Every once in a while, a murder case comes along that is so strange it sounds like it was manufactured in a Hollywood writer's room. But, in the case of Walbruga "Dolly" Oesterreich, her scandalous tale involved everything from a weird secret affair to a shocking murder, and it was all 100% true.
For Years, She Kept Her Secret Lover In The Attic And Made Him Live Like A Bat
#1 This Kinky Woman Made A Man Into Her Sex Slave
Meet Dolly Oesterreich, a woman who lived during the 1910's. She was a German immigrant who decided she needed an extra lover, and she kept him in the attic for safekeeping.
#2 Her Husband Just Wasn't Cutting It Sexually
Dolly married Fred Oesterreich, a wealthy owner of a factory. He was a huge alcoholic, and he fought with Dolly constantly. That's when Dolly started looking for someone else.
#3 She Claims Her Slave
A 17-year-old repairman worked at Fred's factory, and as soon as Dolly laid eyes on him, she knew she was going to make him into her slave. She called him to her house and answered the doors in stockings and a skimpy robe. What happened next will shock you.
#4 Things Got Kinky
They started to meet at hotels during the daytime, for kinky sex. After a while, her friends got suspicious. She then started telling everyone that this man was her homeless half-brother.
#5 Then Things Got Even Kinkier
Dolly knew that her story would not hold up. So she came up with an even crazier plan - move this young repair man into her own attic, where she would keep him on call for kinky sex episodes. This repairman was more than willing, as he used the opportunity to write kinky pulp fiction novels in his spare time.
#6 She Creepily Keeps Her Lover Secluded
Sanhuber's attic abode was as depressing as it sounds and it was described as a nest, outfitted with nothing but a mattress, chamber pot, and an oil lamp. When he moved in, all he brought was some meager writing and reading materials to keep him occupied whenever he wasn't satisfying Dolly Oesterreich's every whim.
#7 She Makes Him Do The Chores
Even though he was a sex slave, this repairman was also made to clean, and do chores around the house while Dolly's husband was out. She gave him no money, and even locked him inside the attic, where there was nothing except a dirty mattress.
#8 Things Go Horribly Wrong
When this sex slave heard Dolly and her husband arguing, he broke out of his prison and ran down to shoot Dolly's husband twice in the chest and once in the head. Fred Oesterreich must have been stunned to see Sanhuber descend from the depths of his cave; ever since the couple had moved from Milwaukee, he had never gone up to the attic, as Dolly told him the noises coming from up there were "ghosts".
#9 They Tried To Make The Murder Look Like A Robbery
They removed Fred Oesterreich's diamond watch, and Sanhuber locked Dolly Oesterreich in the closet and threw away the key. Then, he scurried back up to the attic to hide, and ultimately fled the scene of the crime before police discovered his presence.
#10 Dolly Goes To Prison
For years the murder remained unsolved, and the police were highly suspicious of Oesterreich, but couldn't figure out how she might have killed her husband if she were locked in the closet. Her lawyer found a few slip-ups in the story after he began an affair with the murderer, and she ended up going to prison for the crime,leaving her slave alone in the attic nest.
#11 Sanhuber Changes His Name And Remarries
Sanhuber, fearing a murder charge, escaped the country, changed his name to Walter Klein, and actually married another woman in Canada. Mrs. Klein likely had an interesting reaction when her husband fled again, back to Los Angeles, and ended up getting caught and put on trial for the murder of Fred Oesterreich. Although Sanhuber was arrested and convicted for manslaughter, he was let off the hook because of the statute of limitations. Dolly Oesterreich also got off pretty easy when her trial resulted in a hung jury and the charges were dropped in 1936.
#12 The Public Is Creeped Out By Sanhuber's Attic Dwelling
The term "Bat Man" wasn't associated with a superhero just yet, and Sanhuber sulked off into hiding after the whole event. Dolly Oesterreich lived the rest of her life with a new lover in the same house and died peacefully in 1961. People say the house is haunted and neighbors report a flickering light in the attic window on occasion.
