Morbid - Episode 586: The Murder of Bessie Darling

Episode Date: July 29, 2024

On the morning of October 31, 1933, a gunman burst through the door of Bessie Darling’s home in Foxville, Maryland and shot the woman to death. Police quickly arrested George Schultz, Darling’s boyfriend and business partner, who’d unsuccessfully attempted suicide after shooting Bessie. George confessed to the murder, claiming his actions were motivated by jealousy and a fear that Bessie was seeing other men, and he was sentenced to eighteen years in prison.In many ways, the story of Bessie Darling’s murder is a straightforward and unfortunately common story of domestic violence. Yet beneath the basic facts of the case is another story of rural development and economic inequality at a time when many in the nation were facing serious economic struggles. These aspects of the story, mostly ignored by the press, shaped how Bessie was portrayed by the media and how people have told and retold her story since her death.Thank you to the incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!ReferencesAssociated Press. 1933. "Autopsy is held in Darling case." Baltimore Sun, November 1: 5.—. 1934. "Mrs. Darling's slayer guilty; given 18 years." Baltimore Sun, March 13: 20.—. 1940. "Gov. O'Conor invokes new parole plan." Cumberland Evening Times, May 29: 2.Baltimore Evening Sun. 1934. "2 say Schultz was drinking on day of murder." Baltimore Evening Sun, March 12: 30.—. 1916. "Ax for Kelly man." Baltimore Evening Sun, August 9: 12.—. 1933. "Maid says man shot woman and himself." Baltimore Evening Sun, October 31: 1.Baltimore Sun. 1933. "Alleged slayer admits jealousy." Baltimore Sun, November 2: 5.Bedell, John, Gregory Katz, Jason Shellenhamer, Lisa Kraus, and Sarah Groesbeck. 2011. The People of the Mountain: Archeological Overview, Assessment, Identification, and Evaluation Study of Catoctin Mountain Park Maryland. Historical survey, Washington, DC: National Park Service.Clay, K.C. 2018. Bessie Darling: A Brief Report on the Life of a Catoctin Mountain Proprietress. Historiography , Catoctin Mountain Park, MD: National Park Service.Hagerstown Daily Mail. 1933. "Schultz has good chance of recovery." Hagerstown Daily Mail, November 2: 3.—. 1933. "Schultz says shooting was self-defense." Hagerstown Daily Mail, December 4: 1.National Park History. 2003. A New Deal for the Mountain. November 21. Accessed June 6, 2024. http://npshistory.com/publications/cato/hrs/chap5.htm.—. 2003. Chapter Four: The Eve of Acquisition . November 21. Accessed June 5, 2024. http://npshistory.com/publications/cato/hrs/chap4.htm.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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on the road, commuting, you name it. Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as part of your everyday routine without needing to set aside extra time. There's more to imagine when you listen. Sign up for a free 30-day audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca. I'm Dan Tuberski. In 2011, something strange began to happen at a high school in upstate New York. A mystery illness, bizarre symptoms, and spreading fast. What's the answer? And what do you do if they tell you it's all in your head? Hysterical, a new podcast from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios. Binge all episodes of Hysterical early and ad free on Wondery Plus. Hey, weirdos. I am Ash. And I'm Alaina. And this right here is Mor morbid.

It's a podcast and you listen to it. It's crime and it's creepy and it's dark and it's weird and it's spooky. And I just saw a picture of a jack-o-lantern on my Instagram and it made me happy. That's spooky. Speaking of spooky, jack-o-lanterns. Only a few more weekends until fall, everybody. More than a few, but. So many people listening are like, shut the fuck up, Elena.

And to that I say, never. I am excited about fall. Obviously about fall. Summer's almost over, everyone. Not true. Not true. We're almost through. It just started actually. Time can move forward for a little while. What? Go like quicker than normal. I was like, time's always over, time will always move forward for a little while. You're like, whaaat? Are you okay over there? I was like, what's happening? Again, I'm excited.

I'm excited for spooky season. I want to go to a farm. I want to pick some jack-o-lanterns. I want to carve some jack-o-lanterns because that's when they become jack-o-lanterns. Before that, they're just pumpkins. That's, I'm excited. I wanna bake. I wanna bake fall shit so bad. I wanna bake fall things in my fall pots and pans.

And I wanna bake fall soups. I'm just like really for this season. I love soups. And guys, I know it's summer and it literally just started, but that means it's almost over. Who cares? So I'm ready. Also, I feel like-

I don't like summer clothes. I don't like summer hotness. Here's the thing, everybody. There's not summer clothes. No, they're stupid. You heard it here first. I don't like summer clothes. There's not even real summer clothes. Yeah, I just, I don't like shorts. Especially if you're a bodacious baddie. Bodacious baddie. I like that. If you're a bodacious baddie, summer is the clothing is just, I mean. Or if you're a pale ass bitch, like if your legs can blind whole armies of people. I'm both of those things. Then it's like, there's nothing for us.

A bodacious, pale ass baddie. There you go. God. God. God. What a predickey. What a, what a perdicky. What a perdicky is right. I don't know what's happening.

