After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Episode: New York's Wildest Murder Case

Hosts: Maddy Pelling & Anthony Delaney
Guest: Dr. Kat Byers
Date: August 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into one of New York’s most sensational and bizarre murder mysteries of the late 19th century: the "Scattered Dutchman" case of 1897. With historian Dr. Kat Byers, hosts Maddy Pelling and Anthony Delaney unpack a tale of jealousy, love triangles, “baby farms,” criminal midwives, and a duck—yes, a duck—named Julia who improbably helps unravel the grisly killing.

Expect dark humor, vivid crime scene storytelling, and a sharp examination of social and cultural realities in Gilded Age New York. The case not only captivated the city with scandal and intrigue, but also shone a light on the chaotic, often corrupt world of law enforcement and the press in that era.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Gilded Age New York

• [03:23] Anthony summarizes the bustling backdrop: late 1890s Manhattan, skyscrapers rising, booming immigration, explosive population growth, and a rapidly modernizing metropolis.
  • “This is a moment when the city as we would recognise it today, is starting to emerge.” —Anthony [06:27]
• The police force is young and notoriously corrupt. Journalism is fiercely competitive, often outpacing the authorities themselves in solving crimes.

2. Discovery of the Torso: A Shocking Find

• [03:23] Two boys swimming at East 11th street recover a strange red and gold oilcloth bundle from the river. Onlookers help them open it, revealing a mutilated human torso — no head, stomach, or legs.
  • “Inside was the mutilated torso of a human being. The chest and arms, but no head, no stomach or legs.” —Anthony [04:23]

3. A Grim Investigation

• [07:57] Dr. Kat Byers describes how another part of the body is soon found outside the city. The case is quickly deemed a deliberate murder and the investigation begins.
• The body: male, muscular, yet with smooth, manicured hands, leads to confusion about his profession and identity.
  • “He looks like he maybe has a physical laboring job, but he’s got these really smooth, sort of tidy hands.” —Kat [08:20]
• The press, not just the police, flock to the morgue. Occultists, palm-readers, and missing persons have a field day as the media generates a tabloid frenzy.

4. Police vs. Press: Who Does the Sleuthing?

• [10:11] The 1890s New York police are painted as ineffective—a quote from a detective reveals xenophobic assumptions and an almost comic lack of real evidence:
  • “I believe that this most atrocious murder was committed by a foreigner... murders which were done with like, ferocity as this have always been committed by foreigners...” —New York Detective (read by Anthony) [12:19]
• In contrast, rival newspapers put real effort into investigation, often doing more than the police.

5. Key Clues: The Oilcloth and the Bath House

• [14:44] The unique red and gold oilcloth wrap becomes central. Tracing its source leads to Augusta Knack, a German housewife.
• A reporter, remembering the detail about smooth-handed laborers, investigates local bathhouses. At one, staff identify the missing man as William Guldensop, a Dutch bathhouse masseur who recently vanished after claiming he was going to a country house with his girlfriend Augusta.
  • “That’s the gayest thing I’ve ever heard. He just goes for fun. He’s definitely a super straight guy. He just goes there after work. Anyway, he goes to his bath house, like, five times a week.” —Kat [15:10]

6. Character Portrayals: Augusta & the Victim

• [16:53] Newspapers begin to shape Augusta and Guldensop’s images for public consumption, with Augusta depicted as severe and manipulative, and William as handsome, proper, and the sympathetic victim.
  • “She looks quite... not exactly overdressed but like she’s trying to look more respectable than she maybe is.” —Anthony (on Augusta) [17:58]
  • “They described it at one point as pleasant yet repellent.” —Kat [18:36]

7. Love Triangles, Jealousies, & Shady Business

• Augusta’s real husband, Herman, has long fled her orbit, weary of the mess. William became her lover after lodging with them, and another man, Martin, soon entered the triangle, leading to escalating violence and jealousy.
• Rumors swirl that Augusta isn’t just a midwife—she may also be running illegal abortions and a “baby farm” for abandoned or unwanted children.
  • “She was cheating on me. I have nothing to do with her. Please keep me away from Augusta.” —Herman (as recounted by Kat) [19:28]
  • “This is Augusta’s husband. Augusta’s actual husband. She does have an actual husband.” —Maddy [19:32]

