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

[Robin Hood]

From LDS

First Name Estelle
Middle Name:
Last Name: Hitchcock
Name Suffix:
Birth Date: 20 March 1884
Social Security Number: 327-18-5526
Place of Issuance: Illinois
Last Residence: Lake, Illinois
Zip Code of Last Residence: 60044
Death Date: January 1981
Estimated Age at Death: 97

Could be the correct person.

 

[Robin Hood]

I have a gut feeling this may be the correct 'Hitch'

From LDS

First Name: Charles
Middle Name:
Last Name: Hitchcock
Name Suffix:
Birth Date: 14 September 1879
Social Security Number: 500-12-2968
Place of Issuance: Missouri
Last Residence: Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri
Zip Code of Last Residence: 64106
Death Date: March 1974
Estimated Age at Death: 95

 

[Robin Hood]

But then again, after much searching I came across this

http://www.highlandpark.org/obits/hi-hy.html
Hitchcock, C. W., radio artist, dramatist, speech specialist. June 23, 1960, p. 61.

 

[KariKae]

http://www.letterboxing.org/BoxView...=Lake_Bluff_Furnace_Death_Mystery_Series_of_3

''When questioned, Hitchcock denied having any romance with Miss Knaak, saying that he had taught her sales psychology and dramatic expression. Hitchcock admitted that Elfrieda consulted him occasionally when she had a knotty problem. He was unaware of Elfrieda's feelings of love for him. Hitchcock’s wife said she knew nothing of the girl’s attraction to her husband. Mrs. Hitchcock had been working in a music show of Selvi Carlson in Highland Park the night Miss Knaak was burned. Two witnesses testified that Hitchcock was at home that evening.

Don't they always deny the affair?

 

[KariKae]

http://www.newspaperarchive.com/SiteMap/FreePdfPreview.aspx?img=105951839

This article says Eflrieda was not "criminally attacked". I would assume that is another way of saying she was not sexually assaulted.

 

[Ausgirl]

Awesome, Robin -- that second link sure sounds like him. And the other link'd be the Mrs. - the zip's for Lake Bluff. That's so great! Thanks for this!

KariKae, yeah I took it that way, too - though there was initially no evidence of any kind of assault, so maybe they meant that? Mainly as they weren't looking too hard - it was the Knaak family's private detective who drew attention to the indentation on her neck, leading to the x-ray which proved she had a fractured skull. The old papers had their ways of 'suggesting' sexual assault, and there weren't any in the reports on Efrieda hinting to that, so I've always assumed she wasn't raped.

Oh hey - something interesting I discovered on looking at a map of the area -- Highland Park is only 3.5 miles from Deerfield, Elfrieda's home town.

It's more than 18 miles from Highland Park to Lake Bluff.

So Elfrieda was 3.5 miles from home when she made her phone calls at 9.45 (after a day at work and a long train ride from Chicago) and then went 18 miles further out to Lake Bluff.

 

[Robin Hood]

Awesome, Robin -- that second link sure sounds like him. And the other link'd be the Mrs. - the zip's for Lake Bluff. That's so great! Thanks for this!

KariKae, yeah I took it that way, too - though there was initially no evidence of any kind of assault, so maybe they meant that? Mainly as they weren't looking too hard - it was the Knaak family's private detective who drew attention to the indentation on her neck, leading to the x-ray which proved she had a fractured skull. The old papers had their ways of 'suggesting' sexual assault, and there weren't any in the reports on Efrieda hinting to that, so I've always assumed she wasn't raped.

Oh hey - something interesting I discovered on looking at a map of the area -- Highland Park is only 3.5 miles from Deerfield, Elfrieda's home town.

It's more than 18 miles from Highland Park to Lake Bluff.

So Elfrieda was 3.5 miles from home when she made her phone calls at 9.45 (after a day at work and a long train ride from Chicago) and then went 18 miles further out to Lake Bluff.[/QUOTE]

Things folk do for love eh ?


I want a peek at the Police records, those phone calls must have been traceable through the operator and the autopsy would be good too. The arm fracture may show today as a defence wound. I'd also like a ME to give their verdict on the electricution theory too.

 

[KariKae]

So, in the beginning, there were a bunch of links showing hitch posing with his crutches and cast and now I cannot seem to find one. Can anyone tell me if the right or the left leg was broken? Would he have been able to drive a car? Casts back in the 1920s were a lot bulkier than they are now. Plus there were no "boots" so the wearer had to be careful not to get them wet.

