Iron County news. [volume] (Hurley, Wis.) 1913-1950, 1922-02-11
True
Detective Stories
THE SECRET OF
HOLMEHURST

V7dE discovery OF tEe Dody VI D.
F. Perry In his home at 1916
CallowhilI street, Philadelphia,
by q nan who had come in TO see
about securing a patent, did not cause
any sensation at the time, for the
coroner's jury gave a speedy verdict
Of death from accidental causes"
There was clear evidence that some
sort Of an explosion had taken place.
A shattered bottle which had manifest
~ contained some sort of infiammabe
material, a broken pipe filed with
partly burned tobacco and a charred
match, lay beside the body
An autopsy showed that Perry had
died from congestion of the lungs
caused by the inhaling Of flames or
chloroform, the latter having pre-
sumably formed the contents Of the
broken bottle. So as there were no
claimants for he body and no estate,
Perry's remains were inferred in the
Potter's field There they would have
remained undisturbed if 1t had not
been for the evidence of convict In
the st. Louis prison.
Shortly after PelTys death, the
Philadelphia branch Of the Fidelity
Insurance company received a letter
from Jephtha D. Howe, an attorney in
st. Louis, stating that "B. f. Perry"
was really Benjamin F. Pitezel, who
had carried a $4,000 life insurance
with the Fidelity company. The only
person who could be found to identify
the body was man named II. IL.
Holmes, of Wilmette, ILL.,, who will.
ingly came 10 Philadelphia to superin-
tend the exhuming of the body.
Holmes and Howe met in the Office Of
the company, presumably as strangers,
and the former clearly identified the
body of the dead man as that of his
friend, Pitezel. Satisfied, the insurance
company paid the insurance to Howe,
PitezeFs attorney, and reimbursed
Holmes for his expenses.
The details of the case were re
ported in the ST. Louis newspapers,
and a few days later, Marion Hedg-
speth, a convict serving a sentence
for train robbery, informed the COVER
nor of the prison that he would like to
give him some information which he
considered most important.
IF you will examine the records Of
the prison" said Hedgspeth, you will
fiEd that there was man here las,
summer by the name of II. II. Howard,
He was in for fraud, think, but was
released on bail. While he was here.
Howard asked me if | knew any lawyer
whom l could recommend in connec-
ton with a swindling scheme which he
had in mind-a plan which ought TO
net at least $4,000 without any
trouble. He promised me $500 for my
information and l gave him the
lawyers name, but 1 never got my
five hundred"
THE name of the lawyer ! recon-
mended to Howard was Jephtha D.
Howe and Howard is undoubtedly
the man named Holmes who is mixed
up with that insurance case in
Philadelphia The details of the case
agree exactly with the scheme, as
Howard outlined it to me last sum-
mer."
as soon as this information reached
Philadelphia, the insurance company
detailed an experienced detective
named Geyer to arrest Holmes and
to investigate his anteeedents, for it
was clear that Pitezel had not met
his death through accident, but had
been deliberately murdered. After a
months search, Holmes was traced
to New England and finally arrested
This, however, proved to be practical
ly the beginning of the case for, the
further back Geyer went into Holmes
history, the more gruesome details
he discovered. In endeayoring to find
out what had become of Mrs Pitezel
and her five children, Geyer found in
the cellar of a house in Toronto-a
house rented by Holmes under the
name of Canning-the bodies of two
children later identified as Alice and
Eta Pltezel. From Toronto the trail
led to Indianapolis. by way of Detroit
and Cincinnati, and it was in Indian
apolis that Geyer discovered the body
of Howard Pitezel. a. ten, jammed
into the chimney of Tie furnace in a
house which had been rented some
time before by man who answered
to the description of Holmes.
Il was in the course of his search
through Indiana and Illinois mat Geyer
came upon the most starting dis
covery Of the entire case-the
mysterious building in Chicago known
rs Holmes Castle" or "Holmehurst.
The prisoner had personally superin-
tended the erection of this structure
and investigation proved that it con
tanned an air-proof, sOund-proof vault,
communicating with the cellar by
means Of a secret staircase. Buried
in the cellar floor and half-consumed
by quicklime were found the remains
of at least five persons who had been
lured TO Holmehurst and there MUIR
dered.
All Of these crimes had been commit
ted some time before the Pitezel af-