keely. the gold cure man. Pieizel met
her when he was in the institution, and
when he got out he told Holmes. Holmes
wrote to the girl. offering a larger salary
than she was then getting, and she came
to the Castle. While in his employ she
became engaged TO be married TO Robert b.
Phelps, very rich man, much older than
herself: but one day she vanished from the
face of the earth, and nothing has since
been heard of her. 1t is believed that
Holmes forced her TO maintain Illicit rela-
tions with him, and that finding that she
was learning too much of his affairs, he
killed her.
The alleged murder of Mrs Julia Conner
and her daughter, Pearl Conner aged
eight years. should he narrated next. The
Corners went from Davenport, Ia, to Chi
cago, about 1890. Holmes was then run
ming drug and jewelry store at the cor
ner of Wallace and Sixty-third streets.
Conner got job working
IN THE JEwELRY DEPARTMENT
of Holmes store. Holmes saw his wife,
who was a very pretty woman, and offered
to give her a place as bookkeeper She ac-
cepted it. Holmes made love 10 her, but
Conner didn't suspect anything. The af-
far went on for some time, and Conner
heard of 1t indirectly through Holmes him
self. Conner consulted his friends and sep
arated from his wife, leaving her with
Holmes. She kept the child. Mrs. Conner
was woman of brains, and just the kind
that Holmes would pick out TO help him
in his schemes. She was last seen alive,
still in Holmes employ. about September,
1892 Then she disappeared like the rest
of them. Her murder. If she was muir
dered, is supposed TO have been one of the
first that Holmes committed He wrote
several letters about her TO Mrs. Smythe,
who was a friend of Mrs. Conner, which,
it is alleged were intended TO divert suspi-
cion from him on account of her sudden
disappearance. The police believe they I'M
earthed Mrs. Corners body in the search
Of the Castle. and that the bones Of the
child they found We're all that were LEFT
of the little daughter.
Emily Van Tassell was the name of a
girl who worked for Holmes in the Castle
and who like the others suddenly dsap-
peared Very little is known of her story.
Perhaps she, TOO, fell a victim to his lust
for blood.
In the story of Holmes and his crimes
there is nothing more interesting than the
description of his Castle where he is ac-
cused of having provided all sorts of de-
vices for disposing of his victims. The
Castle is at 1Ol Sixty-third street. Chicago.
Ii was built with the sole idea of conven-
fence for the commission of crime. Holmes
built it himself. He selected the workmen.
Until the Chicago police began their in
vestigation of the place, Holmes and Pat
Qu;nlan. the iantor of the building. were
the only men alive who knew anything to
speak of about the interior of the place
The building is three stories high. The
style of architecture suggests the name
the Castle. In the main II was built with
the idea of renting it out as fats. and for
business purposes. 1t was in Holmes
APARTMENTS and in the basemen; that the
secrets were found The rooms used as Of
fees By Holmes were in the front of the
building. Both rooms were on the second
floor. just in the rear Of the offices. From
Holmes own bath room there was secret
stairway leading to the street and also TO
the basement. The entrance TO it was
THROUGH A TRAP DOOR
in the floor of the bath room. This door
was concealed by a rug. There was a
chute running from the roof TO the cellar,
with an entrance in the bath room through
the trap door and there was a blind wall
between the secret stairway and the chute.
On the third floor of the building there
were also trap doors. One led into a room
which was used as the laboratory of the
drug store, which was on the level with the
L.
On the first floor in Holmes offices there
were vaults capable Of being made alright,
and built around so that no sound could
be heard from them. Then there were
rooms with no means of ventilation except
the door When that was closed no air
could get in.
It was i'm the cellar that the police made
their greatest discoveries. Two sheet iron
tanks entirely covered by the cellar floor
were found, and in the bottom were some
bones, which are believed TO be those OF
human beings In an ash pile nearby
were found pieces of linen blood stained.
There was CRATE covered with sheet iron
seven-e.ghths of an inch thick. Under
Meath was another crate, intended TO hold
the fire. The top of the furnace was two
feet six inches above the top CRATE. There
was an iron fue from the furnace which
led to a tank. At the bottom of vault
was a white fluid, which gave forth an
overpowering odor. In hole in the middle
of the cellar more bones were found.
Holmes case was appealed TO the Su-
preme Court. which affirmed the jury's
verdict. Then he began to make yarns in
a desperate effort TO gain a respite. All
was of no avail, and on the Goth of last
month, Governor Hastings refused to in
terfere On the same day. Jeptha ID.
Howe, the St. Louis lawyer. was aequ:t-
ted of completely in the conspiracy against
the insurance company.
One thing may be said of Holmes in
passing. To the women he married he was
always a model of virtue. He dispensed
his money with a liberal hand and was
invariably kind and gentle TO them.
M..NY IMAGINATIVE THEORIES
have been advanced regarding this mar
vellous pervert. and whispers of "hypno-
ricrn,' and nfha evil eye" hat,n hnan fro