Anna George and the Murder of George Saxton
Morbid
02/22/24
•82m
About
Comments
Featured In
On the evening of October 6, 1898, forty-eight-year-old George Saxton, brother of First Lady Ida McKinley, was riding his bike to the home of his lady friend Eva Althouse when an assailant dressed in black emerged from the shadows and fired two shots. Wounded, George crawled towards Eva’s house and had just reached the front steps when the shooter approached and fired two more shots, killing him almost instantly.
Within hours of Saxton’s death, his former mistress, Anna George, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. For more than a decade, Saxton and George had been carrying on a scandalous relationship that began as an illicit affair until Saxton successfully convinced George to divorce her husband, supposedly with promises to marry her. However, once she was a single woman again, Saxton’s enthusiasm for marriage had cooled and over time his interest in Anna waned.
Anna George’s sensational arrest and trial dominated headlines for months and, as Saxton was extremely unpopular, many people sympathized with the accused woman and even reveled in Saxton’s death. After an intense and closely watched three-week trial, Anna George was acquitted of the murder and soon after she faded out of the spotlight, leaving the murder of George Saxton officially unsolved to this day.
Thank you to the glorious David White, of the Bring Me The Axe Podcast, for research!
References
Akron Beacon Journal. 1906. "Former Akron man suicided in Ravenna." Akron Beacon Journal, July 23: 8.
Bellamy, John Stark. 2011. A Woman Scorned: The Murder of George Saxton. Cleveland, OH: Independent.
Boston Daily Globe. 1899. "Mintz on Saxton." Boston Daily Globe, April 23: 2.
—. 1898. "Public sympathy with Mrs. George." Boston Daily Globe, October 9: 1.
Cincinnati Post. 1898. "Before bar of justice." Cincinnati Post, October 10: 1.
—. 1898. "Charged with murder of G.D. Saxton." Cincinnati Post, October 11: 1.
Clinton County Democrat. 1898. "The good people of Canton rejoice that he has been removed." Clinton County Democrat, November 10: 1.
Coe, Jonathan. 2012. Canton's Great Tragedy the Murder of George D. Saxton, Together with a History of the Arrest and Trial of Annie E. George Charged with the Murder. Detroit, MI: Gale.
Dayton Daily News. 1899. "Loved to the hour of death." Dayton Daily News, April 8: 1.
Dayton Herald. 1899. "Relations of Mrs. George and Saxton are told to the jury." Dayton Herald, April 8: 1.
—. 1899. "Youth claims to have seen the killing of Saxton." Dayton Herald, July 25: 1.
New York Times. 1899. "Belated evidence heard at Chicago against Mrs. George." New York Times, July 25: 4.
Scripps-McRae Telegram. 1898. "Out of court noted alienation case was settled." Cincinnati Post, October 5: 7.
Stark County Democrat. 1899. "Sterling were the remarks of the attorney by the same name." Stark County Democrat, April 27: 1.
—. 1899. "Testimony being heard at a rapid and exceedingly gratifying pace." Stark County Democvrat, April 13: 1.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Previous Episode
Ronald Dominique: The Bayou Strangler (Part 3)
February 19, 2024
•63m
(Part 3) In the spring of 2005, law enforcement officials in southern Louisiana had a growing number of murder victims they had begun to suspect were connected to an unidentified serial killer operating in the area. The victims were all men, mostly in their twenties and thirties, many had histories of drug and alcohol abuse or were known to police as sex-workers, and all had been strangled and dumped in secondary locations.
Over the course of a decade, Ronald Dominique developed into one of the worst and most prolific serial killers in American history; yet his story and those of his victims remains largely unknown and ignored by the mainstream media.
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe & 99 Cent Renal Podcasts for research!
References
Alford, Jeremy. 2005. New information coming soon in local murders. August 24. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.houmatoday.com/story/news/2005/08/24/new-information-coming-soon-in-local-murders/27020266007/.
Armstrong, Shell. 2007. Dominique pleads not guilty to 9 murders. January 17. Accessed March 29, 2023. https://www.houmatimes.com/news/dominique-pleads-not-guilty-to-9-murders/.
Associated Press. 2005. "Man found in Lafource Parish was from Houma area." Abberville Meridional, May 3: 2.
—. 2005. "Deaths od five south Lousiana men may be linked, police say." Shreveport Times, April 25: 12.
—. 1999. "La. deaths may be work of serial killer." Shreveport Times, June 23: 5B.
—. 2006. "Police look for links between serial suspect, priest's death." Shreveport Times, December 9: 22.
—. 2006. "Arrest made in serial-killer investigation." Town Talk, December 2: 17.
—. 2006. "Serial murder suspect was average Joe, says shelter residents." Town Talk, December 3: 8.
DeSantis, John. 2006. Accused lived on the fringe of two worlds. December 4. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210128012212/https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20061204/News/608089983/HC.
