We are in the final stages of preparation for the release of a new novel, 'Dem Dry Bon'z, a sequel to our 2015 release 'Dem Bon'z. The story lines for both books include historical information on such famous murder sprees as the Whitechapel Murders, the Thames Torso Murders, the Kingsbury Run Murders, the Columbian Exposition Murders, and the Austin Servant Assassinations. We've been able to bring a number of the more infamous fiends from the Victorian Era , such as Jack the Ripper, Dr. Sweeney, Dr. H.H. Holmes, and the Midnight Assassin into our tales.
Below is a story that was all-too-common in the period. A murderer could do their evil deed, purchase a common trunk for very little money, and pack their victim off to the nearest railroad or freight depot. The killer had only to provide a false addressee and address and they could be assured that, unless the trunk was dropped and opened it might be many months before the body was discovered. In this example the trunk was mailed from Chicago to Pittsburg in early 1885. Coincidently this is the period before Dr. H. H. Holmes (formerly H.W. Mudgettt and having many aliases), perhaps the most prolific serial killer of the period established his practice in Chicago. A recent graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, he had been discharged because he engaged in insurance fraud and used some of the cadavers from the medical school for his extracurricular activities. He formally settled in Chicago in 1886 but clearly was wandering about the area in early 1885. One of his favorite tricks was to employ the freight system to ship remains all over the world. He was quite clever in this and often had his employees post the trunks, assuring that he could not be identified. Without the complex tracking systems, dna analysis, and even the requirement for a return address this was an almost foolproof way to discard of a victim. Trunks might languish in warehouses for years, or until they smelled sufficiently to draw attention. Was this one of Holmes' early victims? Who knows? As a surgeon, Holmes most likely would have thought little of cutting up the corpse to make it fit into the trunk instead of tying it into a tight bundle. Holmes was thought to have killed as many as 200 people, though one of his confessions only admits to 27. Holmes later denied writing his autobiography and on the gallows claimed to be innocent of deliberately killing anyone but allowing for two killings through medical malpractice.
Below is a story that was all-too-common in the period. A murderer could do their evil deed, purchase a common trunk for very little money, and pack their victim off to the nearest railroad or freight depot. The killer had only to provide a false addressee and address and they could be assured that, unless the trunk was dropped and opened it might be many months before the body was discovered. In this example the trunk was mailed from Chicago to Pittsburg in early 1885. Coincidently this is the period before Dr. H. H. Holmes (formerly H.W. Mudgettt and having many aliases), perhaps the most prolific serial killer of the period established his practice in Chicago. A recent graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School, he had been discharged because he engaged in insurance fraud and used some of the cadavers from the medical school for his extracurricular activities. He formally settled in Chicago in 1886 but clearly was wandering about the area in early 1885. One of his favorite tricks was to employ the freight system to ship remains all over the world. He was quite clever in this and often had his employees post the trunks, assuring that he could not be identified. Without the complex tracking systems, dna analysis, and even the requirement for a return address this was an almost foolproof way to discard of a victim. Trunks might languish in warehouses for years, or until they smelled sufficiently to draw attention. Was this one of Holmes' early victims? Who knows? As a surgeon, Holmes most likely would have thought little of cutting up the corpse to make it fit into the trunk instead of tying it into a tight bundle. Holmes was thought to have killed as many as 200 people, though one of his confessions only admits to 27. Holmes later denied writing his autobiography and on the gallows claimed to be innocent of deliberately killing anyone but allowing for two killings through medical malpractice.
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