We've been recording a lot. We've been recording a lot. I was getting silly goofy. We are. I was going to say something. You were. You were going to talk about the donations. That was, yeah, that is it actually.

That was a, that was a really cool thing. This is a really cool thing. So I don't know if you guys remember when I covered, it was a really, really sad story. It was the murders of, um, George Washington, and the murder of a woman. And I was like, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm This is a really cool thing. So I don't know if you guys remember when I covered, it was a really, really sad story. It was the murders of Joel and Lisa Guy. They were murdered by their son and their dog was there when it happened. And luckily the Young Williams Animal Shelter in Knoxville, Tennessee was able to take the puppy in until family could come get him. And in their obituaries, they asked, the family asked for people to make donations

in Lisa and Joel's name to this animal shelter, the Young Williams Animal Shelter. And I mentioned that on the episode, and it was back in 2022. And they have received close to $7,000 in donations because of you guys. You guys went hard. Almost $7,000.

You guys killed it. So if you're able to, go ahead and donate to the Young Williams Animal Shelter. Continue to. And if you're going to do it, definitely do it in Lisa and Joel Guy's name. Yeah. And that's how they know. They've gotten that many donations in their name.

Since the episode. Since the episode. And they said countless animals have been saved. Yeah, they said, yeah, that's so cool, guys. Keep doing that. That's really cool. I know. That was a really fun email to receive today.

Yeah, it was such a little bright spot in all the shadiness of the world. So that was really nice. And good job, guys. Good job, you guys. Well done. Party. Party for animals out here. Hell yeah.

We love it. Because animals, most of the time, are better than humans. So we might as well keep them happy, man. I would say good track record animals. Good track record animals. You sounded like a Bob's Burgers character. Oh, I love Bob. And I love Bob's Burgers.

At Tina. I love it. At Tina Belcher. At Tina Belcher. I'm more of a Louise. Yeah. I don't know who you are. You're Bob. I'm Bob. You're absolutely Bob, yeah.

I was like, I don't know. Oh, nope. I do. Like, nope. It hit me. All right. Oh, and Mikey is Jean. Okay. Anyways, so do you watch Bob? No, Eugene. He's like, no. And you're like, you're Jean. That was helpful. Thank you. You betcha. All right. We should probably podcast about podcasting things. But you know, it happens sometimes. I got an old timey one for you today. Oh my gosh. It's sad. Oh, okay. I was just like, it's sad. It's sad. Like, oh man, let me bring it down. Yeah, we gotta bring it down. And also, interesting that you brought up Halloween, it happens on Halloween. Oh, that is interesting.

Right? Since Halloween is so close. Exactly. All right. So we're going to be talking about Bessie Darling today. Bessie Warren, before she became Bessie Darling, was born on August 4th, 1885 in Baltimore, Maryland. She was the oldest child to John and Fanny Warren.

Oh, John and Fanny forever. John was a grocer and Fanny was a homemaker. Oh, I love them. There aren't really like a lot of records that give insight into Bessie's life before purchasing the Valley View Hotel, which is like a big thing that she does in her life. But there are some historical facts that give us a couple of details. Like many families in Baltimore's 15th ward, the Warrens were a lower middle-class family of German descent. They didn't really come from a lot, but John Warren owned the family's house with a free title, quote unquote, just like. That's so like John Warren.

It's a big deal. Good for him. I know. And he owned and operated his own grocery business, which gave the Warrens way more stability than other families would have had at the time. So they didn't have a law, but what they did have was keeping them afloat. Hell yeah. That's safe to assume that Bessie's early life was similar to most children in the late 19th century. Since she was the oldest of four children, it's very likely she would have helped her mom with domestic responsibilities around the house, taking care of the younger ones. She had one younger brother and two younger sisters. And in addition to her chores at home, she also attended school at least through the eighth

grade as record show. But by 1920, she was employed as a teacher. So it's pretty fair to assume that she got education beyond what that documentation implies. In 1902, she married Charles Howard Darling. He was known to his friends and family as Howard. Howard. So many people went by their middle names back then. I know, perfectly nice name Charles. And he's like, nah. In fact, nothing's wrong with the name Howard,

but I prefer Charles. Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. But his family owned a large commercial bakery in Baltimore, Yum. Two years later, in November of 1904, Bessie gave birth to the couple's only child, Charles Jr., who was known to his friends and family by his middle name, also Wesley. What is wrong with the name Charles, everybody? I don't know. No, not, but Wesley is adorable. I like the name Wesley. Yeah.

For the first few years of Wesley, AKA Charles Jr.'s life, the bakery enjoyed continued success and the family was doing pretty well financially. But in 1907, Howard lost the bakery due to a quote, mismanagement of resources. Oh. Which also meant several steps down on the social ladder as he went from business owner

to a clerk in somebody else's business. So they took a pretty big fall during this. And the loss of the family bakery appears to have been a bigger trigger point for tension in the darling's marriage. And in 1917, they actually ended up divorcing. That's sad. Yeah, it is sad.

Seems like that was like a quick like boop, boop, boop. Yeah, everything happened really quickly. And I was just like da, da, da, da, da, da. Yeah. Well, before they had divorced around 1914, Bessie had taken a job as a secretary for Baltimore conductor Joseph Posh in order to help support the family. So she was able to support herself and her son after the divorce because she kind of already had this like side gig.

