24. The Sausage Vat Murder

Adolph Luetgert was the “sausage king” of Chicago. He owned the A.L. Luetgert Sausage & Packing Company and when business was booming, he was a successful, highly regarded family man. But when the business turned bad and money was scarce, he and his wife Louise were constantly fighting. On May 1, 1897 Louise was reported missing. Adolph claimed she had walked out on him but the police had another idea. They accused him of killing his wife and dissolving her body in a vat of boiling potash.