8. Life in 1890s New York: Affairs & Scandals

• [24:11] The hosts reflect on how common, if unspoken, affairs, unconventional living situations, and social taboos really were. True crime exposes the “other lives” of everyday people otherwise erased from history.
  • “People had affairs all the time. People broke up with their spouses and had strange and unusual living arrangements all the time.” —Anthony [24:41]

9. Enter Julia: The Crime-Solving Duck

• [25:34] The murderers lure William to a rented house with the pretense of starting a baby farm. Martin, hiding in the cupboard, leaps out and kills William, dismembers him, and with Augusta, dumps body parts.
• Martin tries to wash away the evidence, but only succeeds in pooling bloody water outside. Here’s where Julia, a neighbor’s duck, becomes unexpectedly central: she trails through the blood, arousing her owner’s suspicion, and ultimately leads him—and thus police—to the disposal site.
  • “Julia, like, goes on a little walk, as you do in the countryside, and then comes back and her owner notices that she’s, like, covered in what looks like blood.” —Kat [29:43]
  • “In my imagination, he’s like, Julia, lead me to the crime.” —Kat [29:56]

10. The Trial: Sensation and Stereotypes

• [39:13] The press has a field day. Augusta and Martin turn on each other, both trying to shift blame during a highly publicized trial.
  • Augusta: cold, calculated, and even entrepreneurial—charging visitors at the jail to see her. Martin’s defense attorney is notorious for defending New York’s underworld.
  • “He destroyed all his Own records, obviously, because he was a crooked lawyer... famous for defending all the low lives of New York.” —Kat [40:50]
• The result: Martin is executed (electric chair), Augusta is imprisoned (serves about 15 years) and later tries, unsuccessfully, to become a prison warden.

11. Media Sensation, Misogyny, and the Limits of Imagination

• Augusta, cold and unrepentant, fascinates the tabloids. The conversation pivots into how contemporary and historic media both vilify and mystify “evil” women, yet often struggle to comprehend women as true masterminds of malice.
  • “It’s like real feminism is women can also be evil. Go off queen.” —Kat & Maddy [43:15]
  • “[Augusta] just exists on the periphery in so many ways and often she’s sort of put herself there as well, which is fascinating.” —Anthony [44:34]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s got everything you could want in a salacious tabloid. Jealousy, love triangles, baby farms, bath houses, and of course, a violent murder. Oh, and a duck named Julia accidentally leading the police to a vital clue.” —Dr. Kat Byers [02:39]

• “If you submitted this as a novel to your editor, and the big twist was a duck found the blood and therefore the crime was solved, the editor would be like, we have a bit of a plotting issue here. No, we’re not doing this.” —Anthony [32:23]

• “It’s interesting for me because I think when we started this conversation, I was thinking this would be...Gangs of New York style...But actually, we're looking at this place on Long island just outside of New York, but also, like, it's so bucolic. There's a farm next door...that planned to move into that neighbourhood to run a baby farm and possibly provide illegal abortions.” —Anthony [32:40]

• “Ordinariness of murder. That’s really, really interesting.” —Maddy [35:19]

• “Real feminism is women can also be evil.” —Kat [43:15]

Key Timestamps

• 03:23 – The discovery of the torso at East 11th Street.
• 07:57 – Early police theory and press involvement begin.
• 12:19 – Xenophobia in 1890s police force; ineptitude.
• 14:44 – The oilcloth lead; Augusta Knack emerges as a suspect.
• 15:56 – Reporter’s bathhouse investigation yields name of victim.
• 19:28 – The love triangle: Augusta, William, Martin.
• 25:34 – Murder at the baby farm; introduction of Julia the duck.
• 29:43 – Duck’s bloody walk, discovery of crime scene.
• 39:13 – The sensational trial and the problematic lawyer.
• 43:01 – Discussion of misogyny and the public perception of “evil” women.

Tone and Atmosphere

Lightly irreverent, gleefully dark, and chock-full of macabre humor, the hosts and guest blend historical rigor with entertainment. Jokes fly amid the genuine horror and sadness of the case, and every sordid detail is used to cast light on the social undercurrents of Gilded Age crime and punishment.

Final Thoughts

“New York’s Wildest Murder Case” delivers a rip-roaring, deeply human account—a tale of ambition, greed, desperation, and odd luck (thanks, Julia). It’s a testament to both stranger-than-fiction reality and the lasting appeal of true crime as a window into society’s hidden corners.

Want more?

Check out past episodes with Dr. Kat Byers on the Paris Morgue and other infamous murder investigations. Justice for Julia—the duck!