Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1896-04-15
HOLMES COMMISSION"
Some Big Holes have Been
Found in It.
-Four Of His Alleged Victims 1-oTe to
be Alive and Well.

Chicago, H., April 13.-Four of the
victims who were slaughtered relentless
ly Sunday morning in H. II. Holmes
confession" have been seen alive and
we'll since the dates on which they were
officially murdered. One is in Engle-
wood One can be reached through the
medium of the United States mail or
either of two telegraph lines. The third
has done business and failed IN Chicago
since the time at which the Self-ab-
horred criminal asserts that he killed
him. The fourth has been seen by those
who know her well in the vicinity of
the Castle since Holmes, according to
his story, declares that he suffocated her
in the vault of his unique building. A
fifth. claimed to be a wealthy Chicago
banker, never was heard of in this city.
The man whom Holmes says can throw
light upon the dark places in his unso-
licited testimonial to his own evil char
acter is a myth, unheard of by the police
of the two cities in which he is supposed
to have operated.
Robert Latimer, the x-janitor, whom
his erstwhile employer credits with the
feat of teariKg out the bricks and mortar
of the vault of the castle in his dying
| agony, may be seen any night after mid
night swinging a red lantern at the rail
road crossing at SiXty-third and Wallace
| streets. He is not a spOOk, for spooks
do not figure on the pay roll of the West
ern Indiana railroad. He is the night
| fagman at that crossing and has been
since midnight of July 3, 1894. His
term of service for Holmes closed just
| before the third story was added to the
| castle Ever since his old employer was
arrested Latimer has protested that
Holmes was innocent of all the murders
charged up to him, and, further, that he
did moi believe that Holmes ever even
| II 10 cfi1
same, in spite of the evidence and
Holmes accredited confession. Latimer
married in EngleWOod since he left
Holmes. He has no children.
The other victim. whose whereabouts
are positively unknown, is DIR. THOMAS
Russell. to whom Holmes accords the
distinction of first place in his chef
d'oeuvre of yesterday. Holmes asserts
that he felled the doctor with chair
| in a quarrel which arose over the lat
ter's nonpayment of rent. This story
was exploited last fall by some of the
daily papers, and at that time DIR. Rus
soil. who is at the head Of hospital
at Grand Rapids. Mimi. wrote letter
| which was published, informing the
public that he was the man referred to,
and that the story was canard. The
doctor is Canadian by birth and is a
graduate of the University of Toronto.
He had an office in Holmes building
| in the spring of 1891.
The 'Confession
Philadelphia. Pa, April 11.-H. II.
Holmes who will be executed here May
for the murder of Benjamin Pietzel
has made a confession of his crimes
He claims to have committed twenty
seven murders. He asserts that he
would have committed six more but for
intervening circumstances which stayed
his hand.
Some of these persons were asphyxi-
were dissected by Holmes, their skele-
| tons incinerated so far as possible and
| the remains buried in the basement of
| the "ca Stle.
In addition to these he murdered in
Toronto Annie and Nellie Pietzel, chill
dren of Benjamin Pietzel. and in Indian
apolis Howard Pietzel. In this city he
! killed Pietzel himself He had made ar
rangements for the killing of Mrs. Pet
eel and her eldest daughter, Bessie, but
his arrest for the murder here prevented
him. 1t is believed that he had also
planned for the killing of Patrick Gum
| Ian and his wife. employees of his in Chi
cago: May Yoke, his last wife, and the
! Mrs. Holmes, his second wife, now living
at Wilmette, Ill. These comprise the
six contemplated murders to which he
makes gruesOme reference.
| Holmes writes with the spirit of a
! fiend incarnate. He revels in the analy-
sis of his own nature, his lust for human
| blood the ever-present desire to kill.
No modern "Jack the Ripper" ap-
proaches him in fiendishness.
81 am convinced" he writes, that I
no longer have anything human in me-"