The Brunswick daily news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1903-1906, 1904-08-20
Wholesale Murderer Was
Put to Death at CoIum-
bus, O., Yesterday
LONG llS( OF CRlMLS
He Confessed to Having Committed
Five Murders and officers Believe
He Committed Many More.
Victims all Women.

Columbus. c., Aug. 19.--Alfred A.
hrapp, the Hamilton stranger, was
pat to death in the electric chair in
the Ohio peuitentiary 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 a constant visitor to
his cell for several weeks.
In order to find anything like
parallel to the case Of Knapp it is nee
essary to turn back the pages OF Grim
inal history to a decade ago wnen
Tie entire country was stirred by the
publication OF the crimes OF Ii. H.
Holmes the areh-murderer who was
executed in Philadelphia. The SINH
iarity in the careers of the two Grim
irals exists. however, only in the mum
Ter OF their victims According to
their own confessions and sustained
y 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 u remarkable
length to time. But Holmes at least
had motive for his crimes. namely,
To Get the insurance money Of his
victims. while Knapp, SO far as has
come to light. went about killing wo-
men and girls out Of pure fiendish de.
sire
The five cases to which Knapp con.
lessed after ms arrest are as follows:
Emma Litueman. killed IN lumber
yard at Cincinnati. June Il, 1894; May
hckert murdered in room on Walnut
sueet Cincinnati. August /, 1894; Jen
nie Knapp, thrown into canal at Lib.
city street. Cincinnati, August z, 1895
Ida Gebhard. strangled at indianapolis
ia July. 1895. and Hannah Knapp mur
dcred at Hamilton, o., December %,
1902.
The crime for which Knapp was in
dlcted in March. 1903. was the mur-
deJ Of his wife. Hannah Knapp. Re-
sarding this murder Knapp said that
when he awoke ON the morning of the
crime he was seized with an impulse
TO strangle his wife, After accom-.
plishing her death he got box and
nailed the corpse up, He hauled the
body two miles and threw it into the
Miami river, Some days later the
body was found in the river at New
Albany.
Knapps trial lasted from June 23
10 July Is, / so3, when verdict of first
degree murder was returned. A de-
fense of insanity or degeneracy had
been set up without avail. A motion
for a new trial was oyerruled and
Knapp's attorney took the case to the
circuit court. which reversed the com
mon pleas on the grounds, among oth-
ers. that the state failed TO prove, ac-
cOrding to law. that the deceased
| came to her death in the manner al
legged in the Indictment, the only ev-
| iGence being the confession. and that
it was error to admit this written
confession and permit it to be used
j. the argument. Later the supreme
court reversed this decision of the
circuit court and affirmed the decis-
ion of the lower court.
Though Knapp confessed to five
murders it is believed that he was
guilty OF many more. Previous to his
faal arrest he had spent lwo-thirds
OF his life in prison but for the mur-
ders to which he confessed he had
gcne unauspected until few unguard-
ed words set the law upon him. For
years he had been stranger. he
admitted, pouncing upon innocent
children and choking them to death.
He was twice in the state prison for
Gcndsh assaults upon women AT the
time Of his arrest for murde' he was
living with his fourth wife in Indian
apolis.
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