Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1919-08-01
janet WILKINSON
WAS MURDERED
Thomas Fitzgerald, Virginia Hotel
Night Watchman, Confessed
to Crime.
BODY PUT UNDER COAL PILE
confesses to Choking Child to Death
in His Room-confession Comes
After Five Days GriIIing-
Helps Police Find Corpse.

Chicago, July 2S.-Thomas Fitzger-
aid murdered six-year-old Janet Will
kinson.
He enticed her into his fiat with
candy. He made advances. She
screamed. He choked her to death.
Then he buried her body in the coal
pile in the basement of the building.
He confessed the crime to Acting
Lieut.. Fred Howe at the Chicago ave-
nue. station, where he had been held
since 1 a. m. Wednesday, II hours af-
ter Janet vanished. Then he helped
the police to find the corpse.
His confession came abruptly at the
end of the most remarkable grilling in
the history of crime It lasted through
out the entire night. 1t was a verita-
BILE fourth degree" in which psychol-
ogy played leading part.
A Battle of Mind Shocks.
A detective dressed as a priest had
tried to induce Fitzgerald to confess.
The man said he had nothing to tell.
Tiny hands, taken from dolls, were
laid before him on table in the dimly
lighted basement of the police station
as an appeal to his feelings. This
failed.
The police even took off his glasses
because he seemed to lose his compos-
ure without them. But he bowed his
head and refused to talk.
He was not physically abused, but
the manhunters, feeling the end was
near, pounded his muddled and Sleep
less brain with every mental shock
they could devise.
Kind words, threats, thousands of
questions and suggestions were fired
at him with machine gun regularity.
The ordeal had endured eight hours
when he called for Acting Lieutenant
Howe.
"Send Mr.. Howe down here" he said
simply. Then he confessed every
thing.
Il was sitting in the window at ten
| minutes after twelve Tuesday when I
saw Janet coming towards the build
ing" he told the lieutenant. "When
she came up the steps to the landing at
my doorway 1 said to her, Dollie,
| would you like some candy?
! "She hesitated. Then / picked her
| up in my arms and carried her into my
apartment.
al choked Her to Death.
"She started to scream. Before
knew it or realized what 1 was doing,
l grabbed her by the throat and choked
her to death.
| Having realized what / had done, /
then dressed, as at the time 1 was in
my bathrObe. l then took Janet's body
in my arms, going down the front steps
to the basement, where I buried the
body under a pile of coal"
After signing formal confession he
led the police officials, under direction
of Acting Chief Alcock, TO the base,
ment of the fiat building at 112 and ia
East Superior street where he lives
and there pointed out the spot where
Janet's body was concealed.
He showed no emotion as the police
chief lifted big Jumps of coal from the
corpse. Only once he betrayed weak
ness. This was when several men in
the throng gathered outside the build
ing shouted: "Hang him Hang him =
On the third floor above Mr. ant
Mrs. John S. Wilkinson, parents of the
dead girl, waited in awful suspense
They did not know of his confession
But the crowd below presaged impor
tant developments.
After the body had been removed
from the basement the police brokt
the new to them. Mrs. Wilkinson fel
to the floor in a faint. Wilkinson nut
tered a prayer that the slayer woulC
meet death for the murder.
Prosecutors Swing Into Action.
A few hours later the wheels of Cool
county's prosecuting machinery wer
in motion.
"Red Necktie Jimmy" O'Brien, mur
der case specialist of the states attor
ney's office, was called in.
He had Fitzgerald removed, under
heavy guard, to the criminal court
building, where the murder story wa
repeated in detail before official ste
nographers.
Coroner Peter NJ. Hoffman person
, ally impaneled a jury at Carolls uI
dertaking rooms and opened an il
quest over the body.
: Acting Chief Alcock aQd others de
mandeG an immediate special sessio
of the legislature to enact laws provit
ing for farm colony for detectives G
the Fitzgerald type.