IL IL - Elfrieda 'Fritzie' Knaak, 29, Lake Bluff, 30 Oct 1928

[Ausgirl]

KariKae, apparently Hitchcock's leg was x-rayed and deemed not strong enough to have allowed him to walk about on the night of Elfrieda's death. But you're right about most roads leading to him. I have to wonder, at this point, if he had somebody do it for him.

This somewhat disturbing article in which police find the writer of the "B. Lock letter" also points to Hitchcock as having some cultish authority over Elfrieda.

Mrs. Luella Roeh appears to have had quite an attachment to "Fritzie". But where I thought this "B. Lock" had perhaps been an influence over Elfrieda, it appears it was the other way around -- Luella was the one drawn in to whatever Hitchcock and Elfrieda were into. And is it just me, or does Luella's letter sound like their 'friendship' was something... more than that?

"Not once did I think of anything beyond being a friend until the third time you came and the way you looked at me. The next time you mastered me more than ever."

This case just gets weirder by the minute.

But notice how she says that Elfrieda, who was in turn 'mesmerised' by Hitchcock, suggested she take 'grammar lessons' from 'Hitch'? Was Elfrieda indeed 'recruiting' for some sort of spiritualist cult?

How strange is it that the States Attorney interviewing Luella was also one of Hitchcock's 'students'?

Interesting that the theory held by a local doctor that Elfrieda was burned by high voltage wires was 'discredited' by police. Which police, I wonder? And in what way was the doctor's opinion discredited?

 

[Ausgirl]

Wow, Websleuths, I'm sorry for the many posts here -- I feel like I'm spamming.. But these articles keep turning up!

I didn't doubt that Hitchcock was a sod, but this just made my jaw drop:

From The Oelwein Daily Register, Nov 13, 1928
(pgs 1 and 8)

"Peaches" Browning, Ruth Elder and Red Grange, to mention a few, were 'made' by publicity, both favourable and unfavourable, and are reaping their harvest on stage, screen and gridiron.

But Hitchcock, former motion picture actor of the the days when an announcer explained the film, is flat on his back with a broken leg, reading offers from Broadway and Hollywood with a sigh.

"I believe I have a good voice for the 'talkies' but I don't believe I'll be able to take advantage of all this priceless publicity." he said today to the United press.

"If I had got this puff when I was in the movies, I'd have had my name in lights all over the country," he sighed as he gazed at the plaster cast on his leg.

----

Hitchcock goes on to make a vow that he would find the person who "burned 'Fritzie'", though he expected to be fired from his job when he returned to it in a fortnight.

"This puff", he says. :furious::furious::furious:

 

[momtolil]

Oh Ausgirl, if that's spamming then spam away! Keep the articles coming. I wish I could research like you.

 

[Ausgirl]

Thanks for the encouragement!

Can somebody help me here? I'm wondering whether there's some kind of law in the US regarding these really old cases, insofar as obtaining case documents via the FOIA. As in, if an unsolved crime is so old as to ensure that everybody concerned is long deceased, could there be a chance of getting hold of the files?

In Elfrieda's case, it occurs to me that she was officially listed as a suicide, no matter that many of the LE and other officials involved disbelieved - and disregarded - that finding. Which means that as far as red tape goes, it's not an ongoing investigation - so the files ought to be accessible? Is FOIA the best route to take for obtaining those?

Also, this correction: where one paper had reported that the letter and book were with Elfrieda's belongings in the furnace room, they were actually found in her room at the Knaak family home.

Further clarification: Compton, the book company Elfrieda worked for, most well-known for publishing encyclopedias. Elfrieda's job was to sell them - and it seems the job involved door-to-door sales, an unusual occupation for a woman in her era? Anyhow, I can see how Hitchcock's techniques - which I suspect included mesmerism as well 'elocution' - would be useful in that line of work.

I have to wonder whether these techniques were the subject of her 'special lecture' at work, and how many of her workmates were convinced to sign up to Hitchcock's classes.

Moving on to yet --another-- bit of oddness, which seems par for the course in this case:

One newspaper reports that Hitchcock's good friend and neighbour, a well-known entertainer by the name of Oscar Kloer, apparently passed out cold at the suggestion that he might have something to do with Elfrieda's death.

Another paper states that he was behind the wheel of his car at the time.

Whatever occurred there, all accounts agree that shortly after he fainted, a pile of LE bolted over to Kloer's home to question him.

