Monday, March 25, 2013

Devil Final #5

What ultimately led to Holmes' capture and the discovery of his crime?  Was this inevitable?  Explain.

16 comments:

  1. The laziness of Holmes led to his capture and the discovery of his crimes. His involvement with the Pietzel family really messed him up. Instead of stopping after killing Benjamin Pietzel he decided to go after the whole family. Ben's death was mysterious enough, but it becomes even more strange when his children begin to disappear. Holmes was also the first suspect as he was the last person left in care of the children. He didn't seem to want to hide the fact that he killed them. Holmes also should have disposed of the letters that the children sent to their mother. The evidence just piled up against him. It seems to me that he should have put a little more effort into hiding evidence. It was inevitable that the mother was going to start asking questions when her kids disappeared. I suppose he thought that he would be able to sneak away before he was caught. His capture seemed inevitable because he did so many illegal things. Doing that many bad things will eventually lead to being caught. After a while he would become one of the countries most wanted criminals. I believe that he would have ran out of places to go without being noticed.

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    1. I agree that it was a mistake for Holmes to take the kids. While his previous victims were basically alone in the world, kids have parents and people who would notice when they’re missing. Do you think that, because he got away with killing so many people at the fair, Holmes was overconfident in his ability to take the children without getting caught? In the book, Geyer says that Holmes was simultaneously moving three different parties, the children, their mother, and Georgiana Yoke, all over the country without them knowing about each other. Do you think he did this because he enjoyed the idea of having so much control over other people’s lives? Why do you think Holmes started slipping and leaving evidence around? I like how you said that eventually Holmes was going to run out of places to hide. Do you think that perhaps Holmes knew he would soon be caught and that’s why he wasn’t as careful?

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    2. I agree that Holmes definitely got lazy. And going after Peitzel's whole family was a huge mistake, because if a whole family dies off, obviously they didn't just disappear and this would raise eyebrows even back then. But also to go off of what Rachel said, Holmes had to know that he was going to get caught. So maybe he no longer cared about being careful, he just wanted to do as much as he could without getting caught so he went ham and just started killing people off.

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    3. I agree with just about everything you said! I think that after being so sucessfull with his past murders he almost become over confident with his skills and luck, which is kind of where that laziness comes in. I think that when he realized that he was going to get caught he still enjoyed the power that he held because he knew what was going to happen next and held all of the answers that the detective was looking for!

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    4. Do you think it was true laziness, or was he trying to get caught? He has never preyed on children before...and even in the hierarchy of criminals, someone who injures a child is deemed 'the worst.'

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    5. I agree with his laziness with the Pietzel children, but I don’t think the laziness began there. Back in Chicago at his hotel, there were many body parts and evidence left out in the basement. From the beginning he was so overconfident in not being caught, he failed to dispose of any evidence linking him to the murders. With this kind of carelessness, it was inevitable that Holmes would be caught, partially because it was amazing he had made it as long as he did without suspicion. However, I don’t think he was purposely trying to get caught, but rather didn’t care either way. He spent time in prison smiling over the fact that the police were on a goose chase for dead children, and still refused to talk. Holmes had already exerted his power over everyone and continued to do so until his death.

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    6. I agree that Holmes got lazy, but I think that he just got too used to getting away with everything that he had done so he didn't really think that after all the time that he would get caught. He has killed so many different people, in different towns and places and has gotten away. I believe that he was really lazy and careless with the murder of the Pietzel children and I feel like in a sick way it kind of gave him a rush. This was the first time that he has ever killed or harmed children and I think that was half the fun for him. He was sick of killing adults and I felt like he preyed off of the fear and helplessness of the children. He also liked the dominance that he gained from it. I feel like getting caught was just another cat and mouse thrill for him. Holmes was lazy with his killing because he murdered so many people in the same hotel with so many people around. Luck only goes so far and after a while people are going to realize that many people from the same hotel tend to just never turn up again. I think that Holmes wanted to be known that he was the killer and the master behind all of the killings but I think that he wanted to get away before he could actually get caught. Holmes was going to get caught sooner or later.

