Walburga Oesterreich, nicknamed "Dolly" and "Queen of Los Angeles", was a German-born American housewife, married to a wealthy textile manufacturer Fred William Oesterreich, who gained notoriety for the shooting death of her husband and the subsequent bizarre revelation that she had kept her lover, Otto Sanhuber, hidden in the attic of the home she shared with her husband for ten years.
15 Facts About Walburga Oesterreich
1.
2.
At age 12, Walburga worked at the textile mill of Fred William Oesterreich, another German immigrant who had become successful and frequently hired fellow immigrants in his factories.
3.
Walburga Oesterreich quickly attracted Fred's notice and the two married when she was 17.
4.
In 1913, when she was 33, Walburga Oesterreich was introduced to Otto Sanhuber, a 17-year-old sewing-machine repairman who worked for her husband.
5.
Walburga Oesterreich invited Sanhuber to her home to fix her sewing machine, beginning an intense affair.
6.
Gradually, the need to conceal the relationship from both Fred and the neighbors led to Sanhuber's moving into the Oesterreichs' attic, which was accessible through a panel in the ceiling of the closet of the bedroom Walburga shared with her husband.
7.
Walburga Oesterreich agreed to the move on the condition that she would choose their new home, deliberately picking a house with an attic.
8.
Walburga Oesterreich gave Sanhuber all the cash in the bedroom, as well as Fred's diamond watch.
9.
In 1930, Shapiro became suspicious after Walburga Oesterreich gave him the diamond watch she reported stolen by the burglars who murdered her husband; she stated that she had later found the watch in the front yard and that the thieves must have dropped or abandoned it during their escape.
10.
Walburga Oesterreich went to police and informed them that Walburga had given him a pistol shortly after the murder, asking him to dispose of it in the La Brea Tar Pits.
11.
Walburga Oesterreich changed his name to Walter Klein and moved to Canada, where he married another woman, then eventually relocated back to Los Angeles and lived the remainder of his life in obscurity.
12.
Walburga Oesterreich's trial ended in a hung jury, and in 1936 the indictment against her was finally dropped.
13.
Walburga Oesterreich remained in Los Angeles until her death in 1961, at age 80.
14.
Walburga Oesterreich's story inspired the 1968 feature film The Bliss of Mrs Blossom, as well as two made-for-TV movies: 1995's The Man in the Attic, which starred Anne Archer and Neil Patrick Harris, and 2018's Lover in the Attic, starring Molly Burnett and directed by Melora Walters.
15.
Walburga Oesterreich was the subject of a 2017 episode of the Investigation Discovery documentary series A Crime to Remember.