And the work not only allowed her to support herself as a single mother, but it also afforded her a degree of like social cachet that she definitely wouldn't have had if it weren't for her association with the Posh and Baltimore Oratorio Society. It was a musical conservatory headed by Posh himself. Oh, okay. Yeah. According to Casey Clay, Bessie's association with Posh and the orchestra lasted until his death in 1926. And it would have a huge influence on how she was perceived by her rural neighbors later in life. Cause she was, even though she had like kind of that like fall from like her place in society, she never really had like a super high place. Yeah. But her family was making money.

She married a man who was like owned his own business. They were doing well. And then it all kind of, and then she kind of fell. But then she had the connection. So she didn't fall all the way down the ladder kind of thing. She was able to hang on. Yes. It was Bessie's relationship with Joseph Pash actually that ultimately led to her purchasing

Valley View Manor in November of 1917. So since the early part of the 20th century, there was a state and federal emphasis on building up like these rural areas to accommodate the unsustainably large populations in urban areas specifically on the East Coast. So in Maryland, the expansion of the Western Maryland Railroad had reached Catoctin, I looked up how to say that, mountain, that region by the end of the 19th century. So it made a once remote area a lot more easily accessible

to people who were looking to travel. Initially, the plan was to develop the area into like a robust industrial production center, but by the late 1800s, the area's largest employer, the Catoctin Furnace Company, had shut down. And that discouraged other businesses from moving to the area. Because they were like, why would I bring my business there

if it's going to fail? And it's like, I don't know. Be a trailblazer. Be a trailblazer. I know. Just because they failed doesn't mean you will. Try, try, try again. I know that's not the point of this.

But I'm just saying, be a trailblazer. I agree with you. You can do it. You can. We believe in you. But the point of this, but I'm just saying be a trailblazer. I agree with you. You can do it. You can. We believe in you. But the collapse of the area's industrial manufacturing center was a big setback for this like small rural, I can never say rural.

Rural juror. Rural community. Yeah. But it coincided with a rise in tourism across the United States. It was like one bad thing, one good thing. Listening on Audible helps your imagination soar. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds, new possibilities, new ways of thinking. Find the genres you love and discover new ones along the way. Explore bestsellers, new releases, plus thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and originals that members can listen to all they want with more added all the time. Audible makes

it easy to be inspired and entertained as part of your daily routine without needing to set aside any extra time. There's more to imagine when you listen. And let me tell you something. I just listened to The Guest List by Lucy Foley, and my favorite part about the listening experience was that each character was narrated by a different voice actor, so it was really fully immersive. It was really cool. As an Audible member, you can choose one title a month to keep from the entire catalog, including the latest bestsellers and new releases. New members can try Audible free for 30 days. Visit audible.com slash morbid or text morbid to 500 500. That's audible.com slash morbid or text morbid 500 500 to try audible free for 30 days audible.com slash morbid. You guys I was just in DC during the record heatwave that they had and let me tell you

the amount of liquid IV that I went through was absolutely cuckoo nuts bananas. But it was also absolutely delicious because liquid iv has refreshing summer flavors like popsicle firecracker and rainbow sherbert that absolutely hit the spot when you need transformative high draining relief all summer long. And I also felt patriotic as I was having the popsicle firecracker one because white, and blue. Hello! I absolutely love Liquid IV. It is so delicious. It's also so easy just to whip right out of your purse, tear off the little thing, pour it into your water bottle, shake it up, and just pour the hydration right in your face. It's awesome. You can cool off your summer with the reimagined flavors of iconic treats like I just said, Rainbow Sherbet and Popsicle Firecracker, or make one of your own Liquid IV Popsicles. That is such a good idea.

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when you shop better hydration today using promo code morbid at checkout. That's 20% off your first order when you shop better hydration today using promo code morbid at liquidiv.com. Starting in the last part of the 19th century, America's newly formed middle class was very much encouraged by the government to invest some of their disposable income in recreational travel, particularly to the growing number of national parks that the government had started establishing. They said, go on vacation, girls. Go. Go see the world. See the world. Just do your thing. You know what you should do? You should commit tourism. Commit tourism. That's what you should do. It's not a crime. It should be though,

because it's so fun. So dang fun. Yeah. You get disposable income toward that. They're like, what? You guys are right. It's disposable. No. So seeing an opportunity in this new national trend of tourism, Western Maryland railroad president, John Hood pivoted away from the industrial plan that he had for the Catoctin Mountains and started investing heavily in promoting the area as this premier destination for tourism. I just picture him on like a billboard being like, you come to my place that I have come to this place, you know, and do some things. Exactly. And the place he wanted people to come was Penn Mar. He built it in 1877. It was a large resort in the mountains near the Pennsylvania border and within a few years the entire tourism industry

had developed around it. So it was like this really cool place to go. There was more than a hundred hotels, countless boarding houses, dance halls, gaming parlors, and observation towers. Oh you can look at the stars. You can observe them. Oh, Galileo shit. Precisely. Yeah. So basically, they're just building up this area and more and more people are flocking to it. Yeah. And there's more shit to do. Making it cool. Cool thing out there. Yeah. It's giving like Dave and Buster's, you know? That's exactly what it's giving. That's what I thought of. Absolutely. Tourism. Giving Dave and Buster's. I don't know.

