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Herman Mudgett

Herman Mudgett. First American Serial Killer Sami Hoover pd 3. Early Life. born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, on May 16, 1861, Children of Levi Mudgett & Theodate Price Father was a drunk School classmates forced him to touch human skeletons

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Herman Mudgett

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  1. Herman Mudgett First American Serial Killer Sami Hoover pd 3

  2. Early Life • born in Gilmanton, New Hampshire, on May 16, 1861, • Children of Levi Mudgett & Theodate Price • Father was a drunk • School classmates forced him to touch human skeletons • Led to his fear of the doctor and obsession with death • 1878, Mudgett married Clara Lovering • 1880 had son Robert Mudgett

  3. Early Life • Attended school at the University of Michigan Medical School • Stole dead bodies while at school • Moved to Chicago to pursue a career in pharmaceuticals • Was soon going by the name ”H. H. Homes and began getting involved with ‘shady’ businesses • Was divorced and remarried multiple times

  4. Early Law Trouble • Expelled in medical school for stealing corpses in • Disfigured the stolen cadavers • Clamed people died on accident to get insurance money • Claimed he had a cure for alcoholism Note: never fully charged just arrested then released with lack of incrimination evidence

  5. Murder Castle • After moving to Chicago, Mudgett got a job as a pharmacist • Began killing people to steal their property • Built the home that is now known as the “Murder Castle”

  6. Murder Castle Consisted of: • Secrete passages • Trapdoors • Soundproof rooms • Doors that lock from the outside • Gas jets • Cremation room The Murder Castle:

  7. Most Recent Crime • Murdered four members of the Pitezel family • Benjamin Pitezel • Associate that helped Mudgett build the murder castle • Pitezel children • Took care of three of the children for a short amount of time • Killed 3 of 5 children • Let the youngest and oldest live

  8. Convicting Evidence • Police began investigating his suspected fraud • Fraud: wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain • Police discovered Pitezel girl’s bodies in his cellar • Police found bone parts and teeth in his chimney • At his home in Indianapolis

  9. Murder Castle Investigation Castle Layout: • Sealed rooms with gas lines • Torture devices • Lime & Acid pits • Trap doors • Numerous other ways of torture and murder What Police discovered:

  10. Sentence for Crimes • Mudgett knew authorities were closing in on his castlen so he burnt it down and vanished • In 1894, years later, he was captured in Boston Massachuettes • Mudgett was tried in Philadelphia for the Murders of the Pitezel family • He confessed to over 130 murders • He was sentenced to death and hanged in prison

  11. Quotes

  12. Alias • Herman Webster Mudgett • Birth name • Dr. Henry Howard Holmes • H. H. Holmes

  13. Cultural References • 2003: Documentary was released called H. H. Holmes: America’s First Serial Killer • Produced & written by John Borowski • Jeff Mudgett (Decendant of Holmes) wrote a biography claiming Holmes was Jack The Ripper

  14. Anomie Theory Herman Mudgett, better known as H. H. Holmes, best fits the Anomie Theory of deviance. Mudgett was a very intelligent man who graduated from med school. He was also thought to be very attractive and had good social interactions. In school, Mudgett’s classmates forced him to touch the bodies of skeletons and instead of being terrified of it like most people would be, he became very intrigued with the human body and death. Women willingly would go with Mudgett back to his ‘Murder Castle’ because he was an attractive, charming man. To the outside world, there was nothing strange or attention grabbing to Mudgett or his insurance company. He was young, married, and had children. The Anomie theory best fits Herman Mudgett because of this. In his life, his ‘norms’ were very contradictory. Mudgett had a bright future and was very successful in the buisnesses he persued. Mudgett also had a very dark side though. He was fascinated with death and taking life. He felt the need to kill even though he had a successful life that fit into society.

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