Hunter, Michelle. 2006. "Serial-killer suspect confesses; Trysts led to rapes, strangling, cops told." Times-Picatune, December 6.
L'observateur. 1999. Beaten teen’s body discovered in Kenner. October 26. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.lobservateur.com/1998/10/26/beaten-teens-body-discovered-in-kenner/.
—. 1999. Two deaths reclassified as murders in St. Charles Parish. Fdebruary 6. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.lobservateur.com/1999/02/06/two-deaths-reclassified-as-murders-in-st-charles-parish/.
Morris, Robert. 2006. Mother protests dead son’s link to serial killer. June 19. Accessed March 26, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20210131004921/https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20060619/News/608089995/HC.
Ramage, James. 2005. "Serial killer theory floats around cases." Shreveport Times, May 15: 1.
Rosen, Fred. 2017. The Bayou Strangler. New York, NY: Open Road Media.
—. 2018. Uncovering the Truth Behind One of the Bayou Strangler’s Victims. April 10. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://the-line-up.com/uncovering-the-truth-behind-one-of-the-bayou-stranglers-victims.
St. Charles Heral-Guide. 2006. Mother’s tears for son killed by serial madman Dominique. 12 06. Accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.heraldguide.com/tragedy/mothers-tears-for-son-killed-by-serial-madman-dominique/.
The Daily Review. 2002. "Houma man's body found." Daily Review, October 17: 6.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Next Episode
The Unsolved Murder of Georgette Bauerdorf
February 26, 2024
•47m
On the morning of October 12, 1944, Lulu Atwood arrived at the El Palacio Apartments in West Hollywood, where she worked cleaning apartments for wealthy and celebrity clients. When Lulu reached the apartment of twenty-year-old Georgette Bauerdorf, she called out and when she got no reply, she entered the apartment to begin her work. Inside, Lulu could hear the water running in the bathtub upstairs, and when she made her way to the second-floor bathroom, she found the dead body of Georgette Bauerdorf half-submerged in the water.
As a well-known socialite and the prominent daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon, Georgette’s untimely death surprised the Los Angeles society circles in which she moved. But when her death was officially labeled a murder, and one with sexual overtones, their surprise turned to shock and dismay—who would have wanted to kill Georgette Bauerdorf and why?
As a member of Hollywood’s elite class, Georgette Bauerdorf’s murder dominated the headlines of Los Angeles papers for weeks, but when the leads dried up just a few weeks later and no new suspects were identified, the case went cold and by the end of the year the investigation was essentially shelved. Once considered alongside the Black Dahlia as one of Los Angeles’ most notorious unsolved murders, today the story of Georgette Bauerdorf has now all but faded from public memory, making it unlikely the mystery will ever be solved.
Thank you to David White, of The Bring Me the Axe Podcast, for research!
References
Buffalo Evening News. 1944. "Murder theory studied in death of wealthy girl." Buffalo Evening News, October 13: 1.
Dowd, Katie. 2021. "A California oil heiress was strangled in her apartment. Who got away with murder?" SF Gate, November 28.
Foster, Ernest. 1944. "Heiress found dead in bathtub mystery." Daily News, October 13: 224.
Los Angeles Times. 1944. "Evidence shows heiress waged terrific fight." Los Angeles Times, October 15: 3.
—. 1944. "Ex-soldiers tale of killing heiress here discounted." Los Angeles Times, December 29: 6.
—. 1944. "Girl mystery death laid to attacker." Los Angeles Times, October 14: 1.
—. 1944. "Girl mystery death laid to attacker." Los Angeles Times, October 14: 1.
—. 1945. "Note professing Bauerdorf girl slaying knowledge pondered." Los Angeles Times, September 21: 2.
—. 1944. "Oil heiress death clues valueless, deputies say." Los Angeles Times, October 17: 5.
—. 1945. "Self-appointed sleuth held in heiress' death." Los Angeles Times, September 25: 2.
—. 1944. "Tale of killing heiress here false, ex-soldier concedes." Los Angeles Times, December 30: 11.
New York Times. 1944. "Miss Bauerdorf, oil man's daughter, slain by strangler in her Hollywood apartment." New York Times, October 14: 15.
San Francisco Examiner . 1944. "Heiress' generosity believed to have led to her murder ." San Francisco Examiner , October 15: 3.
San Francisco Examiner. 1944. "Hollywood girl believed strangled far from home." San Francisco Examiner, October 20: 3.
—. 1944. "New theory in girl slaying." San Francisco Examiner, October 27: 15.
—. 1944. "Police reject confession." San Francisco Examiner, December 30: 24.
—. 1944. "Slaying of Oil Heiress in Hollywood confessed." San Francisco Examiner, December 29: 3.
Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)
Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)
Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley
Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally
Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
If you like this episode you’ll love
Promoted