1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: This story contains adult content and language. Listener discretion is advised. 2 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:16,239 Speaker 2: Okay, tell me what we're doing. 3 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:23,200 Speaker 3: This is the Walk Cemetery and Slaterville Springs, and this 4 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:26,759 Speaker 3: is where most of Harriet Scutt's family is buried. 5 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 2: Take a old cemetery. It's old, old cemetery. 6 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:35,880 Speaker 1: Craig Scutt is leading me through a nineteenth century graveyard 7 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: in upstate New York. We're searching for his relatives, a 8 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: generation of Scuts who died almost one hundred and fifty 9 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:44,360 Speaker 1: years ago. 10 00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,440 Speaker 3: I remember in the Scotland plot is right over there somewhere. 11 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:49,680 Speaker 4: It might be that. 12 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:52,400 Speaker 3: Big one there in the middle. 13 00:00:53,159 --> 00:00:56,760 Speaker 1: It's below freezing and really windy, so I'm trying to 14 00:00:56,760 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: carefully climb this hill that's covered with thick snow. 15 00:01:00,680 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 2: This definitely isn't the best time of year to do this. 16 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:12,039 Speaker 1: There are almost thirty Scuts buried here. Most of them 17 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: actually lived a pretty long time, at least by eighteen 18 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:16,319 Speaker 1: hundred standards. 19 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:22,200 Speaker 5: Helpful. 20 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 3: It's some of the kids on this end. 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 6: So you see Harriet, who else Jeane, William, Riah. 22 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 2: James, James, and then eph from him. 23 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: I can barely read four of the names, but they 24 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 1: are the reason why we're here. They were all murdered 25 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty five by a serial killer. This season 26 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: is about them, the story of the Scuts. 27 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,840 Speaker 3: They obviously were a very tight knit family and it 28 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:13,640 Speaker 3: was devastating to lose any of them. 29 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,720 Speaker 1: But it's also about the man who spread hatred and 30 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,600 Speaker 1: death like a contagion through their family. He's the most 31 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: intelligent known killer in America, and his case left nineteenth 32 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,360 Speaker 1: century neuroscientists with a really controversial question. 33 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:33,200 Speaker 2: What if he and other killers. 34 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: Weren't actually to blame for their crimes, what if their 35 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: brains made them do it. 36 00:02:39,400 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 3: They wanted the message that you know, this was not 37 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,639 Speaker 3: these people's fault that they had, say, gone off and 38 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:46,400 Speaker 3: killed somebody. 39 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,840 Speaker 1: You know, they were suffering from them disease of the brain. 40 00:02:49,320 --> 00:02:52,880 Speaker 1: But there's something even deeper here. This killer was complex 41 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,680 Speaker 1: because he was a genius and he could actually offer 42 00:02:56,760 --> 00:02:57,760 Speaker 1: something to society. 43 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 2: It was outside the mainstream of the nineteen ten He 44 00:03:00,800 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 2: clearly did know a. 45 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,080 Speaker 1: Lot, and his brain might just save his life. But 46 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:08,200 Speaker 1: he was absolutely horrible. 47 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 7: I don't think he ever sees himself as a villain. 48 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 7: There's no remorse. 49 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:15,680 Speaker 2: How would you describe him? 50 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:23,919 Speaker 7: Serial killer ruthless, genius evil. 51 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: I'm Kate Winkler Dawson, a true crime historian and author 52 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: of the new book American Sherlock, along with my first book, 53 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: Death in the Air. I write stories about history and murder, 54 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,880 Speaker 1: and this is tenfold more wicked. Each season is a 55 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: new case with new families at the center of it. 56 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: I sort out the facts from the fables in family history, 57 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:48,480 Speaker 1: and I try to give them some kind of closure, 58 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 1: even if it does come more than a century later. 59 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: This is our first season, a horrifying true crime tale 60 00:03:56,720 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: about America's own doctor Jekyl and mister Hyde. This is Dryden, 61 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: a village in upstate New York, near Ithaca. 62 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 2: The first settler arrived here. 63 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: In seventeen ninety seven, and it was eventually named after 64 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: English poet John Dryden. The small country village they founded 65 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 1: was quirky. Six mile Creek was actually twenty miles long, 66 00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:36,640 Speaker 1: but the people who lived there were proud of their heritage. 