Death in Eden

Summary

Criminal Podcast Episode Summary: "Death in Eden"

Podcast Information

• Title: Criminal
• Host/Author: Vox Media Podcast Network
• Description: Criminal is a groundbreaking show that explores stories about people who’ve done wrong, been wronged, or found themselves caught in the middle. Hosted by Phoebe Judge, it was named a Best Podcast of 2023 by The New York Times and is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
• Episode: Death in Eden
• Release Date: July 25, 2025

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Introduction to Frederick Ritter and Dorie Strauch

[01:03] Phoebe Judge introduces Frederick Ritter, a German doctor who, disillusioned with modern society following his traumatic experiences in World War I, seeks to escape civilization entirely. Abbott Kaler, the author featured in the episode, elaborates on Ritter's philosophies, highlighting his belief in holistic healing, the powers of water and the mind, and his admiration for Nietzsche and other philosophers.

Frederick Ritter:

• Philosophical Beliefs: "Civilization had nothing more to offer him and he had nothing more to offer it..." [01:48]
• Personal Idiosyncrasies: Ritter was known for his unpredictability and a strong disdain for manufactured goods, exemplified by his decision to create his own shoes and replace his teeth with steel dentures [02:09], [05:53].

Journey to Floriana Island

[05:32] Ritter and his patient, Dorie Strauch, a woman in her 20s suffering from multiple sclerosis, decide to abandon Berlin for the remote Floreana Island in the Galapagos. Initially hesitant, Ritter eventually consents to Dorie joining him despite both being married to other people.

Dorie Strauch:

• Motivation: Dissatisfied with her marriage and inspired by Ritter's vision, Dorie becomes instrumental in spreading his philosophies [03:07], [04:20].
• Initial Reluctance and Commitment: “Dorie started to think maybe he was onto something” [03:07].

Life on Floriana Island: Challenges and Strains

Upon arrival on [04:43], Ritter and Dorie set up their life in a cave previously inhabited by pirates. Life quickly proves harsher than anticipated:

• Environmental Hardships: Sharp lava rocks make walking difficult, especially for Dorie, whose multiple sclerosis exacerbates her pain [07:27].
• Wildlife Hazards: They face threats from wild cattle, boars, donkeys, and insects. Dorie suffers from sand fleas, leading Ritter to amputate and treat her feet [08:27].
• Resource Management: Despite challenges, they build a small home named Frito and manage to cultivate a garden, harvesting various fruits and vegetables [09:37].
• Social Strain: Ritter's cold demeanor and emphasis on mental fortitude strain his relationship with Dorie [07:51], [09:37].

Arrival of the Baroness and Escalating Tensions

[15:42] In August 1932, the Baroness Antonia Wagner von Werborne Bosquet arrives on Floriana with her two lovers, Robert and Rudolph. Her ambitious plan to build a luxury hotel, Hacienda Paradiso, and cater to American millionaires immediately disrupts the fragile peace on the island.

Baroness Antonia:

• Character Traits: Described as wild, seductive, and authoritarian. She brings exotic items, including bees and skimpy clothing, aiming to transform Floriana into a haven for the wealthy [18:42], [20:00].
• Initial Interactions: Her domineering behavior, such as ordering Rudolph to wash her feet and tampering with mail, creates friction with the existing residents [20:25], [21:34].

Disappearance of Residents and Rising Suspicion

As the Baroness asserts control, tensions escalate:

• Mysterious Events: Wild animal carcasses appear, and severe drought hits the island, leading to crop failures and scarce resources [27:42], [27:49].
• Suspicious Disappearances: Residents like Heinz Whitmer and the Baroness herself vanish under mysterious circumstances. Rudolph’s erratic behavior and eventual disappearance deepen suspicions [35:01], [36:34].
• Conflicting Accounts: Differing narratives from Dorie and Margaret Whitmer about Frederick Ritter’s involvement in the disappearances fuel uncertainty [32:34], [36:34].

The Decline of Frederick and Departure of Others

Frederick Ritter’s mental state deteriorates amidst the island's turmoil:

• Illness and Paranoia: Ritter consumes bad meat, leading to severe illness and erratic behavior. Reports vary between tender moments and violent outbursts towards Dorie [35:41], [36:41].
• Final Days: As Ritter dies, relationships fracture. Margaret Whitmer grows suspicious of Dorie, suspecting her involvement in Ritter's decline [36:41], [37:15].
• Dorie’s Departure: Captain George Hancock arrives after discovering Rudolph’s body, offering Dorie a way off the island. She leaves Floriana, while Margaret remains, ensuring her family’s legacy on the island [37:56], [38:43].

Aftermath and Theories

Post-incident investigations reveal more mysteries:

• Missing Bodies: The Baroness and Robert’s bodies are never found, leading to various theories about their fate, including possible survival and relocation [38:46], [39:00].
• Ongoing Legacy: Margaret Whitmer continues to live on Floriana, sharing artifacts and stories through her family-run Hotel Whitmer, which also serves as a museum honoring their isolated life [41:20].
• Differing Narratives: Personal memoirs by Dorie and Margaret offer conflicting accounts of events, adding layers of ambiguity to the true nature of what transpired on Floriana [43:03].