Kloer, who passed away in 1935, was the man who provided Hitchcock with his alibi. He stated to reporters after his collapse (which happened on November 6, 1928 - a week after her death) that he didn't recall much about that night, except that he was at the Hitchcock home until around 10.30 pm.

He also denied knowing anything about her death, and said that he knew her but hadn't seen her for some time.

Kloer had separated from his wife two months before this event, and was living in Wisconsin during those months. He must have only recently returned to Lake Bluff when Elfrieda died.

ETA: Here's a great book for those who'd like to know what Lake Bluff looked like in 1928. There's pictures of the Town Hall, the electric railway and other stuff. It was quite a pretty place, and was originally a resort, rather than a town proper.

In the picture of the Volunteer Fire Dept on pg 15, you can see Police Chief Spaid, who took over as Chief when Hitchcock was deemed unsuitable for the task after Barney Rosenhagen left the job.

Spaid was also the man who arrested Hitchcock and son for the string of village robberies they committed the year after Elfrieda died, the same year that picture was taken.

 

[Ausgirl]

Some more pictures, here - about halfway down the page - Elfrieda, Barney Rosenhagen and Charles Hitchcock.

The picture of Elfrieda is rather haunting.

And check out Hitchcock hamming it up for the photographers - had to put the crutches in the bed with him to get 'em in the shot..

On a side note, see the weird Martian lady story? Wtf. Just goes to show how popular - and influential - that sort of guff was back in 1928.

ETA:

OHO! So, I found an article from Nov 1 1928 which states Elfrieda made some telephone calls from the Highland Park train station at 9.45 the night she died, and that these calls were made to ---- the Lake Bluff police station.

Surprise, surprise!

So that's where that whispered call was made to. But WHO took the call? Barney Rosenhagen says he was alone there with his dog until around 9.30, when he locked up and left for the night.

The calls were made at 9.45. I'm assuming they went through an operator, as the article said "it was ascertained that the calls were put through and received." So who in all heckery was there, 15 minutes after Rosenhagen says he left?

The article also has Hitchcock listing three possible suspects. But wait a minute - wasn't he still laid up in bed on Nov 1, suffering a lack of usable publicity and a broken ankle? And he's working the case, directing attention toward suspicious local persons? That's dedication for ya. :|

The timing of those calls puts in question once more exactly when it was that Elfrieda arrived in Lake Bluff, and where she was between 6.00pm when she left work to 9.45 when she called Lake Bluff from Highland Park. I'll have to dig about for a solid timeline...

 

[Ausgirl]

Jeez - another post. But I'm on a roll with these articles. I just keep finding more, with every tweak of search terms.

This one is from Nov 28.

It details Barney Rosenhagen's sacking as Police Chief. Rosenhagen was also given 6 months leave from all his other various duties (apparently he wore many official hats in Lake Bluff - was he pulling many salaries, as well, I wonder..?) due to concern over his having a "heart condition". Uh huh.

Hitchcock too was sacked (as he rightly predicted he would be), and 'young' Eugene Spaid was promoted to Chief.

Rosenhagen had the case taken off him quite early on. He was clearly also investigated as possibly having something to do with the crime -- his odd actions at the time (throwing the furnace ash away, sending Spaid down to help Elfrieda instead of going himself, not calling state authorities for hours, etc) probably had something to do with that. Now we learn that Elfrieda's calls went through to the Lake Bluff police station, 15 mins after Barney said he left for home. No wonder he was given the eye.

Something occurred to me, just now -- the station master heard Elfrieda make two calls. One was, he said, not answered (clearly he was eavesdropping and didn't hear any talking at all for the first call) - the second call was made in whispers.

So I'm thinking -- how far apart were those calls? Is it possible the first call was made to a private house? Like - a couple of rings, and she hung up?

Because this isn't making any sense at all. Unless Elfrieda had a thing going with Barney Rosenhagen (which I seriously doubt, with Handsome Hitchcock around and all) those calls were not intended for him.

But since Elfrieda only went to Lake Bluff because she missed her train home, and was clearly planning on going home earlier if she hadn't missed it, then whatever meeting she arranged by phone could not have been pre-planned before that. Ergo, the phone calls at around 9.45 were to set said meeting up.

If the person she was so eager to see was not Rosenhagen then how did they know to be there, at the closed-for-the-night police station, to take the whispered call from her? How did she know they'd be there, for the second call?

My guess is that the first, unanswered call was a pre-arranged signal to somebody, alerting them to get down to the police station so they could talk.