After her divorce from Howard in 1917, Bessie bought Mount Lent, which was then named for former owner Mary Lent. And she bought this with financial help from that guy, Posh, who was with the music. Look at that guy. I thought she bought her own mountain for a second. I was like, she's really moving up in the world. That would have been iconic. That would have been pretty iconic, who was with the music. Look at that guy. I thought she bought her own mountain for a second. I was like, she's really moving up in the world. That would have been iconic.

That would have been pretty iconic, but this is still cool. It's still iconic, which she does. But Posh helped her provide the down payment on the 36 acre property in Deerfield. Lent was one of the first public health nurses in the country, and she had come to Deerfield in 1907 when the Maryland Tubercular Sanatorium opened about 20 miles away from her property by train. She retired about 10 years later. And that's when she sold the property to Bessie, who opened Valley View Manor, which was a boarding house that she ran in the summer months. Valley View Manor.

Valley View Manor. I want to go to them. When the weather got cold in the fall, Bessie would go back to Baltimore, but she spent all summer and a lot of the spring pretty much just working at Valley View Manor. Hell yeah. According to one report, when she was back in Baltimore, Bessie quote, used her considerable social context to drum up summer business for her hotel. We love a networking queen. I'm saying. Now, the three story 12 room Valley View Manor opened to the public in 1918 with a staff of just two.

Whoa. Two. Bessie cooked the meals. She entertained the guest. She also provided transportation. All of that. While a seasonal worker acted as a maid and housekeeper. Damn two chicas running a three story, 12 room manor. So the boarding house initially was successful, but the area experienced a pretty big economic downturn during the first world war. Obviously people weren't spending a lot of extra money. They didn't have a lot of extra money. And Bessie actually almost lost the property two times for failure to pay her property taxes. Because it sounds like she just wasn't bringing in enough to pay for it. She faced yet another hardship in 1921 when a visitor sued Darling and Posh for $15,000, about $250,000 today, after a bridge in the Manor's driveway collapsed beneath him. Damn.

Records do indicate that after the lawsuit was resolved, Pash actually had nothing to do with Valley View Manor anymore. But I think on paper it still belonged to him. Yeah. So during the summer season of 1929, a man named George Schultz checked in as a guest at Valley View Manor and he and Bessie really hit it off. Oh.

But like Bessie, there's not a lot that's known about George or his life prior to his relationship with Bessie beginning in 1929. But what we do know is that he was also born in Baltimore, just like Bessie. He was born about 1871 and he spent most of his life in Baltimore. Most reports about this case refer to him as an inspector for the Baltimore Health Department. He did hold that position for nearly 16 years, but he was said to be fired from that

job in August of 1916. And it was kind of a big deal because that year he told a reporter, I went to see my supervisor and I asked if I was being dismissed for inefficiency or politics. He frankly told me it was politics. Oh, the plot thickens. It does. George claimed that his friendship and support for local Baltimore politician, Frank Kelly was the reason for his being fired. And this explanation was probably accurate because Danny Loden, who was a leader of the local chapter of the KKK, had been making a major push to force all the progressive politicians like Kelly out of Baltimore politics. According to the Baltimore Evening Sun, just days before Schultz was fired, Loden was known to have had a long conference with Dr. John Blake,

the head of the Department of Health, quote, at which several places in the department are said to have been discussed. Oh my. So he just went in there and was like, I don't like this politician. Anybody who has connections with him, get rid of them. Or like transfer them out of there. The shadiness of all of this.

Yeah. Like this is so dorksotted. It is dorksotted. And it's clear that the reason for George's change of position was political, but technically he wasn't fired. He kind of like took it as being fired. Yeah.

But he ended up being transferred from his position with the Baltimore Health Department to a new role as an inspector for the State Health Department. Okay. So he kind of just like got switched around. Yeah. It's almost like a lateral move. Yeah. But it's still fucked up. And especially why did I get moved? Yeah. And especially when you know why that it has to do with politics. You're like, so it has nothing to do with my quality of work.

Yeah. Like that's not cool, man. Not cool. Not cool. That's a scary mask, bro. It is. So the emphasis on George's employment, first in Baltimore, then with the state, might have just been the result of journalists not really knowing much else about him at the time. So they were like, this sounds good. They were like, hey, this is a little bit scandalous. So they didn't really know a lot about him

at the time that the murder that we're going to talk about took place. But it's also possible that class and social status kind of heavily influenced the press at the time. It seems like the perspective of the locals in the Deerfield area was that Bessie and George were outsiders. And one of the ways that status was signaled and reinforced was through the repeated references to their economic ties to Baltimore. That makes sense. Yeah. According to one local history report, most of the women who ran boarding houses were the wives of local farmers, but darling was from Baltimore

and thus appeared somewhat exotic and sophisticated to local residents. Exotic and sophisticated. She's not married to a farmer. That's exotic and sophisticated. If you're not married to a farmer, it's like, who is she? Who's that girl? She's from Baltimore. She's beauty and she's grace.

