More often, it has to be a series of similar crimes, committed over a period of time, usually more to satisfy a psychological urge on the killer's part than any more practical motive.' He added, 'The murders we can connect him to generally had a clear motive: someone knew too much, or was getting in his way, and couldn't be trusted.

In his book about Holmes, Adam Selzer writes, 'Just killing several people isn't necessarily enough for most definitions. Since the 1990s, Holmes has often been described as a serial killer. His propensity for lying has made it difficult for researchers to ascertain the truth on the basis of his statements. Holmes gave various contradictory accounts of his life, initially claiming innocence and later that he was possessed by Satan. Many of these factual inaccuracies have persisted due to the combination of ineffective police investigation and hyperbolic tabloid journalism, which are often cited as historical record. Much of the lore surrounding the 'Murder Castle' along with many of his alleged crimes are considered likely exaggerated or fabricated for sensationalistic tabloid pieces. It is believed he killed three of the Pitezel children, as well as three mistresses, the child of one of his mistresses and the sister of another. Until his execution in 1896, he chose a career of crime including insurance fraud, swindling, check forging, three to four bigamous illegal marriages, horse theft and murder.ĭespite his confession of 27 murders (including some people who were verifiably still alive) while awaiting execution, Holmes was convicted and sentenced to death for only one murder, that of accomplice and business partner Benjamin Pitezel.

Holmes, was an American con artist and serial killer, the subject of more than 50 lawsuits in Chicago alone. Herman Webster Mudgett (– May 7, 1896), better known as Dr.

The Nose by Thomas H. Holmes