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

[Ausgirl]

Same goes for the brain analysis that come out after the inquest, which mightily amused the neurology professor I found to show the articles to.

Could you say why he was so amused, MarieM? I haven't been able to find a clear report on the results of that analysis, so I'm interested in what the professor had to say about that.

Do you think Smith & co. were fudging things to protect Hitchcock from suspicion?

 

[Robin Hood]

If we could find out the address of that studio he rented, there's a slim chance there might still be records of how long he continued with his classes.

According to Marie's blog http://knaakarticles.blogspot.com/

He was working from the YMCA in Waukegan.

''Charles Hitchcock. Often referred to as “Hitch.” Former vaudeville actor and silent screen actor. Hired as night policeman for Lake Bluff in 1925. Works by day offering lessons in voice and elocution and salesmanship and psychology at the Waukegan YMCA. Performs for Order of the Elks (police fraternal organization) and the American Legion (veteran organization) with vaudeville friend, neighbor, and musician Oscar Kloer. Is credited in Lake Bluff village hall minutes for having brought the latest detective methods to the police department at Lake Bluff. In the early 1920’s, he was director of development at Atlas Educational Film’s Chicago office. During his work there, they make a film entitled “The Lesson of the Flames.”

 

[Creole]

Firstly, I must say this is an extremely interesting case, and the sleuthing done on it thus far is amazing! Some of the items I am pondering:
1) Elfrieda is burned on the back of her head, arms, legs (limbs), and feet. While I am leaning toward electrocution of some sort, I have to wonder if after the guilty parties (and I think there is more than 1) electrocuted/beat her, they were trying to rid themselves of her body so she could not be identified. Maybe they attempted to stuff her in the furnace for burning but were unable to do so - one time trying to push her in feet first, another head first and/or raising her arms to go through with head - this would account for the arms to be burned (first part of the body to enter the furnace), but only a limited amount on the head (couldn't get her shoulders in).
2) Barney's behavior would be consistent with a person who, if he wasn't directly involved, knew there would be a problem for a friend/co-worker/etc. when Elfrieda was found - especially found at the police station. You don't want to implicate someone but you certainly cannot cover up someone else's crime. On the other hand, if Barney was involved, his odd behavior would also be consistent with someone who is trying to "act" the part of being shocked and surprised at the finding of Elfrieda but who actually knows what did happen and he had a role in it. None of the suspects are professional killers (as far as we know) so I cannot imagine this would be easy to pull off.

As for the letter....I am of the belief that there was something more than just friendship being alluded to....however, if you read written correspondence from days of old, there was a more romanticized feel to them even between the same sexes where there was no established same-sex feelings. Letter writing was quite an art and very expressive.

Poor Elfrieda was definitely murdered in my opinion.....it is the who, how many, etc. that I keep going back and forth on. I do not think it was highly premeditated - I think it may have been thought about and the timing of the opportunity presented itself that evening - hence, the chaos surrounding the clues left, the behavior of certain people, etc. I think there were others - not directly involved in killing her - who knew who was guilty also - including Elfrieda's friend. I think she might have took off - scared or was brought somewhere to keep tabs on her. When it was known the police were looking for her to question, she returned - but had her "story" by that time.

If Elfrieda really did think she was going to survive her ordeal in hospital (one quote was made that she was sure she would get well), she might have thought it would benefit her (for what, I am not sure) if she kept to her self-mutilation story. I have to really wonder how coherent she really was during those last few days in hospital and how much was made up (to sell papers) or words were put in her mouth by people who really did love her and thought they were getting certain responses to questions.
Just some thoughts - Creole

 

[KariKae]

If Marie's assertion that Frieda was distancing herself from Hitch, it does give a motive for him to murder her.

But if she was trying to distance herself, it does not explain why she went to Lake Bluff with the purpose of seeing him. Unless she wanted to break it off completely and Hitch became enraged.

 

[Creole]

Elfreida could have become a "liability" to more than one person with what she knew about a host of people - especially, if these persons held positions in law enforcement. Whether she had an actual sexual affair with Charles or a highly charged flirtation, it could have eventually led to embarrassing repercussions hadn't all parties kept a closed lid on it. Forensics were not a fine tuned art back then and many murders went unsolved even though it was quite clear who did what. And even though this is considered a small, quiet, respectable town, they were close to alot of graft that was happening on a daily basis elsewhere. And sometimes a murder is committed for a lot less. I think she was set up and then things got crazy. I think people were trying to cover their own tracks and others were trying to cover for the people directly involved. I still want to know the truth though - especially, how she was killed - or how they attempted to kill her. ....

 

[Ausgirl]

Poor Elfrieda was definitely murdered in my opinion.....it is the who, how many, etc. that I keep going back and forth on. I do not think it was highly premeditated - I think it may have been thought about and the timing of the opportunity presented itself that evening - hence, the chaos surrounding the clues left, the behavior of certain people, etc. I think there were others - not directly involved in killing her - who knew who was guilty also - including Elfrieda's friend. I think she might have took off - scared or was brought somewhere to keep tabs on her. When it was known the police were looking for her to question, she returned - but had her "story" by that time.

