Offender Record · OFF-2026-127
Herman Mudgett (photo from the Radford University biography)
Herman Webster Mudgett
Also known as H.H. Holmes, Henry Howard Holmes, Dr. H.H. Holmes, Alexander Bond, Harry Gordon, J.A. Judson, Robert E. Phelps
Sex
Male
Race
White
Born
1861
Custody
Deceased
States
MA, MI, PA, NH, IL, VT, MN
Distinguishing featuresDescribed as charming and outgoing in appearance.
Custody
Executed by hanging on May 7, 1896, at Moyamensing Prison, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This record documents arrests, charges and convictions reported by courts, law enforcement agencies and news organizations. Every statement is tied to a cited source with an archived copy. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt; a person charged is presumed innocent unless convicted. Solve the Case does not allege that this person committed any offense beyond what the cited records state, and this record is not a suggestion that the person is connected to any unsolved case. How records are built, corrected and removed.
Summary of the record
Herman Webster Mudgett, known as H.H. Holmes, was convicted of first-degree murder in Philadelphia in November 1895 for the death of Benjamin Pitezel. Holmes confessed to 27 murders, though research suggests he killed between 100 and 200 victims across multiple states from 1886 to 1894. He built a hotel in Chicago known as the 'Murder Castle' equipped with secret passages, trapdoors, soundproof rooms, and a kiln for cremating bodies. Holmes was executed by hanging at Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia on May 7, 1896.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date Sep 01, 1894, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Murder in the first degree of Benjamin F. Pitezel
Pennsylvania, Court of Oyer and Terminer (Philadelphia County) · Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery and Quarter Sessions of the Peace · Arrested Nov 17, 1894 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: Death by hanging
Benjamin F. Pitezel was Mudgett's business partner in an insurance fraud scheme. Mudgett killed Pitezel by setting him on fire at their office location on Callowhill Street in Philadelphia to collect $10,000 in life insurance. The body was initially found in American Mechanics' Cemetery and later exhumed by coroner's physicians.
SourcesThe trial of Herman W. Mudgett, alias H.H. Holmes, for the murder of Benjamin F. Pitezel; Benjamin Freelon Pitezel (1856-1894); H.H. Holmes, of Chicago 'House of Horrors' infamy, was executed at Moyamensing Prison
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
1
Victims convicted
27
Victims confessed
100
Victims suspected
Active years
1886–1894
Stated motive
Financial gain, Thrill
Range from home
interstate
Confessed
Yes
Education
graduate
Marital history
Married
Children
2
Died
1896-05-07 · executed
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
IL
Englewood, Illinois
approx. 1886 – 1887 · Worked at drug store owned by Mrs. E.S. Holton; later took over the pharmacy after Mrs. Holton and her daughter disappeared
Chicago, Illinois
approx. 1888 – 1894 · Owned and operated the 'Murder Castle' hotel; also conducted multiple business schemes
MA
Boston, Massachusetts
Nov 17, 1894 · Arrested on insurance fraud charges following investigation triggered by associate
MI
Ann Arbor, Michigan
1882 – 1884 · University of Michigan, Department of Medicine and Surgery; briefly expelled for stealing corpses but readmitted
MN
Minneapolis, Minnesota
approx. 1884 – 1885 · Worked as pharmacist at drug store; began using name Harry Howard Holmes
NH
Gilmanton, New Hampshire
approx. 1861 – 1870
Loudon, New Hampshire
approx. 1880 – 1881 · Living with wife Clara and father-in-law; occupation listed as 'Farm at Home'
PA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
approx. 1885 – 1886 · Worked at drug store
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nov 17, 1894 – May 07, 1896 · Moyamensing Prison; held pending trial for Pitezel murder, convicted November 2, 1895, executed May 7, 1896
VT
Burlington, Vermont
approx. 1879 – 1880 · University of Vermont
Timeline
May 16, 1861
Herman Webster Mudgett born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
Jul 04, 1878
Mudgett married Clara A. Lovering in Alton, New Hampshire.
1879
Mudgett enrolled at University of Vermont for one year.
Feb 03, 1880
Mudgett and wife Clara had their first child, Robert Lovering Mudgett, in Loudon, New Hampshire.
1882
Mudgett enrolled in University of Michigan's Department of Medicine and Surgery.