I am fairly convinced Elfrieda and Hitch were having a emotional affair. Whether it had turned physical or not, I do not know. And I am fairly certain Hitch was aware of and encouraging Elfrienda's affections. I wonder if Elfrieda's comment about "submitting to his love until his wife was agreeable" referred to a divorce. I wonder how common physical affairs were in the 1920s as I do not think birth control was readily available and an out of wedlock pregnancy with a married man would be an absolute scandal.

 

[Ausgirl]

I wonder if Elfrieda's comment about "submitting to his love until his wife was agreeable" referred to a divorce

Sometimes I'm so busy staring at the forest, I don't see the trees.

Good thinkin' 99.

Also, I'm pretty sure it was his left leg. I found a pic of him at the coroner's inquiry yesterday but lost the link - it showed his left leg in a cast, wrapped with a cloth to keep it clean.

 

[Ausgirl]

I want a peek at the Police records, those phone calls must have been traceable through the operator and the autopsy would be good too. The arm fracture may show today as a defence wound. I'd also like a ME to give their verdict on the electricution theory too.

I'm at the point of sending a polite email to the local LE, asking whether it's possible they could share a little info. After all, everyone concerned is long dead and the 'official' status is still suicide, as far as I know.

ETA: I have emailed one of the Lake Bluff police officers, with a request regarding information.

 

[Robin Hood]

I'm at the point of sending a polite email to the local LE, asking whether it's possible they could share a little info. After all, everyone concerned is long dead and the 'official' status is still suicide, as far as I know.

ETA: I have emailed one of the Lake Bluff police officers, with a request regarding information.

You're a Witch, you read my mind lol.

 

[Ausgirl]

You're a Witch, you read my mind lol.

Nah, I'm retired from all that now.

 

[Robin Hood]

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...

Pics of broken leg at first link.

 

[Robin Hood]

Just a thought, re Elfrieda's injuries, what about a whack from a crutch to break the arm and another as she turns to run with the softer end catching her at the back of her head causing it to bleed. It would account for the 'sandbag' injury to the head and possibly cause it to bleed as she is forced down the steps to the furnace. Having her head at the back forced into the furnace would Cauterize the bleed.

 

[Ausgirl]

Robin, one image I can't get out of my mind is those footprints in ash and blood leading from the furnace to the door and back again. And now, thanks to Ione Quinby, intrepid girl reporter, I have a set of splayed handprints on the outside of the furnace stuck in my head as well.

Lots of stuff doesn't add up. Just thinking aloud here:

Ione remarks that those handprints are the first thing she noticed on entering the small furnace room. They were burned on to the surface of the furnace above the fire box, black and greasy (which made them stand out). The fingers were splayed - as they might be if somebody was resisting contact.

The handprints suggested to Ione that Elfrieda wasn't unconscious when she was burned in the furnace, and that she didn't go willingly.

The footprints -- they had to have been made prior to Elfrieda's feet being severely burned -- walking on feet (and muscle) charred to the bone isn't really possible.

Unless the footprints aren't hers.

Police noted that there was blood on the stairs leading in, which they presume is where the blood in the prints came from.

What I can't get my head around, then, is why the footprints lead from the furnace to the door area and back, if the door area was the source of the blood.

Unless the footprints lead from the door area to the furnace and back, instead. Important difference.

Anyhow, they don't mention a great trail of blood leading to the police station, nor did Slavic village handyman Chris Louis report blood outside the furnace room warning something was amiss prior to his entry.

There was blood on the furnace room door - handprint shapes - and blood in the door area. None outside.

The handyman also noted no smell of burned flesh. Which to me is exceedingly odd. Ever burned a pork chop? I have. The whole house needs airing, after. It's a cloying stink, black greasy smoke that sticks to everything. Takes hours to air it out. And that was just a couple pork chops slightly charred -- not two hands, two feet and a forehead burned down to the bone in a very small, closed room. It should have stunk to high heaven, and if there was even a small gap under that door, the smell should've pervaded the basement and possibly the rooms above as well.

We can assume from all this, at least for now, that:

- nobody was bleeding before they got into the furnace room.
- somebody, injured in that doorway, bled enough to produce bloody handprints and a pile of footprints.
- blood higher on the door suggests somebody's hands came in contact with the blood (ergo, the blood likely didn't come from feet) - suggesting, perhaps, a serious head wound (which could account for the fractured skull).
And, most curiously:
- the bulk of Elfrieda's burns very possibly didn't happen inside that room.

And here's the conundrum:

If Elfrieda was badly burned outside the room, whose footprints are those in blood and ash trailing from furnace to door and back? How do we then account for the bits of metal from her stays in the firebox, and her hair and skin stuck to the waterpipes inside it?