Conclusion

"Death in Eden" unravels a haunting tale of isolation, ambition, and the dark undercurrents that can surface when diverse personalities collide in a remote environment. Through meticulous storytelling and expert analysis by Abbott Kaler, the episode paints a vivid picture of life on Floriana Island, the enigmatic figures who inhabited it, and the unresolved mysteries that linger to this day.

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Notable Quotes

• Frederick Ritter: "Civilization had nothing more to offer him and he had nothing more to offer it..." [02:09]
• Dorie Strauch: "Some dire events were on the way." [26:21]
• Margaret Whitmer: "Do you think I did it?" [43:57]

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Final Thoughts

"Death in Eden" serves as a compelling exploration of human resilience and the complexities of human relationships under extreme circumstances. It challenges listeners to ponder the thin line between utopia and dystopia, and the lengths individuals will go to pursue their ideals.

For more stories like this, visit Criminal and consider joining their membership program for ad-free episodes and exclusive content.

Transcript

[Phoebe Judge]

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[Nadia Wilson]

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[Abbott Kaler]

Before they even left, Frederick decided to yank out all of his teeth and have them replaced by a set of steel dentures.

[Phoebe Judge]

In the late 1920s, a German doctor named Frederick Ritter decided to leave the country. He said he wanted to leave modern society altogether.

[Abbott Kaler]

He was a veteran of World War I. He suffered quite a bit of trauma on the battlefield there, came out with severe lung damage and afterward went into holistic healing and believed in the healing powers of water and also believed in the powers of the mind and was into philosophy. He was in the Nietzsche and various, you know, philosophers and fancied himself to be a philosopher.

[Phoebe Judge]

This is author Abbott Kaler.

[Abbott Kaler]

And so he decided that civilization had nothing more to offer him and he had nothing more to offer it and began dreaming of escaping civilization and going somewhere to a remote island where he would be able to test his theories, write his philosophy, and sort of, I guess, develop a new world order that people might want to follow.

[Phoebe Judge]

Frederick Ritter believed it was possible to live to be 150 years old. Abbott says he didn't trust manufactured clothing, especially quote the civilized shoe. He made his own shoes. He called society a monster, forging ever new chains with which to shackle the free development of its members. Abbott says he was also unpredictable.

[Abbott Kaler]

Frederick was somebody who was quite violent. When he came home from the war, there's one anecdote where he sort of lost his mind for a moment and, and shot his sister's dogs, then turns around and says that he is so against violence that he won't even eat potatoes because they have to be yanked from the earth by force.

[Phoebe Judge]

He told people he was a strict vegetarian. He worked as a doctor at the Hydrotherapeutic Institute in Berlin. And one of his patients was a young woman named Dorie Strouch.

[Abbott Kaler]

So Dorie was a few years younger than Frederick Ritter. She was in her 20s when she became a patient at his hospital in Berlin. Dori was suffering from multiple sclerosis, and every other doctor told her, you know, you are incurable. Your condition cannot be cured. Frederick, however, said that she was choosing to be sick, that her mind had told her she wanted to be sick. And if she could just train her mind to give her a different message, she would not suffer from multiple sclerosis at all. Instead of telling Frederick this was crazy or she was annoyed or whatever, stomping out of the room, Dory started to think maybe he was onto something. She was at first terrified of him, but then she became very enamored with Frederick, I think partly because she had been married to an older family friend and was very unsatisfied in this marriage. In her memoir, she actually talks about how bad the sex was in her marriage, which is kind of an orthodox thing for women to have been writing about back at that time, to be so candid. But she learned of his dream of abandoning civilization and decided that it was her role in life to accompany him on this journey and be instrumental in spreading his ideas and philosophies throughout the world. And she begged to go with him.

[Phoebe Judge]

At first, Frederick said no. He said, I cannot have a lovesick woman full of romantic notions trailing after me in the wilderness. But eventually he gave in. Even though they were both married to other people, they decided to go to the Galapagos Islands. How did they pick the Galapagos?

[Abbott Kaler]

Well, it's interesting when you think about the Galapagos. I think most people who have never been there or don't know much about it think of sandy beaches and wavy palm trees and a lush tropical vegetation. But the Galapagos, of course, were formed by volcanic eruptions. They're covered in lava rock. Many of the islands don't have any fresh water source. They're barren. They're incapable of growing anything. And I think Frederick liked this challenge. He wanted to prove that he could go to a difficult place like the Galapagos and not only survive, but thrive. And they picked an island called Floreana, which is in the southern part of the islands. And Floriana's saving Grace was that it does have one freshwater spring. So if they were able to tap into that, they would at least be able to have a chance of cultivating a garden and sustaining themselves.

[Phoebe Judge]

How big was Floriana?

[Abbott Kaler]

It's not large at all. It is one of the smaller islands, and at that time, it was completely uninhabited. It had been in the past a very popular transient point for pirates and people on the trade routes. It was more of a place where people came and went rather than stayed there. Although people tried and failed.

