[mark_2000]

Born Herman Webster Mudgett, H.H. Holmes was infamous for his "Murder Castle" in Chicago, a building designed with hidden chambers and secret passages used to carry out his crimes during the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.

The decision to exhume Holmes's remains came amid longstanding rumors and speculations that he had somehow escaped his execution in 1896. These theories were fueled partly by Holmes' own confessions and the sensationalistic reporting of the time, which often blurred fact and fiction. The exhumation was granted in 2017, over a century after his execution, to conclusively determine the identity of the remains in his grave.

Holmes was convicted in 1895 for the murder of his accomplice Benjamin Pitezel but confessed to numerous other killings. However, the exact number of his victims remains unknown, with estimates ranging widely. His modus operandi involved luring victims, many of whom were young women, to his elaborately constructed building, where he would kill them.

The exhumation process was carried out under strict forensic procedures. The remains were subjected to various tests, including DNA analysis, to confirm their identity. This effort also served to demystify some of the urban legends surrounding Holmes and his purported escape from justice.

[RiversEdge]

'preciate the 411. Nice story and pics.

[Suicide_Note]

I find it interesting that his mustache was still intact, even though all the flesh had decomposed.

[Davis916]

I think a photo identification will be impossible.

[William May]

Read the book "Devil in the White City" which is all about this case and the surrounding World's Fair. It is an EXCELLENT book. I always wondered if they would ever dig him up. The place that his bizarre apartment complex was at is now the site of a Chicago Post Office. I have always wondered if there was anything left underneath it.

[Qberth]

The hotel should have been made into a museum. It would've been really interesting.

[HouseAtreides]

I'm confused because the archeologist stated that his clothes were almost perfectly preserved but I'm not seeing any clothes in the grave. She also stated that his mustache was intact but I'm not seeing any mustache...

[Pyramid_Head]

That's awesome

[William May]

Originally Posted by HouseAtreides ↗

I'm confused because the archeologist stated that his clothes were almost perfectly preserved but I'm not seeing any clothes in the grave. She also stated that his mustache was intact but I'm not seeing any mustache...

I saw other pics somewhere else, and his clothes and moustache were there and visible. I think these pics were taken after they had separated him from the concrete, which messed everything up. In the pics I saw, he was recognizable. Or as recognizable as someone could be. Would have thought they still could have gotten good DNA from his bones. All you need is a very tiny sample nowadays. They get DNA out of bone fragments from Vietnam MIA's that have been laying in the jungle for 50 years. DNA analysis should still have been possible here.

[Jonnyb75]

Have they changed the death certificate to Covid 19?