Who whispers when they make a phone call in a pubic place? Somebody who knows they'll be overheard (by an eavesdropping station master.. ) and is ashamed about who they're talking to or what they're talking about, is who. Like a meeting with a married policeman, maybe. I need to find out how the telephone system worked back then -- ie, whether an operator was involved, and whether an unanswered call or a hang-up call would be logged through that operator the same way as one that was answered.

Don't forget that Elfrieda specifically said to her brother that she went to Lake Bluff to see Hitchcock.

But that's where things get screwy. She also said that when she got to the police station, she found out 'Hitch' was off with a broken leg and went for a wander around town before returning to the police station and sustaining those horrific burns.

So -- if it's true she arrived to the news Hitchcock was laid up, and she's not lying about it to protect the man she loved to the point of being nutty about it -- who was there to tell her that?

It's very likely (if she wasn't lying about it to protect Hitchcock) that it was the same person who locked the doors behind her once she was burned.

But was she lying about being informed of the broken leg? Was that person who locked the doors the amazingly-talented-actor Charles Hitchcock? He sure is suspicious. And made such a big deal to show off that cast of his, strategically placed crutches and all. Like I said before - I have the distinct impression he was hamming it up.

And if his good buddy Oscar J. Kloer was indeed at Hitchcock's house, and Elfrieda didn't arrive at Lake Bluff until after 10, then his leaving at 10.30 really proves nothing and we only have the word of a potentially jealous wife to prove Hitch did not hobble (or drive, or take his cast off and run) down to the station that night. What a pity Kloer had such a poor memory of the night - he might have witnessed a hang-up call.

Hitchcock said something to a reporter that I found strange at the time, but right now it sort of chills me -- when he was leaning over the dying Elfrieda, with cops all around them, he had to ask her questions that the cops had given him. One of those questions was whether she knew who hurt her. She said 'No'. And then Hitchcock states that he was relieved she did not say to him "You," because then he'd have had a terrible time proving to the police that he hadn't.

I intend to spend some time reviewing all the sightings of her, to get the timeline straight. It seems to me that she could have made two trips to Lake Bluff that night. But that could be a mix of bad journalism and me sucking at even basic math. Still, the whole thing seems very odd indeed.

And right now, I'm wondering if Elfrieda was lured there that night, to her death.

 

[KariKae]

I know this is a stupid question...But in 1928, was it common to have electricity in one's home?

If she was the victim of electrocution, what are some potential sources? I wouldn't know how to electrocute somebody in 2011. In the 1920s, there was no google to research these things. How would anybody know how to do such a thing, sinister or accidential? Where would he or she gain the knowledge?

 

[wonders]

This is fasinating. I also love Elfrieda name. I will be following along as all of you dig through the mess that was created. What a horrible death though, it surprises me that she lived for 3 days after this horrible attack (as I do believe she didn't do this to herself), it also surprises me that people don't die from pain alone. I also don't think much weight can be given to her words after as I'd bet she was very drugged up and personally I hope she didn't know if she was coming or going, up or down. How sad for this young woman.

 

[Ausgirl]

I think it's a really good question, KariKae.

I'm not sure about the electricity supply to houses in Lake Bluff in 1928. But there were two sources of high voltage electricity close to the police station - a transformer (about which I know next to nothing as yet) and also an electric train line.

I guess people who worked with those would know how dangerous they were. Or people who lived by them. And probably the police.

Her burns were bad enough that IF they were caused by electricity (which was a finding from an examining doctor, though the police disagreed) it'd have to be something that powerful. But I'm not an expert. I still haven't contacted a burns unit to ask their opinion, but I do intend to.

wonders, it is really sad. Nobody deserves such a horrible death. The case is pretty much a mess, and very weird with it. I'm glad people are interested. I think Elfrieda deserves the truth of what happened to her to be looked into. I think you're right about her words, in that she was in a bad way before she died but apparently had a few lucid moments. I just wish I knew what was said in them as opposed to when she was not lucid. And yes, I agree, Elfrieda is a beautiful name.

 

[KariKae]

More puzzling was the fact that Elfrieda would confess to have done this damage to herself, claiming “It was all my fault,” and “I did it myself, there’s no-one to blame,” insisting that she’d burned herself for the sake of ‘faith” as well as “purity and love’.

Trying to piece this together...Perhaps the electrocution was done by Elfrieda in some sort of religious ritual. That part was done voluntarily. After the electrocution, Elfrieda must have been dazed and in/out of conciousness. I think the furnace was staging. I don't think the perp thought she would live until morning. Not to mention, she was drugged out of her mind at the hospital. Pieces of the puzzle may have come back to her at the hospital and that is why the story kept changing.

