MURDER HOTEL

SCRIPT

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Part Four

NARRATOR:
WHEN THE INSURANCE WAS PAID OUT, SERIAL KILLER HH HOLMES REALISED HIS VICTIM'S WIFE AND CHILDREN COULD ALSO CLAIM THE MONEY. HOLMES TOLD CARRIE PITEZEL HER MURDERED HUSBAND WAS ACTUALLY IN HIDING - AND VOLUNTEERED TO TAKE HER CHILDREN TO HIM.

Holmes voice:
It was also upon the 8th, early in the forenoon, that I went to the repair shop for the long knives I had previously left there to be sharpened.

NARRATOR:
EIGHT YEAR OLD HOWARD WAS KILLED FIRST. HIS BODY WAS CUT UP, BURNT AND STUFFED UP THE CHIMNEY OF A HOUSE IN INDIANA.

NARRATOR:
HOLMES TOOK THE GIRLS, ALICE AND NELLIE, NORTH TO CANADA.

Beth and Brenda Pitezel:
They were writing letters telling where they were, dated, but Holmes never mailed them.

Alice Pitezel voice:
Dear Grandma and Grandpa, Hope you are all well. We have not had any nice weather at all. Nell and I have both got colds Tell Mama, Howard is not with us now.

NARRATOR:
HOLMES NOW ADAPTED HIS LUGGAGE TRUNK INTO A PORTABLE GAS CHAMBER. ON OCTOBER 25, 1894. HE PUT THE TWO GIRLS INSIDE.

Joe Kozenczak:
The evidence would indicate that there is some type of sexual activity with both these victims.

Beth Pitezel:
He may have raped possibly even molested the children. When they were put in the trunk they were naked.

NARRATOR:
HOLMES RENTED THIS HOUSE IN BURLINGTON, VERMONT, FOR HIS FINAL FANTASY OF FAMILY MURDER.

Beth Pitezel:
Everybody, the entire family. He plotted to kill Carrie Pitezel, Dessie the eldest daughter, and our grandfather, the baby Horton, so we wouldn't even be here.

NARRATOR:
BUT THE INSURANCE COMPANY BECAME SUSPICIOUS PITEZEL'S DEATH WAS NO ACCIDENT. THEY HIRED A DETECTIVE FRANK GEYER, TO TRACK DOWN WHO HAD TAKEN OUT THE POLICY. POLICE ARRESTED HOLMES IN BOSTON, BUT HAD NO IDEA HE WAS A MURDERER.

Liz Spikol:
They didn't have enough information to move forward with anything but the insurance fraud scam.

NARRATOR:
AND BECAUSE BEN PITEZEL WAS BURNT BEYOND RECOGNITION, HOLMES CLAIMED HIS WAS A CORPSE SNATCHED FROM THE MORGUE, AND PITEZEL WAS LIVING THE HIGH LIFE ON THE RUN. NOW HOLMES BECAME A CELEBRITY FOR PULLING OFF GRAVEYARD INSURANCE SCAMS.

Barbershop quartet:
They're gunna say, hey what a guy.

Liz Spikol:
He decided to write a book about himself while he was in prison.

David Canter:
The memoir, like most memoir of serial killers is a justification, it is an attempt to present the view of himself that he wants others to see. But it does indicate that he was a very intelligent man, a very verbally capable individual, and you can see how he could talk and charm others into believing in his plausibility.

Liz Spikol:
He was the perfect villain, but he was also sort of this mysterious and handsome villain and well spoken and um, he continued to be compelling throughout.

Barbershop quartet:
I'll be a devil til I'm an angel
But until then, but until then glory hallelujah.

NARRATOR:
HOLMES HAD GOT AWAY WITH IT. HE WAS A TOP SELLING AUTHOR WHOSE BOOK OF LIES HOODWINKED THE WORLD ON HOW HE'D USED MURDERS TO FOOL INSURANCE MEN. BUT THE INSURANCE DETECTIVE HAD COTTONED ON TO HOLME'S MISTAKE -KEEPING THE MURDERED GIRL'S LETTERS.

Brenda Pitezel:
Frank Geyer would never have been able to backtrack and figure all this out, where these kids were an where he was at these different cities without those letters, he had those in his possession, he had never mailed them to their mother. Holmes had them in his possession and that was basically putting the rope around the neck himself.

