Marion Hedgepeth Crosses Tracks with Serial Killer H.H. Holmes

Old West train robber Marion Hedgepeth helped unmask serial killer H.H. Holmes. The two were in a Missouri jail and came up with a con scheme: Holmes (jailed under an alias) would fake his death and claim life insurance money, then give some cash to Hedgepeth.  Holmes never paid up.  Hedgepeth blew the whistle, eventually leading to Holmes’ trial and hanging in 1896.

But the fake death stories continued.  And this month, Holmes’ body is being exhumed in Philadelphia, and the DNA of the remains compared to that of Holmes’ descendants.