Most Terrifying Things About America’s First Serial Killer

Escaping Death

Because people believed that Holmes faked his own death and escaped, other conspiracy theories quickly sprung up in the case that that might be true. One such theory came from a former janitor who worked at Holmes’ murder castle. The janitor even claimed to be able to prove that Holmes had escaped death in New York.

In 1989, Robert Latimer claimed there were letters that proved Holmes conned his lawyer, priest, and the jail officials into burying a different dead man in his place. He further claimed that Holmes escaped to New York before traveling to San Parinarimbo, Paraguay, where he lived at a coffee farm. However, this story was quickly discredited as San Parinarimbo is not a city in Paraguay—or anywhere in South America for that matter. The “fled to South America” conspiracy theory has floated around about various individuals for some time. One such conspiracy theory that still circulates is that Hitler himself was able to escape death and fled to Brazil.