Carl Otto Wanderer (June 26, 1895 – September 30, 1921) was a convicted murderer tied to what became known as "The Case of the Ragged Stranger". Wanderer murdered his wife Ruth and a "ragged stranger" in a bizarre plot, whose exact motivations remain unknown. The case was cracked in part by famed Chicago-based reporter and future screenwriter Ben Hecht, of the Chicago Daily News, and reporter and future playwright Charles MacArthur of the Chicago Examiner.
Early years
Wanderer, born in Chicago, was the son of German immigrants. He dropped out of school before he reached high school, but he was a diligent worker who saved money. By his twenties, Wanderer and his father were running a successful butcher shop. His mother suffered from mental illness and committed suicide while Wanderer was a teenager.
Wanderer enlisted in the Illinois Cavalry and served under John Pershing in the latter's expedition against Pancho Villa in 1916. He served with distinction and became a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, seeing heavy action on the Western Front in World War I. Wanderer claimed to have been heavily decorated, but military colleagues later cast doubt on this claim.
In late 1919, he married twenty-year-old Ruth Johnson, and the two moved in with Ruth's parents. Ruth became pregnant; reportedly, Wanderer became despondent upon hearing the news and became distant towards his family. Wanderer often told friends and family that he missed the Army and wished to reenlist, implying that Ruth opposed the idea.
The shooting
On June 21, 1920, Wanderer and his wife were returning home from the Pershing Theater in Lincoln Square when shots rang out in the hallway of the Johnson apartment. Ruth's mother heard the shots and rushed to the scene, finding Wanderer pummeling the body of a man in ragged clothing with his gun. Ruth lay dying with several shots in her chest, and reportedly said "My baby is dead" before dying. According to Wanderer's account, the man had been tailing them and followed them into the vestibule of their apartment, presumably to rob them, and Wanderer drew his military service pistol—a Colt M1911—and exchanged fire with the intruder. Wanderer killed the assailant, but his wife was killed by the shooter, who was not immediately identified.
The case became a cause célèbre, with extensive press coverage. The public expressed outrage that Wanderer—a war hero who was expecting a child—would be set upon and have his pregnant wife killed. Wanderer was praised for his bravery in defending his wife. However, the circumstances of Ruth's death were suspicious enough to inspire a police investigation.
Investigation
Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur investigated the case in conjunction with police. Hecht's first clue was a police photograph of the two weapons used in the shooting. Both were virtually identical Colt M1911's. Hecht thought it odd that the man, named Watson, who appeared to be a penniless vagrant—he had less than $5 on his person when found—would carry such an expensive weapon which was not widely available to the public at the time, instead of selling it. He also found it hard to believe that a mere drifter would risk a conflict with a veteran who was widely known to carry a gun. MacArthur came to a similar conclusion and came to find that Watson's weapon had been sold to Wanderer's cousin Fred several years earlier.
Meanwhile, Chicago Police Sergeant John Norton uncovered Wanderer's relationship with Julia Schmitt, a 17-year-old stenographer who claimed to be pursuing an affair with Wanderer. Norton's account claims that Schmitt described several dates with Wanderer and showed him sexually explicit letters she had received. Schmitt would also claim that Wanderer proposed marriage to her if he was able to leave or divorce Ruth.
Ben Hecht later claimed that shortly after the killing, he interviewed Wanderer and was struck by Wanderer's happy and seemingly impassive manner just days after his wife's murder. According to Hecht's story, he found articles of women's clothing in a bathrobe and stumbled across several love letters Wanderer had written to a man called "James". Many writers dispute Hecht's account; records of Wanderer's interrogation and trial make no mention of "James." However, a police psychologist would accuse Wanderer of "latent homosexuality" during his trial.