1883
Mudgett briefly expelled from medical school for stealing corpses but soon readmitted.
Jun 1884
Mudgett graduated from University of Michigan medical school and moved to Minneapolis to work as a pharmacist.
1886
First victim Dr. Robert Leacock, a former friend from medical school, was killed in Chicago by a dose of laudanum for insurance money.
1886
Mudgett married Myrta B. Belknap in Minneapolis, Minnesota under the name Harry Howard Holmes.
May 1886
Mudgett moved to Englewood, Illinois, and began working at drug store owned by Mrs. E.S. Holton, later taking over the pharmacy.
1888
Mudgett bought land in Chicago for the 'Murder Castle' hotel and began construction.
Jun 1890
Construction of the 'Murder Castle' was completed.
Jan 17, 1893
Mudgett married Georgiana Yoke in Denver, Colorado.
Jul 11, 1893
Mudgett poisoned Anna (Nannie) and Minnie Williams to death in Chicago, Illinois.
Sep 01, 1894
Benjamin F. Pitezel buried alive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Mudgett so Holmes could collect on Pitezel's $10,000 insurance policy.
Nov 17, 1894
Mudgett arrested in Boston, Massachusetts after insurance fraud investigation was triggered by an associate.
Jun 03, 1895
Mudgett tried for conspiracy to cheat and defraud insurance company; pleaded guilty on the second day of trial.
Sep 12, 1895
Mudgett indicted in Philadelphia for the murder of Benjamin Pitezel.
Sep 23, 1895
Mudgett pleaded not guilty to murder charge; trial scheduled for October 28, 1895.
Oct 28, 1895
Trial of Herman W. Mudgett, alias H.H. Holmes, for the murder of Benjamin F. Pitezel began in Philadelphia Court of Oyer and Terminer.
Nov 02, 1895
Jury found Mudgett guilty of first-degree murder of Benjamin Pitezel in Philadelphia.
Nov 30, 1895
Motion for new trial overruled and Mudgett sentenced to death by hanging.
May 07, 1896
Herman Webster Mudgett executed by hanging at Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
News report · Britannica ·
H.H. Holmes“Holmes was tried in Philadelphia for the murder of his associate, Ben Pitezel, and sentenced to death by hanging.”
Other · Wikipedia ·
H. H. Holmes“Herman Webster Mudgett (May 16, 1861 – May 7, 1896), better known as Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or H. H. Holmes...was an American con artist and murderer active between 1891 and 1894.”
Other government record · Find a Grave ·
Benjamin Freelon Pitezel (1856-1894)“H. H. Holmes was convicted of Mr. Pitezel's murder on 2 Nov 1895 in Philadelphia”
News report · Philadelphia Inquirer ·
H.H. Holmes, of Chicago 'House of Horrors' infamy, was executed at Moyamensing Prison“In fall 1895, Holmes went on trial for Pitezel's murder in Philadelphia. The jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to hang.”
Other · Radford University, Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Mudgett, Herman“Number of victims: 100+ suspected, 1 convicted, 27 confessed”
News report · History.com ·
Serial killer H.H. Holmes is hanged in Philadelphia“Born Herman Mudgett in New Hampshire, Holmes began torturing animals as a child...He was executed on this day in 1896.”
Court record · Pennsylvania, Court of Oyer and Terminer (Philadelphia County) ·
The trial of Herman W. Mudgett, alias H.H. Holmes, for the murder of Benjamin F. Pitezel“Trial dates October 28, 29, 30, 31, and November 1 and 2, 1895, in the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail Delivery and Quarter Sessions of the Peace, in and for the City and County of Philadelphia.”
Discussion
Casual discussion about this record on the community forum. The facts live on this page: to add a place, a vehicle or a source, use the Edit record button under the photo so a moderator can review it. Please name no one else, never name a victim, and do not connect the person to any case not listed here.Open the topic on the forum
Corrections and removal. If a charge on this page has been dismissed, acquitted, overturned, pardoned or expunged, or any fact is wrong, tell us through the correction form. Corrections are free, reviewed within five business days, and a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed. Information here may not be used for decisions about employment, housing, credit, insurance or any purpose covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and never to harass, threaten or harm anyone. Where a source is an offender registry, that information is reproduced as of the date shown and is subject to the conditions of use of that registry.