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In the year 1902, the city of Pittsburgh was beset by a group of criminals known as the "Chloroform Gang", aptly named for their use of chloroform or ether to subdue unwitting citizens before robbing them. During the raid of a Mt. Washington grocery store on April 12, 1901 the shopkeeper was shot and killed when he struggled against the gang members. Following this robbery, the police began their quest to bring the gang to justice in earnest.^[1]

Detectives from the city of Pittsburgh determined that the gang was led by two brothers, Jack and Ed Biddle. On April 1st, two detectives, Lt. Charles “Buck McGovern and his partner Det. Patrick Fitzgerald led a team of detectives to the brother’s hideout on Fulton Street in Old Allegheny County, planning to bring the two to justice. McGovern and company barged into the house and gun shots rang out through the neighborhood. As the smoke settled, McGovern’s partner lay dead in a pool of blood and Jack Biddle, Edward Biddle, and another gang member by the name of Walter Dorman were in custody.^[1]

Jack and Edward Biddle stood trial and were sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of the shopkeeper on April 12th, though it remains unclear whether they stood trial for the death of McGovern’s partner, Det. Patrick Fitzgerald. Walter Dorman received a life sentence in exchange for his testimony against the Biddle brothers. The brothers were moved to the Allegheny County Jail, presided over by Peter Soffel the warden..^[2]

During their time at the jail, Edward Biddle developed a relationship with the warden’s wife, Kate Soffel. It was typical for Kate to take an interest in prisoners and she often sought to rehabilitate them in some capacity; however Ed and Mrs. Soffel soon developed a more intimate relationship with each other. Kate agreed to help Ed and his brother cheat the hangman and smuggled saws and revolvers to the brothers to aid with the escape.^[2]

Before the breakout, the brothers cut an opening into their cells and waited for the right moment to strike. At 4am on January 29, 1902, one of the brothers cried out that his brother was sick and needed medicine. As the guard approached the cell, Jack Biddle lunged through the opening that he had cut in his cell, grabbed the guard by the waist, and threw him over the second floor railing.^[3] Using his smuggled revolver, Ed Biddle shot and wounded one of the other guards on duty. The final guard was led at gunpoint to the dungeon of the prison, where the escaped convicts locked him and the other two wounded officers. Ed and Jack proceeded to the wardrobe room and changed from their prison jumpsuits into the street clothes of the on-duty guards. They walked out of the open doors of the prison to rendezvous with Kate Soffel. Their escape was not discovered until the guard shift changed at 6am. ^[3]

After meeting up with Kate Soffel, the trio of fugitives stole a sleigh and a shotgun and headed towards Butler County. Not long after there escape, Buck McGovern gathered a posse and sped off in pursuit. McGovern inferred that the escaped prisoners were headed for Canada, outside of the United States' jursidiction. In their pursuit, the officers fell behind after making a wrong turn. McGovern was eager to make up for lost time and acquired fresh horses in Mount Chestnut only a half hour after the fugitives had left the town.^[1]

Knowing the brothers would follow backroads to avoid being identified, McGovern stationed his troops at the Graham farm and waited. After some time the brothers approached, bringing their sleigh to a halt as they realized they were surrounded. One of the detectives recounted the story:

The Biddles were sitting on the right side of the cutter. Mrs. Soffel was on the left side. "Hold up your hands and surrender." Detective McGovern commanded. Ed Biddle jumped up from his seat and, raising a shotgun, fired it at McGovern. He aimed badly, and the shot scattered on the road alongside of McGovern. Detectives McGovern and Roach discharged their Winchesters at Ed Biddle. Both shots took effect. John Biddle raised from the seat, and discharged his revolver at the three officers. Detective Swineheart settled himself and fired with a revolver at the man. The ball took effect in Biddle's arm. Then all the detectives opened fire on the Biddles. The shots knocked them out of the sleigh. Ed fell sprawling on the snow, and John fell on him.^[4]

This police account conflicts with John Biddle's own recollection of the incident. He claimed

When we saw the officers coming towards us on the road yesterday evening we knew it was all up. We did not fire a shot at the officers, but agreed to kill ourselves. I shot myself in the mouth. 'Ed' shot himself over the heart. an [Kate Soffel] shot herself in the breast. We knew we had no chance to get away, and we knew we would swing if taken back, and that is why we wanted to kill ourselves.^[5]

It is difficult to tell with any degree of certainty what really happened during the showdown, but it is possible that the police opened fire on the trio when they made their attempt at suicide. Following the incident, reporters described John Biddle as "riddled with buckshot", a type of ammunition typically used in a shotgun.^[4] These same reporters made mention that the Biddle's were armed with a shotgun, but stated that the police only carried revolvers and rifles. This suggests that the police officer's report is not the complete truth.^[5]

The detectives cautiously approached the wounded brothers. Kate Soffel lay wounded in the snow beside them after shooting herself with her own revolver. The officers thought that Ed Biddle was reaching into his jacket for a pistol, and they shot him again. McGovern himself ran up to the brothers and unloaded the rest of his rifle magazine at them and, finally, the brothers surrendered. By the time they were taken into custody, Ed sustained an incredulous seventeen gunshot wounds (fifteen inflicted by the officers), while Jack suffered three bullet wounds (two caused by the police).^[6] Buck McGovern and his posse took the trio into custody and escorted them back to the jail at Butler.

Placed in adjoining cells, the brothers waited as the life drained out of their bodies. At 7:35PM on February 1, Jack Biddle died first from the wounds in his abdomen and bladder.^[5] Before he expired, he vehemently denied killing the Mt. Washington shopkeeper and Det. Fitzgerald. Ed Biddle was unconscious for most of his time in jail and died several hours after his brother at 11PM. ^[5]

The bodies of the brothers were returned to Pittsburgh and were greeted by a surprisingly large crowd. Their exploits had been reported in the newspapers and Jack and Ed had become local celebrities. Thousands showed up to their viewing, some believing they were innocent of the crimes they were accused of and some just wanting to see their famously handsome faces one last time.^[1] They were buried following a quiet service in the Calvary cemetery.

Mrs. Soffel underwent surgery to remove the self-inflicted bullet wound and began recovering from a potential case of pneumonia which she had developed in the frigid weather of the escape. ^[5] Once she was healthy, she was transported back to Pittsburgh and indicted on charges of aiding in the escape of the Biddle brothers. She confessed to her crimes and received a two year sentence at the Western Penitentiary.^[7] Her husband was removed from his job as warden of the Allegheny County jail and moved to Ohio. The Soffels' children moved with their father and the family refused to speak to Kate even after she was released from prison. Her life as a pariah was relatively short, and she died of typhoid fever in 1909. ^[7]

The Biddle Brothers episode served as a springboard for Det. McGovern's later political career. He served in a private capacity to Theodore Roosevelt during the presidential campaign of 1912.^[8] After serving in the cavalry during WWI, patrolling the border and participating in the Battle of Ciudad Juarez, McGovern was chosen as the Chief of the Pittsburgh City Detective Bureau in 1922. He resigned this position soon after in order to help with the election campaign of Governor Gifford Pinchot. The next year he was chosen as a State Department of Justice special agent, and from 1927-1935 he served as Pittsburgh County Commissioner.^[8] An avid historian, McGovern also hosted a longstanding weekly radio program on WJAS Pittsburgh throughout the 1930s and 1940s.

The story of Kate Soffel's efforts to help the Biddle Brothers escape was made into a film in 1984 titled Mrs. Soffel, starring Diane Keaton and Mel Gibson.