The Oesterreichs move to Los Angeles.
Otto pursued his inner dream and even published a few of his pulp fiction books under a pen name. Everything was working well for the lovers for five years. At the same time, Fred was going insane. He started noticing his cigarettes going missing and hearing strange noises from the attic. After seeing shadows pass by at night, he was certainly convinced that the house was haunted.
The suspected presence of an unnatural energy in the house forced him to move. Fred decided that the only way to get away from it was to move to Los Angeles. Little did he know that the ghost would follow him no matter where he went. The news of the move was alarming to the lovers and they had to find a solution to assure the continuance of their secret relationship. Dolly agreed to move under one condition – that the new house would have an attic. To further eliminate any suspicion, Otto left in advance and settled in the new house. He was 22 at the time and had made himself comfortable upon arrival.
Their new life was short-lived.
After moving to L.A., Fred’s love towards alcohol grew stronger and his marriage became weaker. He drank day and night and often engaged in altercations with Dolly. Their relationship was declining at a fast rate as arguments between the two was an everyday occurrence. August 22, 1922, four years after moving to L.A., was just another day of fighting among the married couple. But that particular day, Otto believed that Fred would harm Dolly. He feared for her life and rushed downstairs thinking the unimaginable.
To Fred’s amazement, the factory repairman he sent to fix his wife’s sewing machine 5 years ago, was running towards him with a .25 caliber rifle. Without any warning, Otto pressed the trigger three times. All three of the rounds hit Fred in the chest, killing him instantly. The lovers believed that the incident would result in them being locked up forever. In order to protect themselves, they decided to make it appear as a robbery gone wrong.
Staging the murder to look like a robbery.
To paint an innocent picture in front of the police, they staged the murder and made it look like a robbery gone wrong. Otto took Fred’s diamond watch and then locked Dolly inside a closet. He then threw the key far away and hid in the attic. Dolly then started screaming to alert the neighbors, acting as if she was in danger. One of the neighbors heard her scream and called the police. Otto then left the scene before the police arrived. Since Dolly wasn’t capable of locking herself inside the closet, the police had no suspicion and did not doubt the validity of her story. Upon her husband’s death, she inherited his fortune. With this money, she bought a new house with a huge attic where she kept Otto as a slave.
Dolly then started dating her lawyer; which is when her story began to crumble. Herman Shapiro, Dolly’s lawyer, became highly suspicious when he learned that she was in possession of the missing diamond watch. Unbeknownst to him, Dolly had also seduced one of her neighbors in order to hide the gun used in the crime. The police caught up with the unraveling story and arrested her on suspicion. Otto, however, was nowhere to be found to connect the missing pieces.
While Dolly was in jail, she convinced Shapiro to go back to her house and feed Otto. Though it sounds insane, the lawyer was deeply in love with her and he actually went through with her request. While visiting Otto, Shapiro learned about their weird relationship. Without wasting any time, he kicked him out of the house and broke up with Dolly.
The story about Dolly’s arrest began to spread nationwide. The fear of being charged with murder and spending life in prison forced Otto to flee the country. He fled to Canada, where he changed his name to Walter Klein and got married. Eight years later, Otto decided to visit L.A., where his luck came to an end. He was arrested, charged and put on trial for the murder of Fred Oesterreich. Because the statute of limitations had run out, his charges were dropped and he was released from jail. Dolly faced a similar trial but the jury wasn’t fully convinced. She was acquitted, released and then went on to find another lover.
After his release, Otto went into the darkness; never to be heard from again. Dolly got re-married after her release, when she was 71. She died in 1961 at the age 97. Although the news about Otto is unknown, he gained the famous name “Bat Man”. Their trial was famous and received a wide amount of media coverage. It was nicknamed “the Bat Man of Los Angeles”, since Otto lurked in the darkness of the attic.
Sources: Atlas Obscura, The Public I, No Fear For The Future, Murderpedia, Vintage News.
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