And if she was, indeed, burned in that tiny room -- why was there was no obvious reek?

Also, if someone else was in that furnace room -- did they remove their shoes before exiting, so as not to leave a trail of bloody prints through the rooms outside? Were they there long enough for the blood to dry? Or did somebody clean up, after?

 

[Ausgirl]

I also feel I need to make a post regarding a few oddnesses connected to Barney Rosenhagen, so it's all in one place:

- Barney noted that his dog was 'sniffing around the stairs' to the basement before he left to go home. That'd be 9.30 or so, at least half an hour before Elfrieda even got to Lake Bluff.

- Barney arrived early, 7am-ish, and noted the Hall was cold - and called on Chris Louis, village handyman, to get the furnace going. Even though this wasn't Chris's job. Chris was a Slavic immigrant. He ran up the stairs screaming about devils.

- On the arrival of another policeman (likely Spaid) Barney told him to go down to tend to Elfrieda. Some reports have Spaid going down alone. Some say Barney went with him.

- Barney at some point prior to 11.30am had Chris the handyman sift the ashes, which I presume when the metal stays, etc, were found. He then threw the remaining ashes away.

- After he threw the ashes away, Barney took several hours to call the Sheriff and Doctor Rissinger. From the letterbox link:

Rosenhagen telephoned the Wenban Funeral Home in Lake Forest and requested an ambulance and called local Dr. A. J. Rissinger.

In fact, it took him four hours to notify them. I read one report (sadly, the link is not at hand, I'll find it though) in which the coroner's jury was incredulous about the fact it took that long for Barney to call Rissinger.

- Barney was visibly nervous at the coroner's inquiry. It was noted he was gripping hard to the stand at times. His story about where Elfrieda was, exactly, when she was found changed. First he said she was lying on the floor. Then he said she was crouched by the furnace.

 

[Robin Hood]

I read the link re. Barney and his delay in calling the Sherrff, by all accounts he wasn't a happy bloke. I also read it was Hitch who usually tended the boiler and because he was absent the duty fell to the Slav.
The news reports contradict each other at times but without them we would be clueless.
so far I've read Elfrieda was standing up, sitting up facing the boiler, crouching to the side...we need those Police statements.
Barney was a little rattled and that seems odd for a Policeman, I also read he wouldn't go down to the basement and sent others. Also, the ashes seem important too, was he looking for a key ? but it couldn't have been his or he couldn't have opened the station that day.
I can't understand why Elfrieda wasn't screaming in pain unless she had been given something like Laudanum which was widely available at that time.

 

[Ausgirl]

Some relevant links:

Report of Rosenhagen's death, Dec 17 1928.

Rosenhagen and Hitchcock fired at the same time
- Yet another news report states that after Rosenhagen's death, Hitchcock was given the job of Chief for 6 months until Spaid took over? The heck is that about?

'Chief Resents Quizzing"
- "Frightened, Lewis rushed back to the first floor and shouted to Rosenhagen, who was in the street. Rosenhagen in turn called a police officer, who went to the woman's aid."

Oho- and a new conflicting story, here!
- Canna bulbs? Yet to another reporter Barney quotes a conversation he said he had with Louis, where they discuss how cold it was in the station after Barney asked Louis to light the furnace.

Elfrieda's boss says she left work late
Her boss was Glen D. Carter - not Frank Compton, who owned the company. ".. was apparently in good spirits and announced she was on her way home." and "She had missed her regular train but would take the next one."
Rissinger: "She is evidently shielding herself and someone else".

Some help, please:
If anyone has a subscription to the Chicago Tribune, could you please help out with the list of investigative points given in this article?

I'd be terribly grateful!

 

[Ausgirl]

Hiya Robin -- seems Barney's at least partly responsible for the conflicting reports as to her position when found.

I can't understand why Elfrieda wasn't screaming in pain unless she had been given something like Laudanum which was widely available at that time.

One thing I read is that burn victims sometimes don't feel the pain of their most severe burns, since all their nerve endings are dead. But she was certainly in quite some pain in hospital, requiring strong pain killers.

Elfrieda wasn't screaming at all. She only asked for some water.

So you might have a very good point, there.

An interesting quote from a member of the coroner's inquest jury: "We do not say this was suicide but what evidence was presented leaves us no other course."

 

[Robin Hood]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=H8pPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ilQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6418,2410379&hl=en

Seems Elfrieda didn't use her ticket between Highland Park and Lake Bluff ?

Edited to add.. I would like some info on Luella Roeh (B.Lock) I think she lived in the area known as Block possibly with the area code 61877, Illinois.