Louise Lindloff: The Fortune-Telling Poisoner
Background
Louise Lindloff, also identified in historical accounts as Louisa Lindloff, was a German-born fortune teller, spiritualist and convicted poisoner whose family was surrounded by an extraordinary succession of deaths during the early twentieth century. She lived first in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and later in Chicago, Illinois. Although authorities investigated her in connection with numerous suspicious deaths, she was ultimately convicted only of murdering her fifteen-year-old son, Arthur Lindloff.
Lindloff presented herself as a woman who could communicate with spirits, predict future events and see visions inside a crystal ball. After restrictions complicated her fortune-telling business, she reportedly offered forms of spiritual healing and electrical treatment. Her theatrical claims of supernatural knowledge became especially disturbing when witnesses recalled that she had predicted the deaths of relatives shortly before they became fatally ill.
Behind the mystical performances was a repeated financial pattern. Several people who died while living with or being cared for by Lindloff carried insurance policies naming her as beneficiary. Deaths that were originally attributed to sunstroke, fever, heart trouble and other natural causes were reconsidered after Arthur's death revealed evidence of arsenic poisoning.
The Death of Julius Graunke
Louise's first husband was Julius Graunke, with whom she operated a saloon and boarding establishment in Milwaukee. On August 12, 1905, Julius died suddenly after an illness that was officially attributed to sunstroke. Because his symptoms occurred during warm weather and his death did not initially appear criminal, no immediate murder investigation followed.
Louise reportedly collected approximately $2,000 in insurance following Julius's death. Years later, after investigators began examining the deaths surrounding her, his body was exhumed. Chemical testing reportedly discovered arsenic in his remains despite the fact that he had been buried for nearly seven years. The finding caused investigators to reject the earlier assumption that his death had resulted solely from excessive heat.
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