And she's not married to a farmer. Her social ties to Baltimore and her interest in entertaining her guests was a pretty frequent topic of discussion in Deerfield, particularly as the area was hit by the Great Depression and discouraged residents were eager for any gossip that was going to distract from the recession. I don't blame them. I don't either. The Great Depression, as the name kind of signals, was probably very depressing.

And it's like, you got to have some tea. Yeah, you need something to hold on to. But Bessie's social life was not the only thing that interested the locals. As soon as George Schultz entered the picture, he too became a source of gossip and rumor. Ooh. According to one Thurmond resident, Schultz was a heavy drinker and would often cause a scene in public. On one occasion, Bessie and George got into an argument in front of the post office, which eventually escalated to the point that George assaulted Bessie.

Oh, like at all, but also out in front of the post office? Jesus. In later news reports, the press indicated that other residents around town remembered witnessing similarly abusive situations. Oh, that's awful. So it wasn't like you just did this one time. This was something that, yeah, this was like a regular occurrence. But because a lot of the information relating to Bessie and George's relationship is based on a lot of speculation, gossip and rumor, and all of that gossip, speculation and rumor was kind of entered into the historical record after a murder, it's a little difficult to separate truth from fiction. Slightly tainted.

Yes, slightly tainted. But the reports of him being drunk in public on numerous occasions, and his brandishing a gun on several of those occasions, and his being verbally and physically abusive toward Bessie, does suggest that the relationship wasn't very stable or very good. At the very least, I would say it suggests that. Yeah. Yeah. That's very concerning. Even though maybe some things were embellished a little bit.

Yeah, they didn't come out of nowhere. Where there's smoke, there's fire. Exactly. It's not like they were just like, wow, he's such a sweet, kind man that never does anything. And somebody was like, I saw him whip out a gun and try to shoot her. It's like, no, it doesn't go from there to there. Yeah, no. Like there was something in between. Exactly. So Bessie and George carried on their relationship for almost four years from 1929 to 1933. I must spend a long four years, but it's actually

a little bit unclear how much of that time was really spent together. Because from the moment she purchased the property, Bessie, like I said, she spent her spring and summer months at Valley View and Deerfield, but then she'd go to Baltimore for the fall and winter. And although George met Bessie while he was staying at Valley View, he was also from Baltimore. So it's, nobody really knows if their relationship

was only ongoing when they were in the same place at the same time, or if they actually went back to Baltimore together during the off season. Nicole Sarris That's interesting. Bekkah Larson Just because of the time, I think there's just not a lot of record of them. Nicole Sarris Yeah, like they couldn't check in on Facebook. Bekkah Larson Exactly.

Nicole Sarris So nobody knows, if you can't do that, nobody knows what's going on. Bekkah Larson That's the thing. Nicole Sarris Yeah. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. When your schedule is packed with kids activities, big work projects, and more, it's really easy to let your priorities slip. Even when we know what makes us happy, it's hard to make time for it. But when you feel like you have no time for yourself, non-negotiables like therapy are

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tired of George and was pretty done tolerating his abuse. So she was like, you know what, I think I'm done here. Like, nice knowing you. Not really. And she broke off the relationship. As if to emphasize the finality of her decision, she decided that that winter she was going to actually stay at Valley View rather than return to Baltimore and probably risk crossing paths with George. So to make matters worse, at least from George's perspective, after ending their relationship, Bessie had been seen around town in the company of one Charles Wolfe, a widower from nearby Foxville.

A Charles who goes by Charles. Exactly, she has a thing for Charles. According to one article published in the Catoctin Banner in 1978, George's murderous jealousy was triggered by Bessie accepting Wolf's invitation to the local Halloween parade. Oh no.

Could just be gossip and rumor, but who's to say? Who's to say? So unable to accept Bessie's rejection, George became irrationally jealous and angry, and didn't really try to hide either of those feelings, even when he was in public. Awesome. On one occasion about a week before a murder, before the murder, excuse me, he was overheard by Maisie Willard, who was the maid at Valley View, angrily telling Bessie he would quote unquote, get her for her decision to end things. Now, on Halloween morning,

1933, just two days after the last guests had checked out of Valley View, George boarded a train in Baltimore bound for Deerfield. During his later trial, the train conductor, uh, Irvin and sense, I think it is testified that when George boarded the train that morning, he quote, showed his health department badge and gun and said there probably will be a shooting match there this morning. Oh, that's ominous. Yeah. And according to the same conductor, George was drinking, but not drunk. Okay. But literally is like, here's my gun. There might be some shooting later. Just putting it out there. Just saying. Yeah. Foreshadowing. Now once he reached the station in Thurmont, George caught a ride in the direction of Deerfield

from Clarence Lide, who was both the local mail carrier and the taxi operator. Oh, I love when it's like the dual jobs around town. Like small town, like I do the mail and I drive everybody around. The 1800s of it all is, in like early 1900s, is always like, I am the local surgeon. I am also the pet groomer and the mailman. And the teacher. I know. I do it all. How do I do it?