[Phoebe Judge]

Before they left, Frederick and Dory started preparing for their new life. That's when Frederick decided to have all of his teeth removed and get a set of steel dentures to replace them.

[Abbott Kaler]

You know, he was anticipating dental problems on the island, and he just, I guess, wanted to, you know, stop that from even happening. In the beginning, of course, he did not account for the fact that his.

[Phoebe Judge]

Gums would shrink, which meant the dentures sometimes fell out. But Frederick had a backup plan.

[Abbott Kaler]

Frederick also wanted to test gums. He thought that gums could become, quote, horny enough to substitute for teeth.

[Phoebe Judge]

He and Dorie sailed from Amsterdam on July 3, 1929. They brought mosquito netting, gardening tools, and philosophy in Latin books. Frederick wrote to a friend, I feel as if I am dying in one world in order to be reborn in another. At the end of the month, they arrived in Guayaquil, on the coast of Ecuador. Frederick didn't like it there. He said he noticed a, quote, completely intolerable colt having to do with shoes. He didn't like that there were shoe shiners everywhere. From there, they took another boat to Floriana. Once they got there, they found a place to sleep in some caves. They were known as the island's pirate caves. A pirate named Patrick Watkins had lived in them decades earlier, so they stayed in his cave.

[Abbott Kaler]

And this was something that did not sit well with Dory.

[Phoebe Judge]

She later described feeling something sinister and frightening in the air on the island.

[Abbott Kaler]

She began believing that if they did not behave themselves on Floriana, if they did not yield to the will of the island, Floriana would come to hurt them in the long run.

[Phoebe Judge]

Almost immediately after they arrived, it became clear that life on the island was going to be harder than they imagined.

[Abbott Kaler]

The lava rocks are very sharp. They had pretty thin shoes. And Dorie, of course, you know, suffering from multiple sclerosis, had a bad leg that pained her quite a bit. And Frederick, he could be a very cold person and sort of got frustrated with Dori whenever she would express that her leg was bothering her. And there was Tension that started to brew with him pretty much right away. You know, Frederick would tell her to, quote, you know, erect a defense psychology around herself, and that would protect her from the pain. And, you know, of course, Dorie would just get, you know, annoyed that he couldn't show a little bit more care and concern.

[Phoebe Judge]

Frederick and Dory also had to deal with all of the wild animals that lived on the island. There were wild cattle, boars, and donkeys and a lot of insects. Not long after they arrived, Dory's feet became very swollen. She and Frederick discovered that a kind of sand flea had burrowed beneath her skin to lay eggs. Frederick cut Dory's feet open to remove them. He found 32 in all. Then he told Dory that she should develop a defense psychology around her feet. At one point, Dori's teeth started rotting from eating too much sugar cane, which Frederick scolded her for. But he did agree to share his steel dentures with her for a while. She would only talk and smile when she was wearing them. Frederick and Dory built a small home for themselves. They called it Frito, a combination of their names and also a reference to the German word for peace. There were bananas, pineapples, oranges and papayas growing on the island. And they were also able to grow their own food. Tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers.

[Abbott Kaler]

So Frederick, for all of his faults, did build a really ingenious contraption. He was able to sort of rig a shower and a water source and piping from the spring that delivered water to their area. Their garden flourished. They had wonderful fruits. Dorie wrote quite lovingly about these fruits, that they were bigger than babies, heads and anything, much better than anything she had ever seen in Europe.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then a few months after they arrived, they started getting unexpected visitors.

[Abbott Kaler]

In the 1930s, you know, after everybody was suffering from the great depression, the stock market had crashed. People were really just desperate. Anybody with money decided to, you know, I'm going to build a yacht and go on oceanic exploration. And it sort of became an escape from, you know, the hell that had been, you know, descending upon the world. After the stock market crash In January.

[Phoebe Judge]

Of 1930, a wealthy American arrived on Floriana. He had no idea Frederick and Dory were there.

[Abbott Kaler]

He had gone just in search of treasure and to, you know, gather some exotic animals and flora and fauna to bring back to the United States. And was quite shocked, you know, when he came upon Dorian Frederick. He, you know, gave them some tools. He gave them ammunition. He gave them a gun. He gave them dynamite to blast away the wild boars that were eating their fruits and vegetables. And he even gave Frederick some steel polish. And when he went back to America and gave a press conference, he joked that he didn't know what Frederick was going to do with steel polish unless it was to polish his teeth. But he called them the modern day Adam and Eve. And everybody immediately became fascinated by the idea that these two had it figured out. These two actually escaped civilization when civilization was falling apart and it almost became sort of an aspirational thing. Wow, wouldn't it be great if I could just get away to a remote island and get away from all of my problems?

