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H.H. Holmes America’s First Serial Killer

Name: Herman Webster Mudgett

AKA: Dr. H.H. Holmes 

Born: May 16, 1861; Gilmanton, New Hampshire 

Died: May 7, 1896; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Nationality: American 

Victims: 27+

 

Early Life:

 

Herman Webster Mudgett aka Dr. H.H. Holmes was born on May 16, 1861, in Gilmanton New Hampshire to Levi Horton Mudgett and Theodate Page Price. Holmes was one of 5 children to parents who came from the first English immigrants from the area. Holmes was known to lie which causes mystery about his childhood but was suspected that Holmes was bullied by his classmates as a child. It was also said that once his classmates uncovered his fear of doctors, he was forced to stand in front of a human skeleton in the doctor’s office. Holmes reported that being forced to stare at the skeleton had caused him to fear at first, eventually bringing that fear about death to fascination and obsession with it. 

 

Holmes reportedly was described to torture animals and had experienced abuse from his father. Despite these reports, there was no evidence that could fully support it. Holmes had graduated from High School at age 16 and started to look into teaching jobs. He entered the University of Michigan’s Department of Medicine and Surgery in 1882 and graduated from the University in 1884. 

 

Marriages:

 

Holmes married three times, the first time being on July 4, 1878, to a Clara Lovering and together welcomed a child Robert Lovering Mudgett to the world on February 3, 1880. It was reported by roommates that Holmes was violent with Clara and she moved back to New Hampshire before he graduated.

 

Holmes was married a second time to Myrta Belknap in Englewood Chicago Illinois. They were married in 1887 and had a daughter Lucy Theodate Holmes who was born on July 4, 1889. 

 

He then married Georgiana Yoke in January of 1894 in Denver Colorado. Despite re-marrying, he had still been married to both Myrta and Clara when he married Georgiana. 

 

Name Change:

 

After traveling to Philadelphia Pennsylvania he took a job at Norristown State Hospital, but quite a few days into the job. Instead, he took a position at a drugstore where he worked until he moved to Chicago. While he worked at the drugstore a young boy had taken medicine that was purchased at the store and died. Holmes had denied involvement in the young child’s death but left the city anyway. He changed his name before moving to Chicago to the infamous Henry Howard Holmes with the intention to avoid being exposed by victims of previous scams.

Murder Castle:

 

Holmes moved to Chicago in August of 1886 and purchased an empty lot across from a drugstore on the corner of South Wallace Avenue and West 63rd Street in Englewood Chicago Illinois. Holmes had taken the lot and developed a three-story building better known as “Murder Castle”, but what he was building was a Hotel. The ground level was a block of stores that Holmes planned to rent out to different businesses. The second floor of the building contained many rooms where he would torture and eventually kill his victims. The third floor of the building would contain apartments for Chicago’s growing population to live in. Some of the residents that would eventually live in Holmes’s apartments would also become his victims. 

 

The building consisted of trapdoors and chutes that gave him the ability to transfer the corpses to the basement as a way to dispose of them either in acid or crematoriums. The hotel had soundproof rooms and hallways that appeared to be mazes and would lead to nowhere. The blueprints of the ‘Murder Castle’ included 51 doorways that when opened would lead to brick walls, 100 windowless rooms, and stairways that led nowhere.

 

In order to keep Holmes’s plan a secret he would often fire and hire different construction workers or architects throughout the development of his “Murder Castle.” He would often fire workers if he felt that they were asking ‘too many questions’ or ‘saw too much’ of what was being built. 

 

The ‘First’ Murders:

 

Julia Smythe was one of Holmes’ early victims and also his mistress when she and her husband moved into Holmes’ building. After Smythe’s husband found out about the affair he quit his job and left Smythe and their daughter Pearl. Smythe gained custody of their daughter and continued her relationship with Holmes and living at the hotel. On Christmas Eve of 1891 Smythe and Pearl mysteriously vanished, which Holmes stated she died in an abortion, but what actually happened was never truly know. 

 

Two more of Holmes’ possible victims were Emeline Cigrande who worked in the building in May 1892 and suddenly vanished and Edna Van Tassel. Minnie Williams, an actress in 1893 had moved to Chicago and was offered a job by Holmes at the hotel as his personal stenographer. Holmes was able to convince Williams to transfer the deed to the property in Fort Worth Texas to an alias of Holmes; Alexander Bond. The deed was transferred in April 1893 and Holmes notarized the deed. The next month Holmes and Williams presented themselves as being in a relationship and rented an apartment together in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. Minnie’s sister Annie had come to visit in July. Neither Minnie or Annie had been seen alive after July 5, 1893. 

 

It was reported that because Holmes was a former medical student he had numerous connections that made it easy for him to sell the skeletons of his victims to schools and local labs. He was accused of taking the flesh off of his victims, dissecting their bodies, and making the skeletons; sometimes having an accomplice. The remains of the corpse would be placed in acid or lime to destroy the remaining evidence.

Scams:

 

It is believed that a lot of the reason behind Holmes’ murders was to steal people’s property. He was reported to seduce and murder numerous women, by coming engaged to them. Once he had become in control of their life savings he would then kill the women he was engaged with. Holmes made it a requirement that his employees carry life insurance policies where he would be the beneficiary. The reason behind this action was so that he could collect the money after he killed his employees.

Capture and Arrest:

 

Holmes left Chicago in July of 1894 because insurance companies had been pressuring to charge Holmes with arson after allegedly setting fire to his own house with the insurance money. He moved to Fort Worth, Texas, the property he had scammed out of the Williams’ sisters. While living in Texas he planned on developing another Murder Castle like the one he created in Chicago, again firing and rehiring workers to avoid suspicion. 

 

In July 1894, Holmes was arrested and incarcerated for a short time after being charged with selling mortgaged goods; this was his first time being arrested. He was bailed out rather quickly, but while he was incarcerated he came up with the plan to fake his own death while talking with an inmate Marion Hedgepeth. The insurance company had become suspicious of Holmes’ plan to fake his own death and they refused to pay. 

 

The insurance company failed to pay did not stop Holmes, instead, he had convinced his business partner Benjamin Pitezel to fake his own death. Pitezel agreed and his wife would be collecting the $10,000 dollar life insurance policy, which would be split with Holmes and the lawyer. The scam was going to take place in Philadelphia where Pitezel would change his name to B.F Perry and would be killed in a lab explosion, sending Pitezel into hiding. 

 

However, the plan changed when Pitezel was killed by Holmes and made Pitezel’s death look like a suicide. Despite the change, Pitezel’s wife was not told and was still able to collect the money. Holmes proceeded to charm Pitezel’s wife to give him custody of three of her children and stated that Pitezel was in South America hiding. Holmes killed the three children that were in his custody.

 

Holmes’ was finally arrested in Boston on November 17, 1894, where he was being tracked by the Pinkertons and Frank Geyer, a police detective in Philadelphia that was assigned to investigate Holmes and find the three missing children, who were found dead upon the investigation. In October 1895, Holmes was charged with the murder of Benjamin Pitezel and was placed on trial. He was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to death. It was after his sentence where he confessed to 27 murders in Chicago, Indianapolis, and Toronto. 

 

Death:

 

On May 7, 1896, Holmes was sentenced to death by hanging in Moyamensing Prison (aka Philadelphia County Prison). He displayed little fear, anxiety, or depression until the moment of his death and was able to remain calm. Holmes had requested he be buried 10 feet in the ground and his coffin be covered with cement. He did not want grave robbers to steal his body or dissect his body and as odd as the request was it was granted. 

 

To this day Holmes is known as the country’s first serial killer.

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