Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-18
CHICAGO GIRLS
SLAYER HANGED
FOR HIS CRIME
Man Who StrangIed Six-year-
Old Child Last July Pays
Penalty on the
GalIoWs.
By the Associated Press.


Chicago, Oct. l7.SThomas Fitz-
gerald, who, on July %, murdered
Janet Wilkinson, aged 6, was hanged
today.
He SAID he killed her because she
screamed when he took her into
his room to give her candy.
The lime to which Thomas Fitx-
gerald confessed and for which he
was sentenced to be hanged was one
OF the ,ucs. revolving in the criminal
annals of this city and reused the
public ire to such an extent that
the police feared attempts to lynch
the CT minal after his confession
had been given out.
Had Mistreated Girl Before
Fitzgerald, employed as night
Waterman at highly reputable res
idential hotel, lived If, an apartment
house nearby. He was arrested in
connection with the disappearance
Of 5year-old Janet Wilkinson,
whose parents lived in the same
building. Suspicion was directed
against hin chiefly because the little
girl had told her parents story Of
rnistreatment by him after having
been called into his room, last De
eembe..
After FIVE days Of gruelling at the
hands of the police the prisoner
confessed he had strangled the girl
July q, the day she failed to return
home, and had hidden the body un-
der a pile of coal in the building.
He accompanied the police to the
scene and the body was recovered
An angry, menacing crowd about
the building caused the police to
hurry the prisoner under 4 strong
guard back to his cell. s-.
His story was that he was sitting
at the window Of his room the eve
ming Of the murder, his wife being
in Michigan, when he saw little
Janet passing in the street. He
called to her, asking il she wanted
some candy, and drew her in
through the window. The child was
frightened and started to scream,
he said. adding:
Says He Was 4 Degenerate.
Before | knew what I was doing
I had my hands about her neck and
had strangled her. | must be what
they say l am, degenerate"
The confession was obtained after
the police had exhausted every ef-
fort to solve the mystery of the
chiid's disappearance. They dug in
to the coal piles of the hotel, sifted
the ashes, searched the Fitzgerald
home, and dragged Lake Michigan
for = mile opposite the neighbor-
hood Is we'll as using every effort
TO obtain 4 confession from the
prisoner.
Fitzgerald was SO years old and
was termed by DR.. ]. Whitney Hall
of the county lunacy commission a
"psycho-sexual case" but not neces-
sariiy insane. The newspapers and
other erminologists referred to him
as 4 moron" and there was some
agitation at the time of his confess
sion for state legislation dealing
with the moron problem" which
was said to be greater menace
than generally realized.
Prisoner Condemned Self.
When he finally broke down I'm
der police examination Fitzgerald
poured out a torrent of self-con-
demnation and never attempted to
excuse his crime, saying merely that
ne felt better after he had con-
fessed-.
At the trial the attorney appoint
ed to defend Fitzgerald entered a
plea Of not guilty and pleaded for a
sentence of life Imprisonment on the
ground that the defendant was a
moral degenerate. But after some
testimony had been offered, includ-
ing that Of the mother of the little
girl, the plea was changed to one OF
guilty, and Judge Robert E. Grove,
who had previously announced that
such a plea would not prevent in
Fiction Of the extreme penalty if the
evidence warranted, sentenced the
prisoner to be hanged. Before SEN
fence was passed Fitzgerald was
asked if he had anything to say and
replied that he was sorry for what
he had done and asked forgiveness
OF little Janet's parents and ex.
dressed the hope that God would