[Phoebe Judge]

Newspapers reported on the German Robinson Crusoe, a reporter for the Austin Statesman wrote their story was, quote, liable to make one wonder when the next boat leaves for the South Seas and how much a ticket costs. Frederick and Dory had no idea they had become famous. But a few months later, a boat delivered a large package of mail, dozens of letters and newspapers. All of the letters were from strangers, many writing that they also wanted to move to Floriana. Dory was devastated. She later wrote their piece was destroyed. Quote as surely and swiftly as a single stroke of lightning destroys a living tree, she told Frederick, this is the end of everything. I'm Phoebe Judge. This is Criminal. We'll be right back to listen without Ads Join Criminal plus Support for Criminal comes from Quince this summer. If you're looking for something new to add to your wardrobe that you'll wear for many seasons to come, you might want to consider Quince. Starting at just $30, Quince has 100% European linen tops, washable silk dresses and skirts and sleeveless sweaters. Great warm weather pieces you'll find yourself wearing or putting in your suitcase over and over. And the best part is, all Quint's items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. By working directly with top factories, Quince cuts out the cost of the middleman and passes a savings on to you. Recently, I've been wearing their linen shirt dresses. I got two new ones last month. They're easy to wear and perfect for the season. You can give your summer closet an upgrade with quint. Go to quint.com criminal for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com criminal to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com criminal thanks to Squarespace for their support. Squarespace is the all in one platform designed to help you make a Great website. Whether you're just starting out or trying to grow your business, Squarespace gives you everything you need to choose a URL, show off what you're selling, reach more customers, get paid, and do it all while looking professional. Everything in one place, no matter what you're working on. Whether it's a podcast, a special event, photography services, or a consultation business, you can customize your website to reach the right people. If you're creating video content like online courses, tutorials, or workshops, Squarespace has built in ways to support that. With Squarespace, you can upload your videos into an organized paywalled library, and they make it easy to collect payment with thoughtfully designed invoices and online payments. Plus, they have tools that make it convenient for people to keep in touch with you. Tools that help you send emails to potential customers or that let your customers schedule their own appointments. Check out squarespace.com criminal for a free trial. And when you're ready to launch, use the offer code CRIMINAL to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. In a letter to a relative, Frederick Ritter wrote that people, quote, obviously believe that we are living an idle life like Adam and Eve in paradise, eating delicious fruits, swimming in the ocean, or walking about admiring the beautiful landscape. This is a pleasant delusion. On August 28, 1932, a new family arrived on Floriana. A man named Heinz Witmer, a woman named Margaret waldbrough, and Heinz's 12 year old son Harry.

[Abbott Kaler]

And by the time that they arrive on Floriana, Margaret is five months pregnant with Heinz's child. And they directly go to Frederick and Dorry to pay their respects to the famous Dr. Ritter, as they called him. And it does not go well. You know, Frederick was kind of put upon and resentful. He, you know, he's thinking, I left Berlin in a medical practice because I did not want to do this any longer. I didn't want to be responsible for a woman and her child and this delivery and they're going to impose upon me. Dori, for her part, was hopeful at first that she might have a woman friend on the island. But she and Margaret didn't hit it off either. You know, she, she looked at Margaret and thought, what kind of fool would want to give birth on a deserted island? And Margaret looked at Doria and says, what kind of fool quotes Nietzsche on a desert island? And they really, you know, didn't have anything in common. And the two couples get off to a very bad start.

[Phoebe Judge]

I mean, you know what, I kind of get it. I kind of get how I would be kind of mad too if people showed up on my island.

[Abbott Kaler]

Yeah. And you know, I think there were. This is where they start having differing accounts. You know, I should say that I, you know, had several sources I consulted for this story. And Margaret and Dory have very different ideas of how things unfolded at different points. And this was one of them. You know, Dorie acts in her memoir, acts like she was very accommodating and offered to do anything she could. And Margaret basically wrote about how standoffish Dory was and how it was actually not a very friendly meeting.

[Phoebe Judge]

Margaret Hines and Harry settled several miles away from Dory and Frederick. They built a log cabin and planted a garden. Margaret spent a lot of time sewing baby clothes. She was due at the end of the year. And then in October, another group arrived on the island.

[Abbott Kaler]

There's a woman in Paris. Her name is Antonia, actually Antonia Wagner von Werborne Bosquet is her entire name. She's usually described as a self proclaimed baroness or a so called baroness, but she actually was an authentic baroness. She inherited the title from her grandfather and she's in Paris with her two lovers. She has quite a reputation in Paris. She's known for throwing wild parties and orgies, seducing men and women alike. There are rumors that men have fought duels over her. There's rumors that she actually murdered somebody herself. And she declared that God himself ordered her to go to Floriana and conquer it and claim it for herself. So in 1932 she leaves Paris, brings her two lovers with her, shows up on Floriana with these two men, Robert and Rudolph, and a gun and a whip on her person and decides that she is going to turn Floriana into mighty and build a luxury hotel that will cater to American millionaires.

[Phoebe Judge]

She wanted to call it Hacienda Paradiso.

[Abbott Kaler]

And of course this really does not get over well with anybody, including Heinz, Whitmer, Margaret, Frederick and Dory.

[Phoebe Judge]

And the men she brought with her, Rudolph and Robert, what were they like?