Creole, those are some excellent thoughts, and welcome to the discussion.

I still have trouble getting past -why- she was left in the police station -- if either Hitch or Barney were guilty, you'd think that'd be the last place they'd leave her, seeing as it points squarely at somebody with access to both the Hall and the furnace room.

Hitch and Barney both act like guilty men, though, and there's no denying that.

It's a real puzzle. One explanation could be that the main perp is somebody who (for whatever reason) wanted Elfrieda to be found there, and who both Hitch and Barney had an interest in protecting.

 

[Ausgirl]

And even though this is considered a small, quiet, respectable town, they were close to alot of graft that was happening on a daily basis elsewhere.

Just to add, Creole - there's a pile of evidence that organised crime had a very firm foothold in Lake Bluff at that time.

Mrs. Durand getting bullied, and having her apparently healthy cattle declared diseased and destroyed by county officials is a great example of what happened to people who rocked the boat (she was pushing for legislation on the milk industry, and exposing crooked meat inspectors, as well as a staunch and influential supporter of prohibition).

And of course, the prohibition-era booze runners (Dillinger and Capone) who used Lake Bluff as a drop-off point.

I'd say Lake Bluff had more than its share of graft going on. Whether it's related to Elfrieda, I can't say. But I can say that for that amount of corruption to be going on, there had to be police involvement and probably some higher up the ladder, too.

 

[KariKae]

Creole, those are some excellent thoughts, and welcome to the discussion.

I still have trouble getting past -why- she was left in the police station -- if either Hitch or Barney were guilty, you'd think that'd be the last place they'd leave her, seeing as it points squarely at somebody with access to both the Hall and the furnace room.

Hitch and Barney both act like guilty men, though, and there's no denying that.

It's a real puzzle. One explanation could be that the main perp is somebody who (for whatever reason) wanted Elfrieda to be found there, and who both Hitch and Barney had an interest in protecting.

That's the part I cannot wrap my mind around either. Why not shoot her and put the body in the lake? I keep going back to the electrocution (if there was one) was an accident. What if a perp was cutting pieces of live electical wire for the purposes of tying her up? High voltage wire like would be used for a train. In the struggle, EK hit the live wires and was electrocuted? Is that even possible? (I don't know a lot about electricity).

 

[Creole]

I agree - the "messy" way she was killed does not make sense if the guilty party(s) had a thought out plan. If it was spur of the moment, desperation could have taken hold - especially when someone doesn't die immediately. Another thing that perplexes me....if, as I was suggesting, they did try to get rid of her body (or burn it beyond recognition - remember forensics wasn't quite there yet), why did they leave her body in the basement and not get it out once they figured it was not possible to destroy the body - the furnace was supposedly cold but did that mean not only no fire, but no coals remaining also - or how long would it take to get as cold as it was found. Maybe it was something as simple as people finally all out panicking when nothing was going their way or as Ausgirl suggests, it could have been someone sending a message to Hitch and Barney - sending a clear message as to just how dangerous they could be and how quickly they could destroy their lives if need be. I also agree that if organized crime was running rampant, the police department was no doubt involved. Which leads me to go back to my original thoughts that Elfreida had become a liability....maybe she didn't do anything in particular but knew too much - or she might have been the sacrificed "message" meant to scare Hitch. After all, she wasn't married, wasn't a woman from a prestigious family - in other words, there would be an active criminal investigation but the guilty parties would have to cover it up - case closed quickly with no one of any importance raising heck. Maybe that is why Barney acted so odd - he might not have been actively involved in whatever Hitch did to anger the mob, but he knew exactly what the message was and who it was aimed toward....if one dirty cop went down, they all would go down - like a house of cards. I wish we had the actual medical reports detailing Elfrieda's condition - as ghastly as it would be to read, I think it may tell us something about what was done to her - personally, I think there were at least 2 if not more acts committed against her to kill her - the poor thing.

 

[KariKae]

Creole - As offensive as it is, I have heard what you described called the "single woman defense", meaning there's really no harm when a single woman dies. She wasn't a mother or even a wife. Therefore, her life wasn't worth as much.

I think Frieda did come from a fairly prominent family. They certainly weren't the Rockafellers, but they seemed to be a middle-upper class family. But they did not have the resources or power to make heads roll until they found out what happened to their daughter.

Considering the organized crime information, I am again leaning toward Barney being a part of the cover up rather than being directly involved. But I do think he knew EK was down there before sending the maintainence man to stoke the furnace. So, why would he allow a naked, charred dying woman to be left in his police station. I think by the time Barney was involved the crime had already taken place. I also think Barney was shocked when the Janitor opened the door and found EK alive. I think Barney thought she would die during the night (which is why the door was locked....stay down there and die.) Barney knew this murder had to be quieted as quickly as possible. What if the best way for him to control the crime scene was to have EK found there? He certainly tried to control the crime scene by sorting the ashes etc.