I got to change my hat. Now, Lied also testified that George appeared to have been drinking, but he also didn't think the man was drunk, just agitated. According to Lied, once they were about a half a mile from Valley View, George took his pistol from his jacket and said, I better get ready. We might run into some bad actors around here. Other reports quote him as having said he didn't know what he might run into. So he's just showing his gun to everybody and being like, I might need to use this.

Yeah, like what the fuck? Yeah. And his initial statement to the police lied also stated throughout the drive from the train station, George quote, questioned him about several people, including Mrs. Darling and Charles Wolfe. So he was like, oh, are they together? Interesting.

Now later during her testimony, the maid maid Maisie Willard recalled that morning as being very serene. She said she and Bussie just worked alongside one another. They were closing sections of the house that wouldn't be in use until the next Taurus season. She said the leaves were beautiful that fall, the petunias were blooming in the yard, and we had gathered bunches of leaves to put all throughout the house. She had been preparing breakfast on the first floor when she heard a knock at the door a little past 7.30 that morning. When she opened it, she was confronted by George Schultz, who demanded to see Bessie

immediately. Before Maisie could say anything, Schultz literally just pushed right past her into the house and started going up the stairs that led to Bessie's bedroom. Nicole Soule Oh, no. Bekkah Larson No. This is the point where the details kind of vary depending on where you read the story. In the more objective account of what happened that appeared in the papers outside of the Catoctin Mountain area, and this account is actually informed by Maisie's statement to the police. When George got to the second floor of the house, he found that the door to Bessie's bedroom was locked. So he broke the door down in order to get inside. Oh, that's horrifying. And once he made it through the door, he raised his pistol and fired one round into Bessie's

chest, severing an artery and killing her instantly. After killing Bessie, he held Maisie at gunpoint for an hour before sending her out of the house to go get the authorities. And when she came back with police, he was lying at the top of the stairs, bleeding from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his chest. In the more sensational version of the story, which was the one circulated by locals. George Schultz snuck into the home through the back door and demanded to be led to Bessie. Once Maisie led him to the top of the stairs, George entered Bessie's room and locked the door behind

him, making him the only witness to this version of events. Now according to George, so he doesn't die. Oh she saw him lock the door behind him, Bessie quote, had her own pistol nearby and made a mad garb for her gun. Fearing that she'd kill him, he claimed he fired in self-defense, hitting Bessie in the chest and nearly killing her. After shooting Bessie, he said he emerged from the room and demanded that Maisie make him a cup of coffee. Then as he disrobed in front of the terrified girl, he tossed her the engagement ring that Bessie had recently returned to him upon their breakup and said, you can have that to remember her by. And

then he sent Maisie to go get the police and said, when you come back, you'll find the two of us dead. So like part of that story is informed by George and then part of it is very embellished and sensationalized upon by just like spreading it through the local rumor mill. Like I don't know about the engagement ring and him disrobing or anything like that. Like it could have happened, but there's nothing to substantiate to confirm that. But his whole thing of like, she pulled the gun on me and that's why I fired, he did say that. Now, the differences in the two versions of the story are, they might seem kind of small and insignificant, but they do speak to the fundamental differences in how Bessie and

George were perceived by year round residents in the area versus in Baltimore. Because in Baltimore, it was a very simple case of domestic violence brought to a terribly sad conclusion. But the local account of the story is scandalous, dramatic. George sneaks into the house. Two lovers are pointing guns at one another. Yada yada yada. He gets naked and asks for a cup of coffee afterwards.

Exactly. It gets to be a lot. But back to the facts. Maisie did end up running down the mountain to the nearest phone and called Sheriff Charles Crum, who immediately drove out to the hotel. And when he arrived at Valley View, he found all the doors locked and actually had to force his way into the house through the basement. And once he made his way upstairs, he found Bessie dead on the floor of her bedroom, just wearing only her nightgown.

Oh, that's sad. Just sad. I know. Just outside the room on the landing at the top of the stairs was George Schultz bleeding from a hole in his chest. So Crumb sent for the local physician, Dr. Morris Beerley, who did his best to stabilize Schultz. And then the two men transported him to the hospital in nearby Frederick, about 10 miles away. So he shot himself in the chest and then it took a while for the police to even get there. And then they have to stabilize him and drive him 10

miles away. And this is like, this isn't like you're getting in like a fucking Tesla and going flying down the highway. Yeah. Or even like an ambulance. It's like you're in your horse and bugging it. You're going very slow. Yeah. So when Schultz arrived at the hospital, obviously he was in critical condition. The bullet had entered his chest and traveled downward. Quote, and this is a quote, lodging in the kidney region. Ooh. Yeah. Also real quick, I know it's not a horse and buggy. I was saying that it's like a, you know, silly laugh. Ha ha. Just making sure. No, I know it's not a horse and buggy. I was saying that was like a, you know. Just silly laugh, ha ha. Just making sure.

No, I got that told me. And then everybody else did too. They told me. They told me. So fortunately though, after a lengthy surgery, the medical staff was able to remove the bullet and save his life, ensuring that he would stand trial for the murder, which is crazy. Especially after like it hitting, like lodging in the kidney. Yeah.