[Abbott Kaler]

Well, Rudolph was blonde and pale and a little bit frail and sort of. He had been friends with the baroness, I think for a longer period of time than Robert. She and Rudolph had been in business together in Paris. They owned a trinket shop, a lingerie trinket shop. And there were also rumors that she had been cooking the books a bit on that and that when they left they were fleeing debtors. And Rudolph was quite despondent about this because he had claims later that she had cost him all of his money and his reputation as a good businessman. So in a way, I think he felt that he had no choice but to accompany her. Because there was really nothing left for him in Paris. He had no money to start somewhere else. And part of him was still in love with the baroness. And Robert. He was the sort of very, very good looking. Strapping, dark haired, very muscular. She sort of was very openly sexual with him. And was clearly her favorite.

[Phoebe Judge]

I mean, the things that she chooses to bring with her seem a little wild. A wild decision for a deserted island.

[Abbott Kaler]

Yeah. I mean, she brings, you know, bees with her. I remember one particular thing that she brought a bunch of bees. I think she was going to try to be a beekeeper and make honey. She brings various exotic clothing. Lingerie. All kinds of skimpy outfits. I guess in her mind, you know, if the idea that she was going to build this luxury hotel. And sort of seduce American millionaires. The lingerie was a necessity for her, I suppose.

[Phoebe Judge]

Margaret was the first to meet the baroness. Who showed up outside her home riding on a donkey. Margaret noted that the baroness immediately had Rudolph wash her feet. In a freshwater spring. That was also Margaret and Hines drinking water. Then the baroness went to visit Frederick and Dory. According to Dory, she extended her hand in a way that suggested she wanted them to kiss it. They didn't. They showed around Frito. And Dory noticed that the baroness kept Rudolph close at all times. Constantly ordering him around. Dory thought he seemed very young. And later wrote that the baroness, quote, must have caught him early. And then, not long after the baroness arrived. Frederick noticed some of his mail had been tampered with. At one point, the baroness offered to store some rice for Heinz. But when he tried to retrieve it, she told him he had to pay. I mean, it's kind of like this woman gets there and Friedrich and Heinz says, you can't. What are you doing? And she said, I'm gonna do whatever I want.

[Abbott Kaler]

Yeah. You know, I remember when she was first deciding where to set up her hotel. She had been staying quite near Hines. And once Hines sort of realized that this woman was up to no good and had nefarious motives. He said, I don't want you anywhere near Humane. You know, go live somewhere else. And she taps her revolver in her waistband and says, I'm not going anywhere. I will stay where I like. She's not afraid to threaten anybody. And at the same time, she extends invitations to both Frederick and Heinz. To, in Margaret's words, visit her wigwam. So she was trying to seduce these Men. At the same time, she was also threatening to kill them.

[Phoebe Judge]

On New Year's Day, 1933, Margaret had her baby.

[Abbott Kaler]

It's quite a harrowing scene, and she is alone. Hines and his teenage son had gone out somewhere. She doesn't know where anybody is. It's pitch black. She stumbles from her bed, trying to call out their names and sort of faints in pain. And all the while, wild animals are circling around her. The wild hogs, the goats, the pigs. And, you know, it's kind of terrifying. And it's in this, you know, this. This way. She gives birth alone.

[Phoebe Judge]

It was a boy. They named him Ralph. This seems like kind of a hard place to have an infant.

[Abbott Kaler]

It was, you know, it's very difficult. She, you know, does the best she can and I think manages quite well. You know, when American explorers would go visit the new baby, they would remark about how well he looked and how chubby. And she depended on them quite often to bring milk she wasn't able to nurse. After a while, it sort of. Her body stopped producing milk, and she had to depend on milk from them. And of course, there was another problem when the baroness, it was discovered, had been stealing milk from Heinz and Margret.

[Phoebe Judge]

When visitors came to the island, the baroness would often tell them to leave the milk with her, and she'd pass it along, but she kept it for herself. By this point, one of the men the baroness was living with, Rudolph, wasn't doing well.

[Abbott Kaler]

He started suffering from tuberculosis is one of the diagnoses that he received. And at the same time, the baroness was kind of demoting him. She always ordered these two men around, but she started giving Rudolf the more menial chores and also the more physically demanding chores. So his. His body would just wear out. He would collapse. And then every time he collapsed, she would berate him. And she began staging physical fights, actually, between Robert and Rudolph and sort of egging them on to beat each other. And Robert, the stronger man, was always the victor in these fights. And every time Rudolph would lose, she would just demote him further and make things worse for him. So there was a period of time where he just started visiting Margaret and Dory separately and complaining about the baroness and saying, I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm getting desperate. I want to leave this island. I can't leave this island. I don't know what I'm going to do. And, you know, Margaret and Dori both just started worrying about how bad things were getting with the baroness.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then A couple of months after the baby was born, Hines Canoe went missing. He asked the Baroness about it, and she lied and said Dory and Frederick had taken it.

[Abbott Kaler]

When Heinz and Frederick begin comparing notes, it becomes quite clear that the Baroness is their common enemy. And that's when they really try to band together and decide, what are we going to do about her? Because the Baroness seems to be able to charm whoever she's with.

[Phoebe Judge]

Frederick and Hines decided to try writing to the Ecuadorian authorities.