I still think Hitchcock is the main perp. I'm now leaning toward him having help. Elfrieda did say "they" had done it. If his cast truly incapacitated him, it would be difficult, but not impossible, for him to carry or drag Elfrieda into the court house. With feet burned to the bones, I don't think she could walk. Who would help him?

 

[Ausgirl]

Another good question! And yes -- I do think the furnace was staging. The lack of burning-flesh stink alone makes that pretty clear.

I think you've hit on something important there. If it was Hitchcock, he did not act alone. He was a man of influence over the people around him - do you think he could have convinced somebody to do it for him?

 

[KariKae]

Does anybody have any idea how long a furnace burns? It might give us an idea about the time of the assault. The articles state her clothes were burned in the furnace. I presume it was burning at 930 when the last person left. I wonder how long it would take to burn out.

 

[KariKae]

He was a man of influence over the people around him - do you think he could have convinced somebody to do it for him?

I'm starting to wonder about a sexual sadist relationship. Elfrieda, Hitch, the other woman, Hitch's wife...all mixed in with religious undertones. But at this point, I do not see any evidence of that (except that she was found in the nude). But then papers in 1928 would most likely not mention evidence of sexual assault.

I am impressed with the amount of information available on this case.

 

[Ausgirl]

Karikae, you're great at asking questions! The janitor guy remarked to Rosenhagen when they got into the station in the morning that it was cold, and asked if Barney had let the furnace die down. So I assume he expected it to still be burning.

Now, this is REALLY weird - there was another, very similar case in Columbus, Ohio. In 1924, a Lutheran minister named Clarence Sheatsley came home to a remarkably cold house to find his wife burned to a char in the furnace of her home. As with Elfrieda, there was great debate about whether it was murder or suicide, and a verdict of suicide was thought to be "a forgone conclusion" -- but it wasn't. Mrs. Sheatsley was eventually proven to have been murdered before being stuffed in the furnace.

As with Elfrieda, the first thing the family noticed was the house was cold, when the furnace ought to have been still burning.

And -- just like the case with Elfrieda -- a strange man came forward in another state (Alabama) to confess to the crime.

The man was declared an amnesiac, as he couldn't state who he was and only the vaguest clues to his identity were found on his clothing. He 'came to' while walking down a street with no idea who or where he was. The man's only memory, he said, was of stuffing a woman in a furnace and running away. He was also promptly declared to be insane, and his confession considered more than dubious.

eta: Another odd parallel: Addie was strangled. Elfrieda had an unexplained neck injury.

Coincidence? I intend to look into the Sheatsley case a lot more closely..

In any case, it's odd to me that where one would think the fats of a body would normally fuel a fire, in both of these cases the furnace was cold when the victims were discovered, and they shouldn't have been.

 

[Ausgirl]

Of further interest re the Sheatsley case:

When Addie's death was being investigated as a suicide, Mr. Sheatsley told police he believed his wife could have killed herself because she was 'at that time of life' when women apparently are prone to sudden bouts of insanity (menopause).

He added that he knew, from personal experience of eight months in India, that people could overcome pain via strength of mind alone. In fact, he had a written a book about it in 1921, titled 'Our Mission Field in India', in which he describes people in the grip of religious fanaticism being able to overcome great pain.

There was another book found in Elfrieda's belongings, from which the paper only quoted a little bit. It was on the reading list for Hitchcock's 'salesmanship' course, and the passage in question described people overcoming pain through faith and the power of the mind alone.

If that turns out to be Sheatsley's book....wow.

And if not, I'll chalk it up to just another bizarre parallel, I guess.

 

[KariKae]

I did a little research and found the answers to several of my questions at the following link.

http://www.angelfire.com/retro2/lisa3/20shome.html

The link gives a little bit of information about who did and did not have electricity in the 1920s. There is also a photo of a typical furnace. Now I understand why it was so difficult for Elfrieda to do this to herself.

 

[Ausgirl]

I so want a claw-foot bathtub now. Great site, Kari.

In one of the articles I linked early on is a picture of the actual furnace, I think. At the coroner's inquest, the case for suicide was greatly supported by having the jury witness a woman of around Elfrieda's size shove bits of herself into a cold furnace. Apparently she managed it well enough to convince them - but of course, the furnace was cold... kinda changes things.