Eek. That's shocking. It's also like, how are you doing? Yeah, not well, bitch. No. Now the next day, November 1st, an autopsy was performed by Dr. Edward Thomas with assistance from Dr. Beerly. And they concluded that Bessie had most likely been lying down in bed when she was shot.

Oh. And the bullet killed her almost instantly. Now given that they also had a statement from Maisie Willard describing what had happened, which supported the physical evidence gleaned from the autopsy, a coroner's inquest was deemed unnecessary. While George was recovering from surgery at Frederick Hospital, Crum and State's attorney Walter Sinn took his formal statement. And in the statement, he did confess to shooting Bussie, telling the men that after their breakup, he was unable to accept her decision and had become extremely, quote unquote, jealous of a farmer living

near Deerfield. And he believed that Bessie had started a new relationship with that farmer. Wow. So investigators spoke with Charles Wolfe, the man that George believed was dating Bessie, and he denied any romantic relationship, telling the detective, quote, "'He knew Mrs. Darling only as a neighbor, "'and Schultz had no reason to be jealous.'" Wow.

So this was all just rumor. In his head. And in his head. Totally in his head. Like people maybe were like, "'Oh, I saw Bessie talking to Charles,' "'but it was like a very like acquaintance type of relationship. That's also a good lesson of how talking unsubstantiated shit

is not good, it's dangerous. And can ruin a person's life. Like talk to with your friends. Yeah. For sure. Totally. When it gets serious like that, shut up. Yeah, just. Quiet down. When it gets serious like that, shut up. Yeah, just quiet down.

Just the fact that he was like, yeah, he had no reason to be jealous. Like I knew her as a neighbor. And like not one person, like he never thought to just like ask him. Nope. He just went. And he would have heard that, like you have no reason to be jealous. And he didn't even ask Bessie. He didn't give her a chance at all. He just walked into her room and shot her. Yeah. He didn't ask Bessie.

He didn't ask Charles. Both of them probably would have been like, we're just friends. We literally just know we're barely friends. Yeah. We know each other as neighbors. Yeah. Wow.

We weren't even going to the Halloween parade together. Damn. Now, by early December, George Shultz had recovered from his bullet wound and would be facing murder charges. At the same time, he also changed his story from his initial statement where he was jealous and that the official statement he gave was just that he was jealous and that's why he killed her. But this is when he started saying that he shot her in self-defense. He claimed he quote knew Mrs. Darling for four years and boarded at her home. That day he entered her hotel on October 31st and when she threatened to shoot him, he shot in self-defense. He also claimed that after he shot Bessie, he quote, became highly

nervous and used his own weapon on himself, firing one shot into his chest, which then rendered him unconscious. Wow. So after his initial statement of like, we dated, I really loved her, his initial statement of like, we dated, I really loved her. I got jealous. I heard this whole rumor and I couldn't handle it. So I killed her. Now he just has stayed at her boarding. I've known her for years. I stayed at her boarding house. I know where is like, you know, the landlord. I walked in on Halloween. She said she was going to shoot me. So I'd shot her. Yeah. It's like, what? Like you really going with that? What? And the evidence strongly indicated that things simply couldn't have happened this way. Most importantly, it was believed that after pushing his way into the house and up the

stairs, he shot Bessie, like I said, immediately after entering the room, which meant she likely wouldn't have had any time to threaten him. So on February 27th, 1934, a grand jury indicted George Schultz for Bessie's murder. And a few days later, he was arraigned in Frederick Circuit Court on a charge of first degree murder. The trial began on March 12th and the prosecutor, Walterson, laid out a pretty simple case for the jury. He said George Schultz and Bessie Darling were in a romantic relationship for a number of years. And when she called it off, he got pissed and vowed to get his revenge, ultimately shooting her to death

on October 31st. It was his belief that the crime was premeditated, based on reports of George having made threats against Bessie in the days before the murder. And to support his case, Sin called a total of 26 witnesses. Wow. Yeah. Among them were the two men who reported seeing Schultz on the morning of the shooting and testified that it seemed as though he had been drinking. And of course, both said that he showed them his pistol and made pretty vague references

about possibly using it later that day. And the state's star witness, Maisie Willard, also testified that day, providing a very detailed account of what she had witnessed and experienced. George Schultz entered a plea of not guilty, and the defense, quote, went with a tri-prong approach of self-defense, crime of passion, and reasonable doubt.

Yeah, we're just gonna throw it all at the wall and see what sticks. Yeah, it's pasta. Sticking with the second story that he'd given investigators, George claimed he'd gone to confront Bessie out of the jealousy he was feeling and had broken into the bedroom believing that he would find her with another man. Just like, really? You killed her. Now you just need to paint her like this. Just stop. And also, even if you did, she could have been because she broke up with you. Yeah, she's single. She can do whatever she wants.