[Abbott Kaler]

And Frederick, you know, says, I think this woman has medical problems. I think she's seriously off. I think she belongs in a sanitarium. Please come and investigate. And they both sign the letter. The governor of the Galapagos does visit Floriana and what happens? But the Baroness manages to seduce him, too, and he even invites her on a vacation with him. So she sort of trots off with the governor for six weeks, and when she's back, he decides to give her even more land and clear authorized access to Heinz and Margaret Spring. And she's sort of triumphant and emboldened by this. And, you know, it's kind of. They're at a loss at that point. They realize that there's no institutional help available to them.

[Phoebe Judge]

In a letter to a friend, Dori said that the vague feeling of something being wrong had, quote, crystallized into a feeling of murder. She wrote dire events were on the way. And then some new visitors arrived on the island. They stayed with Frederick and Dorrie.

[Abbott Kaler]

And there is an incident in which the Baroness invites them to go on a hunting trip. And they're a bit reluctant because the Baroness, I think, is throwing herself all over this one man, a very handsome man, in Dorrie's words. He's named Lind.

[Phoebe Judge]

Another one of the visitors noted that Lynd didn't seem interested in the baroness. But Abbott says the Baroness had a plan.

[Abbott Kaler]

The Baroness, you know, she said that if you wound an animal and nurse it back to health, that animal is going to be loyal to you forever. So it seemed that she wanted to test this theory on human beings. And her idea is that she's going to shoot Lind and nurse him back to health, and he's going to be forever loyal to her.

[Phoebe Judge]

But she accidentally shot the wrong man. He didn't die, but was badly injured.

[Abbott Kaler]

She had first tried to blame it on an Ecuadorian soldier who had been accompanying them as bodyguards. She tries to deflect blame on everybody but herself. And she finally admits it. She fully confesses and starts crying and saying she didn't mean to. And what is she going to do when she's never gonna shoot a gun again? And I think it was something that made Frederick really reach the breaking point of feeling like this woman is really clearly a danger and I can't really brush off her threats anymore.

[Phoebe Judge]

Not long after that, the weather on the island changed. It didn't rain for months and it.

[Abbott Kaler]

Was a huge, hugely problematic for everybody. I mean, everybody's crops were failing. Their animals couldn't eat or drink. You know, there was nothing. The animals were dying. Everybody writes about the carcasses that were turning up everywhere. It just looked like a complete wasteland of animal carcasses and wilted vegetation. And people were desperate. Really, really, truly desperate.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then one day, five months into the drought, Dory said she heard a scream. We'll be right back. Support for Criminal comes from Mint Mobile. You can start any Mint Mobile plan for just $15 a month. That's less than a bill from any of their major competitors. With a Mint plan, you'll get unlimited talk and text, high speed data and more on the country's largest 5G network. You can keep your same phone and phone number when you switch to Mint Mobile, so you won't need to text all of your contacts. We have a friend who switched to Mint and he says he's happy with the price he paid pays and that it's great service. This year you can skip breaking a sweat and breaking the bank. You can get this new customer offer and your three month unlimited wireless plan for just $15 a month at mintmobile.com Phoebe that's mintmobile.com Phoebe upfront payment of $45 required, equivalent to $15 a month limited time. New customer offer for first three months only. Speeds may slow above 35 gigabytes on a limited plane. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Fox Creative this is advertiser content from Adobe. As the chief marketing officer for a tech company, I lead a team that makes fresh content on a daily basis. But this month has been particularly nuts because we're planning a conference. There are dozens of of people working together on all the documents, slides, posters, flyers and merchandise. Fortunately, our event marketer is the best in the business and she said. 2.

[Nadia Wilson]

Adobe Express Adobe Express has been a lifesaver. Brand kits have kept everything consistent. Templates mean whatever content we need to create looks slick and professional from the start. And easy syncing of assets means that anytime a change comes in, like a last minute swap out of our new app logo, I know that every team member will instantly have access to the latest version. That way I know when the curtain goes up.

[Phoebe Judge]

Isn't that new logo gorgeous?

[Nadia Wilson]

Everything will go off without a hitch.

[Phoebe Judge]

Adobe Express, the quick and easy app to create on brand content. Learn [e-mail] Express Brand Business. On March 19, 1934, Dory said she was at home with Frederick when she heard a woman scream. She wrote it was an outcry of such terror that it was hardly human. Frederick said he heard the scream, too. Dory said they didn't investigate. They assumed if they were needed, someone would come get them. Him. Two days later, Dory said, Rudolph came to visit. She knew things had been bad between him and the baroness for a while, but now he seemed happy. Dory asked him if he'd made up with the baroness, and he said, quote, not this time. About a week after that, Rudolph visited Dory again. This time he brought Margaret. Margaret announced that the baroness and Robert had left on a friend's yacht to go to Tahiti. Dory and Frederick hadn't seen a yacht, but the baroness and Robert had disappeared. Abbott Kaler says everyone has different accounts of what happened. Dory and Frederick stuck to their story about the scream. Frederick was sure it had been the baroness, But Margaret and Hines, who lived much closer to her, said they hadn't heard anything. Margaret later recalled that Frederick seemed to know more than he let on and that he had told everyone that the baroness, quote, won't come back. Take my word for it. In a letter to a newspaper, Frederick wrote that he thought Hines had killed the baroness and Robert Dori believed Rudolph had done it. Abbott says Rudolph did seem to be acting strangely.

