The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-27
.BLUEBEARD KNAPP
CONGRESSES HE is FIVE TIMES 4
MURDERER.
HIS VICTIMS ALL WOMEN.
SUSPECTED OF MORE THAN HE
HAS CONFESSED.

VI
and Murder is That Told by the
Fiend Who but Lately Married
His Fourth Wife-Makes "a Writ
ten, sworn COnfessiOn-SOme De-
mon Prompted Him to Kill, and
He-SOught to Satiate the Desire.
Hopes for Mercy He Did Not show.
Hamilton, o., Feb. 26-Five murders,
the victims of which were all women,
and two of them his wives-such is
the revolving record of Albert Knapp,
given to-day in a sworn confession by
Knapp before Mayor Bosch.
Knapp, according to the police, is a
degenerate of a pronounced type. The
murder of his third wife, Annie God
dard Knapp which led to Knapp's ar
rest yesterday in Indianapolis was
done Il don't know why" to quote
the prisoner.
knapps confession, which was sworn
to before Mayor Bosch, is as follows:
"On Jan. "a, 1894, killed Emma Lit
tleman in lumber yard in Gest street,
Cincinnati; on Aug. 1, 1894, l killed
May Eckert, in Walnut street, oppo-
site the Y NJ. C. A., in Cincinnati; on
Aug. 7. 1894, / killed my wife, Jennie
Connors Knapp under the canal bridge
in Liberty street, Cincinnati, and
threw her into the canal. In Indianapo-
lis in July, 1895, killed Ida Gabhard.
On Dec. IL, 1902 l killed my wife, An
ME Knapp, at 3S9 South Fourth street,
in Hamilton, and threw her into the
river at Lindenwald. This Is the
truth.
CSigned.) Albert Knapp.
Il make this statement of my own
free will and accord and not by the
request of any officer or any one else.
C'Signed.) Albert Knapp
Clears Tn n Mystery.
The confession clears up the mystery
of at least one death--that of Jennie
Connors Knapp, Knapp's second wife.
This wOman's body was found in the
sluggish waters of a canal near Gin
cinnat. Bruises were discovered on
the head, but an investigation led TO
no definite conclusion concerning the
manner of her death.
The most recent of the murders to
which Knapp has confessed-that of
his third wife, Annie Goddard Knapp
of Hamilton, led to his arrest at the
| home of his fourth bride in Indian
apolis. An uncle of the victim, hear
| ing of Knapps marriage to a Miss
Gamble in indianapolis a few days aft
err the mysterious disappearance of his
niece, formerly Annie Goddard, started
an investigation.
The police were prepared for a
gruesome story to-day Knapp having
admitted his guilt of the Goddard
murder last night, but they were
dumbfounded at the revelations which
the prisoner made when put under
| oath.
After his confession, Knapp admit
| ted that he had repeatedly assaulted
women. He said:
81 met the Littleman child in the
| lumber yard and choked her to death
! when she made an cutlery
Il went into the room with the
Eckert girl, sat down with her. She
cried and l strangled her with a tow
ell and hurried from the house.
Il was mad at my wife, Jennie Con-
| ners Knapp, when l killed her We
were walking along Liberty street. l
! sat her down under the bridge and
choked her to death. 1 deny that
poisoned her. l never told any one l
did. After she was dead l threw the
| body into the canal.
Doesn't Know How He Killed.
Ida Gerhard 1 killed, but my MEM
DRY is not clear as to what | did. l
cannot tell what made me kill these
people. l could not help it. Some
kind of a desire to kill took hold of
| nae, and l could not resist the temp
tation to kill. | am sorry for my
crimes, but now ] hope they Will be
easy with me-"
After the confessions a formal charge
of murder in the first degree was filed.
Attorney G. e. Tenner of Cincinnati
was allowed to see Knapp and told
| him to make no further statement
Knapp was surprised that his people
had secured a lawyer for him.
Knapp talks much of the Pearl
Byran murder and is afraid of
being lynched.
Knapp is now suspected of strang-
ling three women at Evansville, Ind,
and of killing women elsewhere He
was in the Cincinnati House of Ref
uge when he was II years old. and
new records are being discovered al
most hourly.