The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-05-07
HISTORY OF THE. CRIMES.
Terrible Record Of the Greatest Crime.
inal of Modern Times.


inal of Modern Times.
I PHILADELPHIA, May THE murder of
Benjamin +. PietzeI, for which Herman
Mudgett, alias ii. ii. Holmes, was hang
ed today, occurred on Sunday, September
2, 1894. The crime was the elimination
of a conspiracy between the men to de-
fraud the Fidelity Mutual Life Associa-
tion of this city of $4,000, and the swim
die was successfully accomplished.
Holmes and Pietzel became acquainted
in Chicago in 1890. Pietzel was married
and had six children. He was poor, and
was not averse to engaging in dishonest
business II 1t were lucrative.
Holmes lad been practicing forgery,
and he induced Pietzel to enter the same
cline" In January, 1898, Pietzel was
arrested in Terre Haute, Ind, for passing
forged paper. Holmes vent there and
gave $500 straw bail for Pictzel, who there
upon ran away. Holmes sent him to
Fort Worth, Tex, under the name of
Benton Il. Lyman. he had with him a
deed to property there valued at s40, ,000,
which belonged to Minnie II. Williams,
another of Holmes victims. Holmes and
woman he called bis wife subsequently,
joined him there, and, giving out that
they intended to build the finest build
ing in the town, the men succeeded in
borrowing something Ike 5000 Then
trey fed, steafing two carloads Of horses
as they went, and shipping them to st.
Louis.
IL was after this incident that Holmes
conceived the idea of having PietZel's
life insured. He told Pieizel how easy 1t
wss TO beat an insurance company with
a substitute body, and PietZel fell into
the scheme. A 5000 policy was secured
in the Washington Life Insurance Com
pany of New York. but for some reason
or other it was permitted TO lapse. Then
the Fidelity policy, was taken out. The
application was msde at the Chicago
agency. Pietzel was in full health, and
the risk was considered first-rate. They
left Chicago together TO search for body.
Meanwhile Pjetzel told his wife, who was
living in st. Louis, that be and Holmes
were. playing game on an insurance COM
pany, and to his eldest daughter, Dessa.
said: "If you ever hear that your papa is
motner worry. | will be all right, and
come to you some day, no matter what
they ssy."
In August, 1894, Holmes and Pietzel
came east, and Holmes rented the house,
1916 Callowhill street. ramshackle old
building, for Pietzel TO start in the patent
rights bUsinets under the name OF h. Il.
Perry. In the meantime Holmes had
brought woman whom he called his
wife to boarding house at 1905 north
HOLMES called on Pietzel frequently. Pie.-
zel was seen up 10 20 o'clock on saturday
night, September ]. That night he drank
a great deal before he went TO bed. Moth
ing was again seen OF him until the fol-
lowing Monday, when Eugene Smith,
carpenter, who tad been employed TO do
some work in the house,
FOUND HIS BODY LYING
on its back on the floor OF the tecond
r.. e.. Il,o al
engd and bIistered, as If from burns, and
nearby lay broken bottle.whicb had con-
tanned benzine. BY the side of the body
was pipe, partly filled with tobacco.
Appearances indicated that an explosion
had occurred while the man was lighting
his pire. The police believed the affair
was an accident, and no one fer moment
entertained the theory of murder.
Among the effects found in the room
were several letter from "Perry's" wife
in st. Louis, the signatures of which bad
been torn off. The ooroner's physicians
held ON autopsy, and finding evidences
of choloform and couges,ed lungs, the
jury gave verdict OF death from inhal-
ing the fumes OF chloroform.
About three weeks after this cccur-
renee, Jeptha ID. Howe, ST. Louis at
torney, after correspondence with Coroner
Ashbridge, of this city, came here and
asserted tirat the body was that of Ben
was here 10 collect so, 900 insurance ircm
the Fidelity company for which amount
policy bad been maze out in favor OF Mrs
Pietzel in Chicago year before. Mean
while Holmes. who had introduced Piet-
eel to the Insurance agents YVES induced
by them to come TO Philadelphia and
identity the body. This he did positively,
and so did Alice Pietzel, the l6-year-old
dsoghter OF the dead man. With this un-
equ1vocnl testimony, the insurance COM
pany paid the money. Hcie the first stage
of this extraordinary affair came TO r
close.
The second opored some time after
ward, when Marion Z. Hepsworth, the
notorious train robber, in jail at St.
Louis declared that Holmes, while in an
adjoining cell, had told him OF a conspi-
Tacy with pietzei and Howe TO swindle a
Philadelphia insurance cofnIgny by the
substitution Of a body.
Holmes capture was wonderful piece
of detective work. IL was discovered that
letters were being sent to him under
the name of Howard, and in care Of
broker named BIackmen, in Dearborn
strt ct, Chicago. Blackmen forwarded the
letters TO Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
Holmes birthplace where his FIRST wife
end his mother and father were living.
A detective started from Chicago on the
train bearing one OF these letters, and
there wes a race across the country with
the United States mail.
-FtfH BEFEeTfvH- BEAT THE MAIL
TO the New Hampshire town and found
that the postmaster had a p1stal card
lnsiructing him TO forward sll mail for
Holmes TO another place. Tho detective
Continued on Page q.
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