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  3. Holmes' capture was his own fault. The fact that he didn't stop killing after the fair was over was not very smart. Killing Ben Pitezel and then taking his children was just asking to be caught because of course their mother is going to immediate get the police involved when her children go missing. I think Holmes thought it would all be a fun little game for him and that he would easily be able to outsmart everyone as he had done in the past. He thought he would surely not get caught. He was a little too relaxed about everything, which is evident because of the fact that he didn't even bother getting rid of the letters the children wrote to their mother. This shows that he was planning on never getting caught. I think his discovery was inevitable because he had done so many crimes and so many people were after him, from the insurance people to the family members of everyone he killed. He just had way too much to continue hiding, and I think sooner or later his secrets were bound to be discovered.

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    1. I totally agree with Allison, Holmes got way too confident in his abilities, and that ultimately led to his downfall. I agree that taking the kids was a huge risk. Near the end, Holmes made no efforts to cover his tracks(Especially all of the hotels he checked into) until his murder castle was "mysteriously" burnt down. When Howard was killed, Holmes didn't even make sure all the evidence of his death was hidden-both his tin soldier toy and some of his organ remained in the house he was killed in. Even when Holmes was in jail, he sat around reading the newspapers, getting delight from the idea that he was leading Geyer on a hunt that would amount to nothing. Maybe if Holmes hadn't been so reckless near the end, he would have gotten away with murder?

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    2. You chose a really interesting stance on this, Allison. Until your comment, I had seen Holmes as a very determined, precise person who would do everything clean and efficiently. I personally would have said that it was due to the extreme will of Geyer to find the truth. However, you made me look at Holmes in a different light. You brought up the idea of Holmes being cocky and lazy, which I find very interesting. Also, I actually find myself agreeing with you. He didn't try to hide his castle in the slightest. They authorities found it's secrets with ease. He just had the audacity to believe he was above the law and above being caught.

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    3. I agree that Holmes got careless. He assumed that his charm could get him out of everything. Zach also brings up an interesting point Holmes never even tried to hid his castle. He was extremely over confident. If he had hid the kids better or even not have taken them in the first place he would have gotten away with a lot more. However, Holmes did to some extent try to cover his tracks. I think changing hotels was to decrease suspicion, not him being careless.

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    4. I totally agree that Holmes' final move of taking the kids was a fun game to him. He was playing a master game chess -- moving a person here, then there.

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  4. I thought that the ultimate reason that Holmes got caught was his carelessness. Holmes was so good at hiding the evidence and manipulating other people to get what he wants, The three children should have been no problem for him. I'm sure he would be held because they would be still missing. If he would have been more careful, he could have got away with it. I don't understand why he was so good at making sure he moved to different hotels to cover up his tracks but failed at covering up the bodies. It's really obvious that he buried the two girls in the ground when he asked to borrow a spade and then leave the house shortly after. I would be concerned as well. What also really got him was the organs not burning because it was compacted so tight. If I was a murderer and I has plenty of practice, I wouldn't let a few organs get in my way, I'd make sure they were burned. He got away with so many kills before, he could have got a few more in if he wasn't so careless in the end. If the police would have never found out about him, the police force wouldn't have got better. But the question is, why was Holmes so careless at the end? Or was it simply a mistake. Did he finally want to come open with everyone and get attention> But he did right a book about his "innocence". The world will never know.

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  5. Holmes capture was the result of his own carelessness. He was caught for insurance fraud, and when you actually take into account all of the lengths he went to to cover up the killings, it's almost like he wanted to get caught. With the murder plot, he had everything planned out perfectly and had a good chance of weaseling his way out of the sticky situation he was finding himself in. However, it seems like he built up too much confidence in his criminal abilities that he had a false sense of invincibility and even believed that he could never get caught. When someone has this kind of mindset, their downfall is inevitable. It's a recurring theme throughout history, someone believes they have ultimate power and control over everything around them and they end up pushing the limits and sealing their own fate. So when Holmes thought he was invulnerable, he made a careless mistake that began the downward spiral of his criminal career and his life.

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    1. I definitely agree with everything you've written, you can easily see how someone one can become overconfident in something and you without a doubt see that through history. Whe3n you have a mindset like that you will become careless and like you stated above almost feel invincible. So yes I do believe his carelessness and overconfidence led to Holmes demise.+

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