Sauk County Historical Society: Unsolved Crimes of the Roaring 20's

Unsolved crimes from the 1920s will be the subject of a presentation on Monday, March 16, at 6 pm at the Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Library in Baraboo. Cases include a robbery spree in Baraboo which included Mrs. Gus Ringling’s House and the theft of over 600 pounds of butter from the Witwen Creamery. Fascinating details, likely motives, and possible suspects will be discussed for people to form their own opinions. Join SCHS Executive Director Paul Wolter at the library for this free presentation.

In 1925 renters on the old Balzer Farm along highway 60 between Sauk City and Spring Green found a strong box containing hundreds of dollars’ worth of bonds. When they tried to cash the bonds, they were arrested for trying to impersonate the original owners of the bonds, Julius, William, and Mary Balzer. The incident brought to mind the horrific triple homicide that had occurred at the farm in August of 1922 when the Balzer siblings were killed by at least two assailants. Julius was beaten to death with a blunt instrument while William was attacked and left for dead, later succumbing to his injuries. Mary’s body was found next to the highway as she apparently had been trying to run to the neighbors for help. The Balzers were known to have distrusted banks and many people believed that they had hidden a small fortune on their property. The murders remain unsolved over 100 years later.

In August 1929, James and Philomena Parrillo, who were honeymooning at Devil’s Lake were found to be missing when the rowboat they were using was found drifting in the lake. In the boat was a camera that contained used film which when developed showed the last known photos of the couple. A week after the boat was discovered the body of Philomena came to surface with signs of head trauma. Had she been killed be her new husband who then fled the scene?