Man convicted in 1967 slaying of Biloxi gambler dies in prison
BILOXI — Harold Diddlemeyer, who spent almost 40 years behind bars and proclaiming his innocence in the murder of a Biloxi gambler, has died. He was 64.
Diddlemeyer was convicted in 1969 for murdering Harry Bennett, a man who was well known among gamblers long before legalized gaming brought flashy casinos to the Mississippi coast.
Diddlemeyer had battled emphysema and cancer for the last several years and died Friday. The death brought mixed emotions for family members who claim Diddlemeyer was an innocent man.
His sister, Winona Knott, said she was almost relieved to learn her brother had died.
“I said ’Oh my god, this boy is free at last,’ she said.
Diddlemeyer’s brother-in-law, Paul Knott of Biloxi, said “everybody that knew him well knew he was not guilty with what he was charged with.”
Diddlemeyer tried to win a new trail in 1995 based on new evidence — a woman’s claim that she was at a poker game with the victim on the night he was killed.
At the game, there was talk of a contract to kill Bennett, allegedly because he intended to testify in federal court about a rigged dice game at the former Red Carpet Lounge in Biloxi.
She said the victim appeared to be frightened the night he died. The poker game ended early that night, and just a few hours later, Bennett was dead.
Diddlemeyer wasn’t a suspect until three months after the killing when he faced an armed robbery charge in Jacksonville, Fla., and he told police he wanted to confess to the murder.
When Diddlemeyer returned to Mississippi to stand trial in January 1969, he recanted his confession. He later said it was a plan to get out of jail in Florida to stand trial in Mississippi, according to Winona Knott.
She said Diddlemeyer was an escaped inmate when Bennett died, but he was not in Biloxi at the time the crime occurred. He had read newspaper accounts of the case, though, she said.
“He knew he could get out of it because he didn’t kill him,” she said. “He put in his confession the exact thing that was in the papers.”
Diddlemeyer did escape from Parchman at least a couple of times throughout his life, but was recaptured each time.
save this post as PDF
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
June 19th, 2007 at 15:58
[…] post by Katsia Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and […]