Do whatever she wants. Now, he said when she pointed her gun at him, he fired first in self-defense. Bessie did own a gun and it was found in the room with her, but when it was found, the safety was still on and it wasn't in her hand. So how would she? Yeah. So since there was no denying that he shot her, George's defense team's goal was to create enough reasonable doubt and Convince a jury that it was a crime of passion committed by an otherwise sane and very rational man

Oh, yeah Okay in order to cast himself as an upstanding citizen George made a number of strange and unverified Claims on the witness stand these got wild he told the jury that he was a deputy sheriff, a veteran of the great war, and a major league baseball player. Oh, because that instills trust. Like what? Very impressive. The state's star witness and one of the only eyewitnesses by contrast was a teenage girl they said with no credibility. And that was Maisie. Yeah. It's like, meanwhile, I don't know if she's saying is supported by actual evidence,

but like a teenage girl makes it makes it that she's not credible. She's just a teenage girl. Cool. Yeah. Now the next day, the jury deliberated for one hour before returning a verdict. Although they didn't believe that the crime had been a premeditated, deliberate act, they also didn't believe that George had shot Bessie in self-defense. So, ultimately, they found Mr. George Schultz guilty of second-degree murder. Okay. Judge Hammond Erner wasted no time on passing the sentence and immediately sentenced Schultz to 18 years in prison. He said the jury's verdict indicated that it rejected the self-defense theory. We think it's justified that the court has no doubt he returned to carry out his threat. When the sentence was read in the courtroom, George cried out, I didn't intend

to shoot. I loved her too dearly. It's like, but you did. I don't know about that. You shot her in the chest and killed her instantly. You came with a gun and told people all the way there that you were going to be using it. Yeah, you called the town crier to go run out to the town square and tell everybody. Exactly. Come on. That afternoon, Sheriff Crum transported Schultz to the State Penitentiary in Baltimore, where he began serving his sentence.

Now with Joseph Pash having died many years earlier, he was the one who helped Bessie by the Valley View Manor. Ownership of Valley View Manor defaulted to his heirs in Germany because he was passed away at this point. And she's passed away and he, I think he provided actually all of the down payment. So it was technically his property. But they were unable, they were either unable or uninterested in claiming it. Claiming it so the property was foreclosed on by the bank in 1934. Oh damn. But Bessie's son Wesley purchased the property back from the bank for $3,000 and immediately

signed it over to his grandparents, John and Fanny Warren. And they ran the hotel until John died the next year. So they like really tried to keep it in the family. John died the next year. So they like really tried to keep it in the family. Yeah, I was going to say they like ran it in her honor. But not interested in running the hotel without her husband, Fanny signed the property over to the state in 1936. And it became included in what is now the Catoctin recreational demonstration area. It's a part of the national park system.

Wow. Yeah. Interesting, huh? That's crazy. Now in March of 1940, George Shultz, then 70 years old, applied for parole, but he was denied. Whoa. And a few months later, then Governor Herbert O'Connor

announced his administration would be implementing a new and more humane parole system, in which the governor would play an active role in determining who was going to be paroled. Among the cases on his agenda was that of the elderly George Schultz. But after reviewing the cases, he was again denied. O'Connor said, he said, upon my first consideration of the matters, I could not see my way clear to grant parole in these cases. Whoa. Schultz was denied parole one more time

before finally winning release in February of 1943 after serving nine years of his 18 year sentence. Nine years? Only served nine years. Come on. But he died just one year later from unspecified causes. Whoa, unspecified. I know.

Whoa. And that is the Halloween murder of Bessie Darling. Aw, poor Bessie. I know. And she just seemed like she was a trailblazer. She was. And she wasn't doing anything wrong. No.

She just broke up with him. She broke up with him after he sounded like he was pretty fucking abusive. Yeah, he was being abusive. It just sounds like she had a lot to offer the world. Hell yeah. And she was like stepping out out, taking charge of shit. Yeah. Good for Bessie.

She didn't come from much and she used her connections to try to make her life better. Google Bessie Darling because she's an icon. She is an icon. Take a peek at her. She's gorgeous. Yeah, she's gorgeous. She's just fabulous. It's really sad that it was just such a senseless killing.

It really was. Wow. But an interesting case. Very interesting, interesting, old timey case. You know, we love it. Yeah. So that's so sad. We hope you keep listening and we hope you keep it weird. But not so weird that you listen to the rumor mill in town and think that your girl who's not even your girl anymore

because she broke up with you is seeing a new man's and you get all jealous and shoot her because Cool it brother Cool it cool it like cool whip like cool whip or like ice cool things Be like ice I'm going to be a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a

little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a little bit of a Oh my god, I'm so tired. I hope I can read it. Hello! I'm exhausted! I watch too much telly in the evening!

It's the most little kid thing I've ever heard. You're like, I watch too much TV! I'm tired. Have you ever stayed up until the early morning hours of the evening just watching your telly? I haven't recently because I just can't. I fell asleep too early. I don't have the stamina. I just didn't. I just didn't. I think I was up late with the cake the other night and then my body was like, oh, we do this now. This is what we do. We could just relax though. No, this is what we do. We could just relax though and watch the telly. If you like morbid, you can listen early and ad free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple podcasts.

Prime members can listen ad free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. Divorced beheaded died, divorced beheaded survived. We know the six wives of Henry VIII as pawns in his hunt for a son, but their lives were so much more than just being the king's wives. I'm Arisha Skidmore Williams. And I'm Brooke Zifrin.

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