100 years ago today in Spokane: ‘Bluebeard’ admits he knew missing Spokane wife

James R. “Bluebeard” Huirt admitted to authorities in Los Angeles that he “knew” Bertha Goodnich of Spokane and several more of his missing wives.

However, he shed no light on their whereabouts.

He also declared he did not want to die. This was notable because he had made two attempts on his own life while in custody in Los Angeles. He said he wanted to recover, and his physician said he probably would.

Meanwhile, another woman, Maude Goldensmith of Wallace, Idaho, told police she, too, was married to Huirt when he was using the alias of Charles Newton. When she was contacted by The Spokesman-Review for an interview, she refused to give a statement.

Reports from Los Angeles indicated Huirt had made some financial restitution, through his attorney, to two of his Spokane wives, Katherine Wombacher and Elizabeth Williamson. Both women apparently confronted him in the Los Angeles hospital, where he remained shackled to a bed.

Some of his statements to Los Angeles police indicated he was planning a plea of insanity. He hinted he was either a victim or a tool of “a gang of men near Kansas City” who rob women through bigamous marriages. He also declared he once was a patient in an Ohio insane asylum.