The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1915-07-07
FRANK HOLT KILLS
/ HI |MSELF With
DYNAMITE GAP
Assai|ant of J. P. Morgan Com
mits Suicide in MineOla Jail
DEED ClOUDED WITH MYSTERY
Story That Prisoner Took His Own
Life BY Jumping on His
Head.

New York, July 7.-Frank Holt
who shot J p. Morgan and exploded
the bomb in the Capitol, committed
suicide in his cell in the Nassau
County Jail at MineoIa at 1045 o.
clock last night.
DIR, Guy f. Cleghorn and District
Attorney Smith said that in all prob
ability Holt had killed himself by
chewing Illuminating cap, such as is
used in dscharging dynamite, which
had exploded in his mouth, blowing
his head open Warden FIults insist
ed that Holt had killed himself by
jumping on his head from the top of
the ifteen-foot door of his cell.
At midnight there was still much
confusion in the stories told by those
in the jail when Holt's death occur
red. The attendants disagreed in
their accounts both of the place and
Holt ended his life after he knew
positive proof had been obtained
that he was DR.. Erich Muenter, for
merly of Harvard University, the
wife murderer, and that the house in
Central Park, l.. L. to which he had
carried 120 pounds of dynamite for
the manufacture of bombs, had been
found and searched by the police.
While DR.. Cleghorn was cXamin
ing the man, Keeper Hoffman said 1t
had not been discovered whether
Holt had shot himself had exploded
the Illuminating cap, or had killed
himself by smashing his head against
the concrete.
When Warden Hults was seen
few minutes later, he said:
There was no explosion of any
kind, 1t is not true that Holt killed
himself with a revolver or an explos-
i've. He climbed to the top of his
cell door, which is fifteen feet above
the floor of the cell, and landed on
his head. He was already so weak
that the fall was fatal.
"rhe door has iron bars running to
the top of the cell There are iron
crossbars AS soon as Holt saw his
keeper leave the room, he rushed to
the door, used the cross-bars as
ladder, climbed up to the top and
dropped on his head.
"The Watchman says that he was
out of the room only a few seconds
when this occurred"
In all the letters that he had writ
ten recently and in his interviews
Holt had said that he wanted to die
as soon as possible. When he was
caught at the Morgan home he beg
ged that he be killed at once Since
he had been in the Jail he had tried
to starve himself to death by reject
ing food and orders were given yes
terday that he should be fed forcibly
if he continued to refuse nourish-
meni.
After his arrest Holt had shown
great affection for his wife and chill
dren in Dallas, addressing them in
his letters in most tender terms. He
had shown utter Indifference to all
others. 1t is believed that he feared
that the revelation he was Muenter,
the alleged wife-murderer, would
turn his own family against him,
and that this was the strongest i'm
mediate motive for his suicide.
Shortly after midnight Inspector
Owen Egan of the Bomb Squad, with
detectives, went to the livery stable
and garage of John w. GritIiths at
342 West Thirty-eight street and
seized black trunk containing 134
sticks of dynamite, several bottles of
illuminate of mercury, and scores of
fuse caps. Egan said he knew the
trunk was Frank Holts. A dynamite
wagon was hurried to the building
and took the dynamite away.
Since the police learned yesterday
morning of the receipt by SC Hen
dricks.' proven to be Hollis for 100
pounds of dynamite and black
trunk at Syossett, l.. l., week ago
yesterday, and of Holts leaving the
cottage he had rented at Central
Park, l.. l., early Friday morning.
the day he set the bomb in the Can't
OIL with the small, black trunk which
he checked to the Pennsylvania sta
tion in New York City, they have
bent every effort to find the dyna-
mite.