Dr h holmes biography death

Henry Howard Holmes or H. Holmes , was an American con artist and serial killer active between and By the time of his execution in , Holmes had engaged in a lengthy criminal career that included insurance fraud , forgery , swindling , three or four bigamous marriages, horse theft , and murder.

Herman ster Mudgett (May 16, – May 7, ), better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H. H. Holmes, was an American con artist and serial killer.

Holmes was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel, his accomplice in several of his cons. However, Holmes confessed to 27 murders, including those of some people who were verifiably still alive. Much of the lore attached to Holmes concerns the so-called "Murder Castle", a three-story building he commissioned on W. Details about the building, along with many of his alleged crimes, are considered exaggerated or fabricated for sensationalistic tabloid pieces with some accounts estimating his body count could be as high as [ 4 ] or even Many of these inaccuracies have persisted due to the combination of ineffective police investigation and hyperbolic yellow journalism of the period, which are often cited as historical record.

Holmes gave various contradictory accounts of his life, initially claiming innocence, and later that he was possessed by Satan. His propensity for lying has made it difficult for researchers to ascertain the truth on the basis of his statements. Robert Leacock, a fellow medical school classmate, was one of his first murder victims, and that he killed him in for insurance money; [ 7 ] however, Leacock died on October 5, , in Watford, Ontario , Canada.

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Since the s, Holmes has often been described as a serial killer. In his book about Holmes, author Adam Selzer writes: "Just killing several people isn't necessarily enough for most definitions [of a serial killer]. 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.

The murders weren't simply for love of bloodshed but a necessary part of furthering his swindling option and protecting his lifestyle. As an adolescent, Holmes attended Phillips Exeter Academy [ 12 ] before graduating high school with honors from Gilmanton Academy when he was Holmes's parents were both devout Methodists.