NARRATOR:
ALICE'S LETTERS LED GEYER TO THE HOUSE IN TORONTO. HEADLINES RECAST MUDGETT FROM A SWINDLER, INTO A SEX CRIMINAL. AND THEN AS A NEW PHENOMENON, THE MULTI-MURDERER. THE DAY AFTER ALICE AND NELLIE WERE FOUND, DETECTIVE'S BROKE INTO THE CHICAGO HOTEL. THEY FOUND THE KILLING VAULT, BLOODIED WOMEN'S CLOTHING AND ROTTED HUMAN REMAINS. WHEN POLICE FOUND A LENGTH OF ROPE, THEY REALISED HOLMES HAD DESIGNED THE HOUSE ITSELF TO DO THE KILLINGS.

Professor Canter:
He shaped an instrument for murder that was the building after they had been chloroformed, hanging them, using the building, very carefully constructed so that that hanging body would be easily accessible.

NARRATOR:
CHARLES CHAPPELL HANDED POLICE THE LAST BAG OF BONES DELIVERED BY HOLMES. ONE VICTIM, THOUGHT TO BE THE WATCHMAKER'S WIFE JULIA CONNER, WAS RECOVERED AS MOUNTED SKELETON FROM HAHNEMANN MEDICAL SCHOOL. FRANK GEYER WAS STILL SEARCHING FOR YOUNG HOWARD PITEZEL. A MONTH AFTER HE FOUND THE GIRLS, GEYER FOUND THE BOY'S BURNT REMAINS THE INDIANA HOUSE. NO LONGER FOOLED BY HOLMES'S STORIES OF SWAPPING CORPSES, PHILADELPHIA PUT HIM ON TRIAL FOR THE BEN PITEZEL MURDER.

Liz Spikol:
In Philadelphia the trial of HH Holmes was basically the biggest thing that ever city. Holmes was declared guilty and sentenced to death and that was another opportunity for the press to really get involved in the case.

NARRATOR:
HE MADE HIS LAST KILLING WHEN NEWSMEN PAID FOR HIS CONFESSION TO 27 MURDERS. BUT CLUES IN CHICAGO SUGGESTED AS MANY AS 200 HAD DIED.

Joe Kozenczak:
There were many many more victims than he's ever admitted to killing. dozens of people beyond the 27 because of a lot of the police reports that were filed and were attributed to being people that were associated with the Castle.

NARRATOR:
FINALLY, THE WAX CYLINDER COMPANY RUSHED OUT HOLMES OWN IDEAS ON WHY HE'D BEEN BORN TO KILL.


Holmes voice:
I cannot help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to a song.

Barber quartet:
Herman Webster Mudgett

Liz Spikol:
Well I think he is certainly America's most gruesome serial killer.

Joe Kozenczak:
He was a cunning planning killer.

Professor Canter:
Holmes was the first person in modern times who was able to take advantage of the complexities and anonymity of modern society in order to kill and kill again without being detected and in doing that he lead the way for serial killers who came after him, and began to increase in numbers 50, 60 years later.

Beth Pitezel:
This is actually the place where Holmes murdered our great grandfather, Benjamin Pitezel, we wanted to come and see where the site actually happened so that we could bring some sort of closure some sort of farewell, of goodbye. This is where you could grieve, this is where you can say your goodbye.

Brenda Pitezel:
We haven't forgot you, Ben.

Beth Pitezel:
Benjamin and Carrie. Together to the end.

Barber shop quartet :
Herman Webster Mudgett is no more.

NARRATOR:
HOLMES WALKED TO THE SCAFFOLD ON MAY 7, 1896, STILL IN THE GRIP OF HIS DISSECTION ROOM FANTASY.

NARRATOR:
HIS LAST REQUEST WAS TO BE BURIED UNDER CONCRETE, SO HIS BODY WOULD NEVER BE DISSECTED.

Camera
Hayden Denman
Llywelyn Owen
Atlantic Television
Sound
Mark Jeffs

Music
Voice Male
Moonshine Music

Research
Mark Tanner
Dylan Sonter
Sondra London
Peter Sawyer

Associate Producer
John Borowski

Production Manager
Alison Cooke

Narration
James Garrett

Dubbing Mixer
Gwen A. Tudor

On-line Editor
Emyer Jenkins

Film Editor
Chris Lawrence

Executive Producer
James Garrett
Bryn Roberts

Produced, written & directed by
David Monaghan

DAVID MONAGHAN PRODUCTIONS
In association with ITV West & Barcud Derwen for five (c) 2005

Murder Hotel-Granada International