It didn't convince the Sheriff or the States Attorney, though. I imagine there would have been a lot of debate about the issue, at the time.

In 1930 (I think..) some young girl in another state had read about this case and tried to kill herself in a furnace. She singed her head a bit and quit, as it was too painful after only a few seconds.

Mind over matter studies or not, Elfrieda was not some crusty old guru with years of training. She was 29, from a middle class family and worked for a book company - I simply can't see her having the kind of will power to withstand that terrible heat and agony long enough to get such extensive burns, even if the furnace door had been bigger.

Oh - one other fact I forgot to mention - she was wearing a blue coat and a hat when she left work, and was seen to be wearing it at the train station. There was no sign at all of the coat when she was found burned, not a scrap or a button anywhere. It was concluded that the coat was missing.

It was the end of October and I presume quite cold at night. I doubt she left the coat behind anywhere, in those temperatures, so it must have been removed either prior to her going down to the furnace room, or taken away by the killer.

 

[KariKae]

Mind over matter studies or not, Elfrieda was not some crusty old guru with years of training. She was 29, from a middle class family and worked for a book company - I simply can't see her having the kind of will power to withstand that terrible heat and agony long enough to get such extensive burns, even if the furnace door had been bigger.

Snipped by me -

Totally agree with this. In addition, if she had done this to herself, she would have additional burns on her hips, thighs, and shoulders when they touched the outside of the furnace. I think these additional burns would be there whether she did this to herself or if someone put her limbs in the furnace (while concious). With the lack of burning flesh smell, I am fairly convinced she was not assaulted at City Hall.

So, where did it happen?

Probably inside - She was naked and her coat was never found. Typically, the first thing you do when coming indoors is remove your coat.

Her nakedness - Her statement about immodesty is okay in the eyes of God makes me wonder if she disrobed voluntarily.

City Hall - If I am a perp, here are several things I am not going to do. I am not going to break into City Hall and call attention to myself when I could leave the body outside. (Lucky me, I have a key). I am not going to carry around a semi-concious girl looking for the furnace room (Luckily, I know where I am going.) I am not going to break in to a place if I do not know with certainty it is going to be deserted. (Luckily, I know the night patrolman is home with a broken ankle.) I am not going to lock the door behind me out of habit (Whoops, I did that.)

 

[KariKae]

In any case, it's odd to me that where one would think the fats of a body would normally fuel a fire, in both of these cases the furnace was cold when the victims were discovered, and they shouldn't have been.

In both cases, I would be the furnace door was left open which allows the furnace access to oxygen. With access to oxygen, the fire burns faster. If the door is closed, oxygen is choked off and the result is a more smoldering fire that lasts longer. In Elfrieda's case, I'm sure the perp wanted a faster burning fire to burn her clothing.

 

[Ausgirl]

Totally agree with this. In addition, if she had done this to herself, she would have additional burns on her hips, thighs, and shoulders when they touched the outside of the furnace. I think these additional burns would be there whether she did this to herself or if someone put her limbs in the furnace (while concious). With the lack of burning flesh smell, I am fairly convinced she was not assaulted at City Hall.

Just an article on what contact with a transformer can do:

Electrical Burns Could Kill Boy, Doctors Tell Dad
November 11, 1987|By Lorena Oropeza of The Sentinel Staff

The father of a 15-year-old boy who was severely burned when he touched an electrical transformer at school said Tuesday that surgeons warn him his son may die because of extensive injuries.

''Lynn's got devastating burns all over his body. He has third- and fourth- degree burns -- the worst -- to the bone,'' said Harry Eugene Young, father of Lynn Young, an eighth-grader at New Smyrna Beach Middle School.

Full article here.

I don't mean to come across like I'm pushing a theory, but it seems to me Elfrieda's injuries do resemble these sorts of burns rather closely. Especially as they can char extremities without visible harm to the rest of a person's skin. And it also seems a heck of a lot more likely that she'd have got her burns all at once this way rather than slowly roasting herself alive while self-hypnotised, performing some sort of contortionist's act in a police station furnace room.

Then we have a doctor at autopsy saying there was evidence of electrocution. Now, that finding was apparently 'discredited by police' -- okay, but if you had 3rd & 4th degree burns, whose opinion of your condition are you going to trust more - a doctor or a policeman?

So that, in my mind, leaves the 'why' of why she was in the furnace room, being set up to look like a crazy suicide... (even though the doors were locked -- as Kira said, 'whoops'?)