Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1904-08-19
Strangers PUT TO DEATH
Alfred A. Knapp Pays The Pen
atty For His Many Brutal
Murders Today.
Murders Today.
Special Dispatch to Evening Capital

Special Dispatch TO Evening CapttaL
Columbus, O., Aug. l9.-Alfred A.
Knapp. the Hamilton strangler, was
put to death in the electric chair in
the Ohio penitentiary annex today. A
short time ago the murderer joined
the Catholic church and his last hours
were spent in company of the priest.
who has been constant visitor to his
cell for several weeks.
In order TO find anything like
parallel to the case OF Knapp il is
necessary 20 turn back the pages of
criminal history 70 decade ago when
the entire country was stirred by the
publication of the crimes of III. ii.
Holmes, the arch murderer, who was
executed in Philadelphia The simi-
larity in the careers of the two crimi-
mails exists, however. only in the num-
Der of their victims. According to
their own confessions and sustained
by the evidence dug up by the police
both men were guilty of at least half
a dozen murders and both managed TO
escape suspicion for a remarkable
length of time. But Holmes at least
had motive for his crimes, namely.
to get the insurance money of his vic
Tins, while Knapp. so far as has come
to light, went about killing women
and girls out of pure fiendish desire.
The five cases to which Knapp con-
fessed after his arrest are as follows !:
Emma Littleman, killed in lumber
ward at Cincinnati, June 2l, 1891: May
Eekhert, murdered in room ON Walnut
street, Cincinnati, August /. 1894 !;
Jennie Knapp, thrown into canal at
Liberty street. Cincinnati, August z,
1894; Ida Gebhhard, strangled at In
dianapolis in July 1895, and Hannah
Knapp, murdered at Hamilton, O.,
December %, 1902. The crime for
which Knapp was indicted in March,
1908, was the murder of his wife, Han
nah Knapp. Regarding this murder
Knapp said that when he awoke on
the morning of the crime he was seiz-
ed with an impulse to strangle his
wife. After accomplishing her death
he got box and nailed the corpse up.
He hauled the body two miles and
threw it into the Miami FLYER. Some
days later the body was found in the
river at New Albany.
Knapp's trial lasted from June %
to July l6, 1908, when verdict of
first dergee murder was returned A
defense of insanity or degeneracy had
been set up without avail. A motion
for a new trial was overruled and
Knapp's attorney took the case to the
circuit court, which reversed the
common pleas on the grounds, among
others, that the state failed to prove,
according to law, that the deceased
came to her death in the manner al
legged in the indictment, the only evil
dence being the confession, ard that
it was error TO admit this written con-
fession and permit it 20 be used in the
argument. Later the supreme court
reversed this decision of the circuit
court and affirmed the decision of the
lower court. Though Knapp confess
ed to five murders it is believed that
he was guilty of many more. Pre-
vious TO his final arrest he had spent
two thirds of his life in prison. but the
murders to which he confessed he had
gone unsupported until few unguard-
cd words set the law upon him. For
years he had been strangler, he adj
mitted, pouncing upon innocent chill
dren and choking them to death. He
was twice in state prison for fiendish
assaults upon women. At the time OF
his arrest for murder he was living
with his fourth wife in Indianapolis