[Abbott Kaler]

He shows up at Dorie's and weeps. He moves in with Margaret because he just doesn't want to be down where the baroness was. And he's with Margaret. He's crying all the time. He seems lethargic, even more lethargic than usual. But she says that he is also very helpful and helpful with the baby. And he just seemed to be kind of all over the place. Despondent one minute, calm the next moment, happy one moment. So it really seemed nobody quite knew what to make of his behavior at this time.

[Phoebe Judge]

Rudolph was still very sick and weak. Dory started to think that if he had killed the baroness, he must have had an accomplice. She just wasn't sure who. Rudolph spent a lot of time walking to the bay and waiting to see if any ships would come. He wanted to get off the island. He brought his things to the beach so he'd be ready to Leave at a moment's notice. One ship wouldn't take him because he was so sick. Another ship passed by without Rudolph noticing. But the crew stole most of his belongings. In July, several months after the Baroness and Robert disappeared, a passing fisherman finally agreed to take him off the island. After Rudolph left, Frederick wrote a letter to an American explorer who had visited the island several times over the years, Captain George Hancock.

[Abbott Kaler]

I think Frederick always knew more than what he let on. And he writes a letter to Hancock and says, I need you to come to the island once more. I know something, but I have no proof of it. So that's, you know, Hancock does make another voyage. He's determined to get to the bottom of it.

[Phoebe Judge]

Captain Hancock made plans to set out from Los Angeles in November. And then right before he was scheduled to leave, he heard that two bodies had been found on another Galapagos island called Marshena. Captain Hancock headed straight there. It was clear the bodies had been there for several months. They had been mummified by the sun. Captain Hancock was barely able to recognize them, but he could tell that one of them was Rudolph. The other was the sailor who'd taken Rudolph from Floriana.

[Abbott Kaler]

And it seems that the two men died of thirst. Martina is an island that has no fresh water, and they, you know, really had nothing to drink and just sort of, you know, died horrifically of thirst.

[Phoebe Judge]

Captain Hancock left the island and headed right to Floriana to tell Hines, Margaret, Dorie, and Frederick what had happened.

[Abbott Kaler]

And I think Frederick, you know, is just sort of worried that everything is imploding at this point. Tensions with him between him and Dory are escalating. He is becoming more volatile. Margaret reports that Frederick hits Dory at this time, and so he seemed to be losing it as well.

[Phoebe Judge]

Frederick had started eating meat again, and one night, he ate some meat from chickens that had gotten sick and died.

[Abbott Kaler]

Dory was sort of like, is it safe to eat this? And he's like, sure. And so, according to Dory, they eat it. And she has various versions of what happened. She says she took a bite. She says in one version that she immediately vomited this bite. In other versions, she ate the plate. Clayton was totally fine. Another version, she didn't really eat at all. But Frederick does eat some of this chicken and immediately starts exhibiting signs of illness. He's sweaty. He's feverish. At some point, his arm doesn't move. He seems immobile. You know, he's gasping. And it's quite some time before she actually goes to Margaret and says, can you please help me, you know, Dr. Ritter is in bad shape.

[Phoebe Judge]

Margaret agreed to come help, but it was too late. She saw Frederick was clearly dying.

[Abbott Kaler]

And she has quite a different version of Dory and Frederick's interactions during this time. You know, according to Dory, it was all gentle, and they caressed each other's hands, and Frederick was whispering sweet words to her. And according to Margaret, Frederick said to Dory, I curse you with my dying breath, and made a jerky movement as if to leap up and hit Dory. And so this very interesting differences in their accounts of how Frederick died.

[Phoebe Judge]

Was Margaret suspicious of Dori?

[Abbott Kaler]

She does make a comment that she doesn't understand why Dorrie waited so long to come and seek help. So I think that that's as far as Margaret wanted to go in accusing Dori of maybe. Maybe, you know, letting Frederick suffer and linger there a little longer than she might have.

[Phoebe Judge]

What does Dory do after Friedrich dies?

[Abbott Kaler]

Oh, you know, she has lots of flowery language for him in her memoir, but she's pretty eager to get off the island at that point.

[Phoebe Judge]

By this time, Captain Hancock had arrived on the island. He agreed to take Dory back to the mainland, where she could book a trip home to Germany.

[Abbott Kaler]

There's all kinds of interesting behavior on Hancock's yacht from Dorie. And what's really fascinating is during the research of this book, I was lucky to come across video of these people. So I actually watched footage of Dorie leaving the island and saw exactly what she looked like, what she was doing, what she was wearing, her facial expressions, how she was crying. She was wearing this sort of jaunty little sailor dress. And once she got on the ship, you know, I. I see there. That there the footage stopped. But there's pictures of her on the ship where she actually looks quite serene. I think she spent quite a bit of time in her cabin and then decided to come out and mingle and started, you know, you know, showing a new side of herself and being a little bit more outgoing. And I. I think Frederick probably stifled her a lot.

[Phoebe Judge]

Were the baroness and Robert's bodies ever found?

