The story revolves around a real-life "locked room mystery" that took place in 1922 at the Beverly Hills home of Dolly and Fred Ostrich. On August 22nd, shots rang out, and police found Fred dead, with three 25-caliber shell casings nearby. Dolly, found locked in a closet, claimed she had been hanging clothes and heard a fight break out downstairs. Despite the house being ransacked, Dolly said only Fred's diamond-encrusted wristwatch was missing.
The case remained unsolved for nearly a decade, with suspicion trailing Dolly due to her troubled marriage and alleged infidelity. However, the physical evidence did not support her guilt. In 1930, Dolly's estate lawyer boyfriend, Hermann Shapiro, came forward and revealed that he had been hiding a man named Otto Sanhuber, who had been secretly living with Dolly and Fred for almost a decade.
Otto, a quiet and small sewing machine repairman, had been having an affair with Dolly since 1913. He would sneak into the house, and Dolly would send him back to the attic, where he lived in a secret hideaway. On the night of the murder, Otto leapt out of the attic, carrying two 25-caliber pistols, and confronted Fred, who lunged at him. Otto started shooting, and Dolly staged the house to look like a robbery, locking herself in the closet.
The police eventually discovered the truth, and Dolly and Otto were arrested. The case became known as the "Batman Case" due to Otto's secret life in the attic. Otto was convicted of manslaughter but walked free due to the statute of limitations. Dolly's conspiracy to commit murder charges resulted in a hung jury, and she was also released. The story was finally revealed when Shapiro broke up with Dolly and came forward with the truth.
1. Dolly and Fred Ostrich lived in a stately Victorian home in Beverly Hills.
2. On August 22, 1922, shots rang out from inside the Ostrich home.
3. Neighbors called police, who found Fred shot to death on the living room floor.
4. Three 25-caliber shell casings were found next to Fred's body.
5. Dolly was found locked in a closet in the master bedroom.
6. Dolly claimed she was trapped in the closet and didn't see who locked her in.
7. The police found the key to the closet in another bedroom across the hall.
8. Dolly reported that the only thing missing from the house was Fred's diamond-encrusted wristwatch.
9. The police investigation found no evidence of forced entry or exit.
10. The police suspected Dolly of being involved in Fred's murder, but couldn't find any evidence to prove it.
11. A year after Fred's death, Captain Herman Klein of the Beverly Hills Police Department discovered the diamond-encrusted wristwatch in the office of Dolly's estate lawyer, Hermann Shapiro.
12. Dolly claimed she had given the watch to Shapiro as a gift, but Shapiro said Dolly had told him she found it under a sofa cushion.
13. The police found two 25-caliber pistols that Dolly had asked her boyfriends to dispose of.
14. In 1930, Shapiro revealed that he knew more about Fred's murder than he had let on.
15. Shapiro introduced the police to Otto Sanhuber, a man who had been living in the Ostrich's attic for almost a decade.
16. Otto had been having an affair with Dolly since 1913, when he was a teenager.
17. Otto had been living in the attic of the Ostrich's homes in Milwaukee and Beverly Hills.
18. On the night of August 22, 1922, Otto had come downstairs and shot Fred after hearing him arguing with Dolly.
19. Dolly had staged the house to look like a robbery and had Otto lock her in the closet.
20. Otto was convicted of manslaughter, but was allowed to walk free due to the statute of limitations.
21. Dolly was tried for conspiracy to commit murder, but the jury hung, and she was allowed to walk free.
22. Otto disappeared after the trial, and nothing more is known about him.
23. Dolly stayed in LA and died in 1961 at the age of 80.