The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-05-08
HOLMES MANY CRIMES.
As a Confession Maker He Was Record
Breaker and "a Wonder.

As a Confession Maker He Was a Record
Breaker and "a w onder.
Herman w. Mudgett, better known as
III. III. Holmes, was one of the most con-
spicuous criminals of modern times, and
if the murder confessions" which he has
written can only partially be believed. he
he was without "a peer as bloodthirsty
demon. His recent ingenious ''confes-
sion," wherein he claimed to have killed
twenty seven persons, was disproved,
partly, mt least, by the appearance of sew
eral of the so-called victims; but Holmes
object In making tho confession WAS real
izcd--the Obtaining of sum said TO be
81, 800. and which amount Is said 90 have
been settled upon the criminals lS-year-
old son.
While the confessions" have served TO
increase the sensationalism of the case,
the only capital crime for which Holmes
had TO answer was the killing in Phila-
delphia on Sept ?, 1894, of Benjamin +.
Pitzel, his fellow eonspirator. The muir
der was committed in the dwelling, 1916
Callowhill street. Holmes conviction OF
murder i'm the first degree, the affirmation
by the Pennsylvania supreme court OF
the verdict and the recent refusal of Gov
ernor Hastings To grant respite are so
we'll known that IA narration OF these facts
Is unnecessary
Caught in Boston.
Holmes was captured in Boston in the
latter part of 1894 by Owen Hanscom, the
deputy superintendent of police, upon the
strength of a telegram from Fort Worth,
Tex. where he was wanted for horsesteal-
ing and for other charges OF larceny. At
Il. ~ Ntattt mi
Life association of Philadelphia were hot
oil Holmes trail for defrauding the con
Germ out of $40, 600 I'm connection with Pit
zel's DEATH the latter being insured for
that amount, and as the accused believed
horsestcaling high crime i'm Texas he
voluntarily confessed to Deputy Superin
tendent Hanscom TO the Insurance fraud
| He did not for moment dream that he
was then suspected of the murder OF Pit
| zel and no came TO Philadelphia without
reauisition papers. He expressed will
| ingness to be tried there ON the conspir-
acy charge in preference to that OF horse
stealing at Fort Worth.
Holmes made several alleged confes
sions rs to the cause of Pitzcls death.
| The insurance officials had good ground
| for believing Holmes had murdered Pit
! zel and the three children, so when the
prisoner arrived in Philadelphia he was
| urged To make another confession And
he did so without hesitation. but IL varied
somewhat from one made In Boston II
graphically narrated how n body was sub
| stitutcd for Pitzel in the Callowhill
street house, and its identifi cation by
/ Alice Pitzel "a that of her father week
af,crward
The Insurance Money.
Holmes also related how tho money wa
received from the Insurance. company and
its subseauent division between Mrs PIT
zel. Jcptha ID. Howe, the 81. Louis law
yer. and himself IL was In this comics
sion" that Holmes accused Howe of re-
cciving e, 500 for his share In the transao
tion. 49,,
Soon after Holmes was brought To Phil
adelphia Detective Geyer visited him II
the county prison in relation 10 the nnu
/ a. al lr.tssh n AZ