HOLMES, THE MURDERER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10009, 21 December 1895, Page 2 (Supplement)

HOLMES, THE MURDERER.

STRANGE STORY OF HIS SUPPLY

OF CORPSES. The man Holmes, charged with wholesale murders and defrauding insurance companies, has been found guilty by tho Pbiladelphian jury of murder in the first degree in having killed Benjamin Pitezel with the object of obtaining the money for which his victim's life was insured.

Tho story of Holmes' career, of his crimes, and of the awful castle which he was said to have built for the commission of the murders has already been published in our columns. During his incarceration in gaol at Philadelphia, Holmes wrote a book, from which we give a few extracts. After describing his early life and his early frauds in the way of bogus insurances, Holmes tells how he first met a man named Pitezel, and began to use him in his insurance schemes. Then he describes how, after Pitezel had had a long drinking bout, ho (Holmes) came homo to find that Pitezel had killed himself with chloroform, leaving directions that caro should be taken to make the affair appear accidental, from the upsetting and breaking of a jar of chloroform and benzine. This was to be done to secure his own insurance money, according to Holmes, who goes on to describe what he did. PREPARING THE BODY. " Having placed the room in the condition necessary (breaking tho largo bottlo, placing pipe upon the floor, etc,). I moved his body,' says Holmes, " as carefully as possiblo to this second storey room. I found that chloroform had given the side of the taco and neck and part of the chest quite the appearance of having been burned, and this made my task the easier, although it seemed terrible enough in any event. At last I forced myself to burn the clothing upon one side of the body, smothering tho flames when they reached the flesh, and in this way produced partially successful results; then hastily gathering together several small articles that I wished to take away with me, I placed the room somewhat in order, and after going again to the room where he lay to seo him, as I then supposed for the last time, I at once left the house, disguising myself to some extent by wearing one of his hats, for I had been fully alive to the necessity of care after I had first had time to think of the matter. .In going out of the houte I was careful to leave the door both unlocked and open. " I went to the Broad-street Station and ascertained that a train would leave in half an hour (so I know now that I left the Gallowiiill street house at about 3.45 o'clock, as the train referred to was the regular 4.30 Western train); I found that another train left for the West at 10.25 p.m.; and although my wife was not able to do so, I took her as carefully as 1 could to this train and left at that hour.

" Upon reaching Indianapolis I was occupied until Wednesday noon, September 5, in arranging comfortable quarters for my wife, at which timo I started for St. Louis, reaching that city about 7 p.m., having bought upon the train a St. Louis (Hobo-Democrat, giving in a Philadelphia desoatch an account of the finding of Pitezel's (Perry's) body in the Callowhillstreet house upon the previous day."

THE SEXT STEP was to deceive Mrs. I'itezel into the belief that her husband was no: dead—an account of the finding of the body having appeared in thepapers. With elaborate ingenuity hothen tells of his journeying with the children of the dead man. After a trip to Chicago with them, he says:— "Not deeming it prudent, owing to the late news I had heard at Indiananolis, to go to my attorney'sollicc, I had both him and my agent meet mo elsewhere, and, arranging my work as quickly as possible, I loft Chicago upon Friday, October 12, going directly to Detroit, taking the girls with me. During the latter part of this trip my wife was upon the same train, she hating left Indiana that morning in response to a request from me to do so. Anticipating this, 1 had made arrangements with Hatch before leafing Indianapolis to be at the Detroit station to take charge of the children. Upon our reaching Detroit I at once took my wife to a hotel, about a mile from the station, and an I was leaving the train I saw Hatch helping the girls from the car in which they had travelled. About a-half hour later Hatch met me at the Western Union telegraph office in response to a note I had given to Alice for him. It was very late at night, and I returned with him to the hot*!, where ho had taken the girls, to see that they were all right, and while going there he told mo that ho had been delayed 24 hours at some junction between Indianapolis and Detroit, so that ho had only reached Detroit that afternoon, and Miss Williams, not wishing bv any accident to meet my wife, had gone to Buffalo to visit some theatrical friend*, taking Howard with her. I did not think strange of this, for I knew Howard had known and liked Miss Williams the year before, when she was in my office at Chicago. Tho next day I engaged permanent board for both myself and wife, and also for tho children, in two separate portions of the city, as I expected to remain there for somo time, and, enlisting Hatch's services, we proceeded to look for a house that, if possible, could be bought in exchange for Chicago property, and by so doing save money." Then came tho flight to Toronto to avoid arrest for Mrs. Pitezel and himself, and finally he declares that on this journey he bade farewell to the children and to Minnie William?, the ill-fated typewriter. Tho very elaboration of the story is interesting, in view of the facts a3 given at the trial, which has resulted in Holmes' condemnation. HOLMES IN THE GAOL. Holmes, who has been practically proved to have killed people wholesale at a house specially fitted up to make murder easy, is now in prison awaiting sentence, Mr. McGarge, one of Philadelphia's distinguished citizens, recently called to see him. "This prison life i 3 dull and wearing," he said, with a sigh, to tho sympathetic Mr. McGargo. "If I only had company ;if I only had company." His eyo3 did not fill with tears, but his voice becamo very ead. "If I only had a bird," ho said, "or a violin." Porhaps ho thought of Poaca, tho great London murderer and burglar, is he spoke of a fiddle. He told Mr. McGargo that he played the violin very well, and then he said ho wished ho had oven a mouse or a spider to keop him company and be really fond of him. THE PRISON' CHICKEN. " I fooled you boys once," ho said, turning to his guards; " I fooled you once. I had a live chicken, and I had it to keep me company for a whole tnonth." The guards looked incredulous, and Holmes wont on : "Yes, I fooled you. You see," turning towards Mr. Mciiarge, "I was allowed to have food brought into the prison if I could pay for it, and I had some eggs that were not cooked. I saved one, and I hatched it wrapped up in u coat beside the radiator, and it was born all right. You cannot imagine tho joy and tho satisfaction of bringing a life safely into the world to keop me company in that coll. The little chicken loved me, and I took care of it. I hid it away when tho guards were looking, and I had it a whole month. Then" his voice grew sad, and Mr. McGarge almost wept—"then it died, as all the things we lovo dio in this world." Mr. McOarge wont away. Ho felt so badly about the dead chicken that he had to comfort himself with something jocose, so he said that Holmes doubtless had the chicken's life insured. A QUESTION FOR THE DOCTOR, Would it not be dcsiiable to consult the doctor as to which soap commends itself to our uses, its so > many skins ate ruined past redemption by interior soaps ? Pkars' Soap is recommended by the highest skin authorities in the world. Dr. Redwood, Ph.D., P.C.S., F.1.C., whose opmiou is unimpeachable, says, " I have uevereome across auotber toilet soap which so closely comes up to my i ideal of perfection."