[Abbott Kaler]

No, they were not. No.

[Phoebe Judge]

Abbott says there are lots of different theories about what happened to them. Some people believe they hadn't died.

[Abbott Kaler]

For a long time. Margaret, I think she never went back on that declaration that they went on a yacht in Tahiti. And she said she, you know, heard the reports of later, years later, that the baroness was there. There were rumors that the baroness had gone somewhere else in Ecuador, maybe to another island where she was starting a new colony. There are rumors that they got swept out to the ocean somehow, which seemed doubtful because it seemed the tide would bring them back in if they didn't have anything to hold them down. And when I went to Floriana myself In May of 2022, I talked to several native Ecuadorians, and they said when they were growing up in Floriana, they always heard rumors that the bodies were in a cave somewhere. And when they were children, they would actually go peer around in caves and try to look for bones.

[Phoebe Judge]

What do you think happened?

[Abbott Kaler]

I really think that Rudolph is behind the disappearance of the Baroness and Robert and that Frederick Ritter helped him. I don't know if he actually assisted in the murder. I think he certainly assisted in disposing of the bodies or getting rid of them in some way or hiding them in some way. And I think that Dory suspected that this. And I think it made her terrified of Frederick. And I also think that Margaret, you know, she might not have been aware of what Frederick was doing, but she certainly Aiden, abetted Rudolph after the fact and gave him safe harbor and lied for him, you know, talking about this mysterious yacht that came and picked up the Baroness and Robert Philipson and brought them to Tahiti. So everybody seemed guilty of something, but, you know, varying degrees of. Of severity.

[Phoebe Judge]

Were Dorian Hines and Margaret questioned by authorities ever they were.

[Abbott Kaler]

Authorities, of course, did question them. After all the disappearances, they sort of passed that investigation with flying colors.

[Phoebe Judge]

Dory, Hines and Margaret wrote a joint statement about everything that had happened leading up to the Baroness and Robert's disappearance. They wrote about how miserable Rudolph had been and how badly he wanted to leave. They wrote, we know nothing of the Baroness's whereabouts, dead or alive. One story left. It was only Heinz, Margaret and their children left on Floriana.

[Abbott Kaler]

The Wentmers, you know, seemed to be most suited for island life since the beginning. And they proved that correct. You know, one of their guests presciently said something to the effect of, when the sun sets and the Hacienda Paradiso is in smoldering ruins and Dory and Frederick have abandoned the island, you know, the Whitmers will be sitting there rejoicing at the sunset, Heinz smoking his pipe and Margaret playing with her children. And they're the ones who are going to live out their days there. And that's exactly what happened. And they had another child who is actually still alive and who I met when I was on the island. She's in her 80s now, and her two daughters run two hotels on black Beach. One of them's called Hotel Whitmer. And the ground floor of Hotel Whitmer has this sort of museum that's built to honor Heinz and Margaret's life on the island with many of their artifacts, their luggage, a phonograph, several of their tools, guns, things like that. And they have quite an extensive library shelf filled with books about Floriana and people who had memoirs, people who had lived there. I think the only book that is missing conspicuously is Dorie's memoir.

[Phoebe Judge]

Margaret and Dory both published memoirs about their time on the island. Dory called hers Satan Came to Eden. Eight years after leaving Floriana, Dory died in Germany from complications of multiple sclerosis. She was 42. Heinz died on Floriana in 1963. Margaret died on Floriana in 2000. She was 95.

[Abbott Kaler]

And she really, I think, enjoyed when people would come to visit her in Floriana. You know, there's reports of people sort of making a pilgrimage to see Margaret and she would serve them homemade wine and for a certain amount of money she would start talking about the days of all these people in Floriana and what happened. And you know, she had some one saying that she would say a closed mouth admits no flies. So she would never tell all that she knew. But she really, really enjoyed talking around it and suggesting things and taunting people. And my favorite line from her, of course, is when she would ask people, do you think I did it?

[Phoebe Judge]

To learn more, check out Abbott Kaler's book Eden A True Story of Sex, Murder and Utopia at the dawn of World War II. Criminal is created by Lauren Spohr and me. Nadia Wilson is our senior producer. Katie Bishop is our supervising producer. Our producers are Susanna Roberson. Jackie Sajiko, Lily K. Clark, Lina Sillison and Megan Kinane. Our show is mixed and engineered by Veronica Simonetti. Julian Alexander makes original illustrations for each episode of Criminal. You can see [e-mail] and you can sign up for our [e-mail] Newsletter we hope you'll consider supporting our work by joining our membership program Criminal. Plus you can listen to Criminal, this is Love. And Phoebe reads a mystery without any ads. Plus you'll get bonus episodes. These are special episodes with me and Criminal co creator Lauren Sporer talking about everything from how we make our episodes to the crime stories that caught our attention that week to things we've been enjoying lately. To learn more, go to thisiscriminal.com we're on Facebook hisiscriminal and Instagram and TikTok @ criminalpodcast. We're also on YouTube at YouTube.com criminalpodcast criminal is part of the Vox Media Podcast network. Discover more great [e-mail] I'm Phoebe Judge. This is Criminal Sam.