Here's another aspect I am having trouble with...The burned flesh smell. There has been much speculation that Frieda was burned or electrocuted in another location then moved to the furnace room. I keep thinking about the splayed handprints on furnace. Wouldn't that have created a burned flesh smell?

And one final questions...Marie M, you said to look into the relationship with Marie and how she was selected to be a Sunday school teacher? Could you eleaborate on this a little bit more? I did not see the information in your blog. I'm trying to piece together the most likely person to have left the second piece of female hair. I am leaning toward Mrs Hitch, but also wondering about the friend.

 

[Robin Hood]

''And one final questions...Marie M, you said to look into the relationship with Marie and how she was selected to be a Sunday school teacher? ''

I would be interested too.

As far as women that could have been in the furnace room -

Mrs Hitch and older daughter listed on census
Marie M.
Luella R.
Unknown partners of the other Police officers
Owner of pink underskirt found under lumber in furnace room (Barney thought it had been planted after the event)

 

[Creole]

Yes, I agree with you KariKae regarding Barney...I am also bothered about there being no burnt flesh smell - and the prints on the side of the furnace....it is very perplexing and probably what keeps me thinking about this old case so much.

 

[Stella]

Creole, the idea you came up with about someone trying to put EK into the furnace in different ways makes sense as far as the different parts of her that were burned. But I still am having trouble with the lack of any smell of burning flesh. I understand that it lingers for a long time, days to weeks, depending on any ventilating system in the room. Could there have been some way to ventilate that room or chemically remove the smell before she was found? I can't seem to find anything on this subject.

 

[Belinda]

Is it possible that the burnt flesh smell was there and just not specifically mentioned by anyone? As in, of course there was a burnt flesh smell because she was burnt.

 

[Ausgirl]

Belinda, the handyman who found her made the remark that he thought it strange there was no smell. Perhaps that's part of the reason he was so terribly shocked - aside from the horrible nature of the crime - in that he had no 'warning' that something was amiss before he got into the furnace room and saw her.

KariKae has a very good point, though, about the handprints and the smell. It's all so maddening.

I think the fact the case files 'vanished' says a lot. Somebody with access to them wanted this case to go away.

Hitch.
and/or Barney.

Robin Hood's made some wonderful progress in digging up some further information - how's that going, Robin?

I'm looking at maybe contacting some family members regarding this thread, it might be good to see if there's anyone who recalls family stories about Elfrieda and what she was like, or their own thoughts as to what happened.

 

[Ausgirl]

Creole, the blood in the doorway and the footprints, the lack of smell, the handprints burned on to the furnace exterior, her missing hat and coat - all of it says to me that she didn't go willingly to her injuries, and there was probably two crime locations.

I think it's also a little telling that soon after this, Eugene Spaid is chasing booze running gangs across the county. I have this feeling that maybe Eugene wasn't a part of whatever previous 'good ole boy' system was in place.

Again, I in no way think Elfrieda or her death had anything to do with organised crime, but I do think official associations with it, along with a pre-existing system of corruption in the PD and other official groups could feasibly have contributed to how the case was bum's rushed through the coroner's enquiry with selective evidence that forced a suicide vote from the jury, for example.

This case - and all the unwanted publicity and outsiders poking around that it caused - was meant to 'go away', and on more levels than just Barney or Hitch nabbing the files, methinks.

 

[Belinda]

Could the handyman have lied about the lack of smell? Not sure why he would, unless he was part of the cover-up. At the very least, the handprints burned onto the furnace. There should have been something. Shouldn't there have been a smell just from her being in the room?

 

[Robin Hood]

Belinda, the handyman who found her made the remark that he thought it strange there was no smell. Perhaps that's part of the reason he was so terribly shocked - aside from the horrible nature of the crime - in that he had no 'warning' that something was amiss before he got into the furnace room and saw her.

KariKae has a very good point, though, about the handprints and the smell. It's all so maddening.

I think the fact the case files 'vanished' says a lot. Somebody with access to them wanted this case to go away.

Hitch.
and/or Barney.

Robin Hood's made some wonderful progress in digging up some further information - how's that going, Robin?

I'm looking at maybe contacting some family members regarding this thread, it might be good to see if there's anyone who recalls family stories about Elfrieda and what she was like, or their own thoughts as to what happened.

I'm waiting on a reply to some questions I posed a while ago, from what I gather we have covered most of what's known.

Ausgirl, any luck with Hargraves etc ?

Have a go at contacting the family, I'm sure there's much more left unsaid.

 

[Alix]

I think that might be the most ghastly story I have ever read.

I don't see how she could have burned her face down to the bone. How did she leave her face stuck in a burning furnace long enough to do that without breathing in fire?

God, that is just hideous.

 

[Ausgirl]

Good question, Alix. And I fully understand your reaction.

Belinda, I've asked myself those same questions many times. Odd thing to lie about, though, I think. And I've wondered whether he meant 'no smell leading up to the furnace room' rather than 'no smell at all'.

Robin, none yet, so I may do a follow-up email soonish. I'm tracking down some Knaak relatives and pretty much just am going to trust my gut as to which one to write to first.