Episode 460: H.H. Holmes Part 4

In Part 4 of H.H. Holmes, it gets even wilder. This man has now headed to Texas with his 500th wife and is ready to join his partner in crime, Benjamin Pitezel to steal Minnie Williams' inherited land. He has plans. He plans to now build a Texas murder castle like the one he created in Chicago. But first, Pitezel and Holmes need to scheme their way into a payday, using an insurance scam and faking Pitezel's death. When it looks like Pitezel might back out, things go sour and Holmes goes on a murder spree that brings him to several states and even Canada. Strap in, friends. It's complicated and horrific here.

Thank you to Dave White for research assistance.

Resources:

Philadelphia Inquirer. 1894. "Cause of death a mystery." Philadelphia Inquirer, September 6: 6.

—. 1896. "Holmes' chronology." Philadelphia Inquirer, April 12: 18.

—. 1896. "Holmes Confesses 27 murders." Philadelphia Inquirer, April 26: 1.

Philadelphia Times. 1894. "All looking for Pitezel." Philadelphia Times, November 21: 1.

—. 1894. "Perry's Peculiar Death." Philadelphia Times, September 5: 3.

Selzer, Adam. 2017. H.H. Holmes: The True History of the White City Devil. New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing.

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