Key Figures of the H.H. Holmes Trial
Herman Mudget (alias Dr. H. H. Holmes)
( 1861- 1896)
Hotel owner during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Mudget lived and worked under the name Dr. H. H. Holmes. An expert swindler who could never resist the opportunity to turn a profit, Mudget engaged in a number of illicit acts during his life. He was also responsible for the murder of an innumerable amount of victims (mainly involving women and children), and in 1894 he was finally arrested. Though initially only suspected of fraud, evidence soon emerged proving that he had murdered his associate, Benjamin Pitezel, in the course of his most recent scams. In 1895 he was tried and found guilty for this crime, and a year later he was put to death by hanging in Philadelphia’s Moyamensing Prison.
( 1861- 1896)
Hotel owner during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, Mudget lived and worked under the name Dr. H. H. Holmes. An expert swindler who could never resist the opportunity to turn a profit, Mudget engaged in a number of illicit acts during his life. He was also responsible for the murder of an innumerable amount of victims (mainly involving women and children), and in 1894 he was finally arrested. Though initially only suspected of fraud, evidence soon emerged proving that he had murdered his associate, Benjamin Pitezel, in the course of his most recent scams. In 1895 he was tried and found guilty for this crime, and a year later he was put to death by hanging in Philadelphia’s Moyamensing Prison.
Benjamin Pitezel
(?-1894)
Benjamin Pitezal was an associate and close partner of Herman
Mudget (whom he knew as Dr. Holmes), with whom he participated in a number of
scams, including a plot in 1894 to gain $10,000 from Fidelity Mutual Life Association by feigning his own death. However, rather than using a substitute corpse, as they had planned, Mudget decided to actually kill Pitezel, a crime for which the murderer was ultimately put to death in 1896.
(?-1894)
Benjamin Pitezal was an associate and close partner of Herman
Mudget (whom he knew as Dr. Holmes), with whom he participated in a number of
scams, including a plot in 1894 to gain $10,000 from Fidelity Mutual Life Association by feigning his own death. However, rather than using a substitute corpse, as they had planned, Mudget decided to actually kill Pitezel, a crime for which the murderer was ultimately put to death in 1896.
Alice Pitezel
(1879- 1894)
Alice was the eldest daughter of Benjamin and Carrie Pitezel. In 1894, she was taken by Herman Mudget after his murder of her father, along with her siblings Nellie and Howard. Mudget killed her and her sister a few months later, in a house he rented in Toronto. Their remains were discovered by Detective Frank
Geyer.
(1879- 1894)
Alice was the eldest daughter of Benjamin and Carrie Pitezel. In 1894, she was taken by Herman Mudget after his murder of her father, along with her siblings Nellie and Howard. Mudget killed her and her sister a few months later, in a house he rented in Toronto. Their remains were discovered by Detective Frank
Geyer.
Nellie Pitezel
(1883-1894)
Daughter of Benjamin and Carrie Pitezel, Nellie and her siblings Alice and Howard were taken by Herman Mudget after his murder of their father in 1894. She and her sister were killed by Mudget in Toronto shortly after their abduction. Their remains were discovered by Detective Frank Geyer the following year.
(1883-1894)
Daughter of Benjamin and Carrie Pitezel, Nellie and her siblings Alice and Howard were taken by Herman Mudget after his murder of their father in 1894. She and her sister were killed by Mudget in Toronto shortly after their abduction. Their remains were discovered by Detective Frank Geyer the following year.
Howard Pitezel
(1886-1894)
The son of Benjamin and Carrie Pitezel, Howard and his siblings Alice and Nellie were abducted and killed by Herman Mudget in 1894, only months after Mudget’s murder of their father. His remains were found the following year in house on the outskirts of Indianapolis by Detective Frank Geyer.
(1886-1894)
The son of Benjamin and Carrie Pitezel, Howard and his siblings Alice and Nellie were abducted and killed by Herman Mudget in 1894, only months after Mudget’s murder of their father. His remains were found the following year in house on the outskirts of Indianapolis by Detective Frank Geyer.
Detective Frank Geyer
(?-1918)
Frank Geyer was a detective in the late 19th century who in 1895 was commissioned to locate Alice, Nellie, and Howard Pitezel, who had disappeared the previous year after Herman Mudget’s murder of their father. Geyer finally
found their remains in Toronto and Indianapolis, and later published his account of the search in his book The Holmes-Pitezel Case: A History of the Greatest Crime of the Century.
(?-1918)
Frank Geyer was a detective in the late 19th century who in 1895 was commissioned to locate Alice, Nellie, and Howard Pitezel, who had disappeared the previous year after Herman Mudget’s murder of their father. Geyer finally
found their remains in Toronto and Indianapolis, and later published his account of the search in his book The Holmes-Pitezel Case: A History of the Greatest Crime of the Century.
Marion Hedgepeth
(1856-1909)
An outlaw originally from Missouri, Hedgepeth was the cell-mates with
Herman Mudget in 1894, during which time he invested in Mudget’s scheme to
swindle Fidelity Mutual Life Association out of 10,000 in a complicated life
insurance scam. However, when Mudget failed to give Hedgepeth his cut of the
deal, the latter revealed the con to authorities.
(1856-1909)
An outlaw originally from Missouri, Hedgepeth was the cell-mates with
Herman Mudget in 1894, during which time he invested in Mudget’s scheme to
swindle Fidelity Mutual Life Association out of 10,000 in a complicated life
insurance scam. However, when Mudget failed to give Hedgepeth his cut of the
deal, the latter revealed the con to authorities.
Philadelphia District Attorney George S. Graham
(1850 – July 4, 1931)
George Graham was the Philadelphia District Attorney during the time of the H. H. Holmes trial. In 1895
he employed the service of Detective Frank Geyer to find Pitezel children.
(1850 – July 4, 1931)
George Graham was the Philadelphia District Attorney during the time of the H. H. Holmes trial. In 1895
he employed the service of Detective Frank Geyer to find Pitezel children.