67 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,760 Speaker 1: After the Revolutionary War, the town became part of the 68 00:04:39,839 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 1: Military Tract Program. It was a government scheme that gifted 69 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: each New York soldier hundreds of acres of land, a 70 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: type of payment for participating in the war. The War 71 00:04:51,720 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: of eighteen twelve drafted even more soldiers, so more veterans came, 72 00:04:57,279 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 1: and some of its most notable early villagers were the Scuts. 73 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,680 Speaker 1: They were a respected family that was really well known 74 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,280 Speaker 1: for their contributions to the village, but they were also 75 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: known for the string of horrific murders in their family. 76 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 3: Sorry, I'm late. 77 00:05:20,279 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 2: You can imagine. 78 00:05:20,839 --> 00:05:24,840 Speaker 1: There's not a law of snow where I'm from. I'm 79 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:28,000 Speaker 1: a journalism professor at the University of Texas and Austin, 80 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,359 Speaker 1: and now I've never really driven in the snow. It 81 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,159 Speaker 1: took me about an hour just to drive thirteen miles 82 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:40,640 Speaker 1: from Ithaca. Okay, I'll follow you. Craig Scott and I 83 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:44,360 Speaker 1: drive the back roads of Dryden, winding past churches and 84 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 1: fields to Brookfield Farm. This has been in his family 85 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:53,240 Speaker 1: for almost two hundred years. Another Scout, Kathy Chadwick, lives 86 00:05:53,279 --> 00:06:00,000 Speaker 1: here with her son and her dog, Hannah. Oh, Hannah, 87 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 1: what are you doing? 88 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 2: Good morning? 89 00:06:03,560 --> 00:06:07,680 Speaker 1: If I wander around for a while outside, Hannah, you 90 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 1: can't come. Craig is a retired local businessman and politician 91 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,240 Speaker 1: who has lived off of Scut Road for decades. The 92 00:06:17,279 --> 00:06:19,280 Speaker 1: local cemeteries are filled. 93 00:06:18,880 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 2: With his ancestors. 94 00:06:20,640 --> 00:06:24,559 Speaker 1: The Scut name rings like royalty in Dryden, at least 95 00:06:24,560 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: to me. 96 00:06:25,279 --> 00:06:26,320 Speaker 2: He and Kathy have. 97 00:06:26,560 --> 00:06:30,040 Speaker 1: Hundreds of relatives in the county, but they've never actually 98 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:32,080 Speaker 1: met most of them. 99 00:06:32,080 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 2: What does it like to come from such a large family. 100 00:06:34,640 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: I have two cousins, so you have a vast family here. 101 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:40,880 Speaker 3: We always are running into people that we didn't know 102 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 3: we were part of the tree somewhere, at least I 103 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:45,320 Speaker 3: find that. 104 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:48,919 Speaker 5: Yeah, I went to the picnic a couple of years 105 00:06:48,960 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 5: ago and on my word, where did all these Scuts 106 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,560 Speaker 5: come from? So it was a little surprising to me 107 00:06:58,760 --> 00:07:00,720 Speaker 5: that the family was so extensive. 108 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:05,719 Speaker 1: The Scots arrived in America in the early sixteen hundreds 109 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: from Amsterdam. They owned lumber mills, clothing mills, and thousands 110 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,880 Speaker 1: of acres of farmland. They felt blessed to be a 111 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:18,280 Speaker 1: part of such a close community. Gerald Smith is a 112 00:07:18,400 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: historian in nearby Broome County and an expert on small 113 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: town life in the eighteen hundreds. 114 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:27,679 Speaker 8: Everybody knows everybody else. Everybody would go over and help 115 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:30,840 Speaker 8: the neighboring farmer or two or three farms down if 116 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 8: there was a problem. The barn burned down there's a 117 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 8: barn raising. 118 00:07:35,120 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: The family's patriarch in eighteen forty. 119 00:07:37,520 --> 00:07:38,920 Speaker 2: Two was John Scutt. 120 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: He was a fifty five year old decorated veteran in 121 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,239 Speaker 1: the War of eighteen twelve. John owned this house, which 122 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,720 Speaker 1: looks really small from the outside, but it's two stories 123 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:53,520 Speaker 1: with four bedrooms and a large basement. A pretty impressive 124 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,480 Speaker 1: eighteen forties house that has stayed in the Scutt family 125 00:07:56,680 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: for generations. A well with original slate stone sits just 126 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Speaker 1: feet from the house. A murder of crows lives in 127 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: a massive willow tree nearby. 128 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:15,559 Speaker 5: I can remember as a child coming out here to visit. 129 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:19,200 Speaker 5: It's not a bad thing to hang on a little 130 00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 5: bit to the past. 131 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:26,360 Speaker 1: John Scott was Kathy Chadwick's great great great grandfather. He 132 00:08:26,480 --> 00:08:29,400 Speaker 1: became a well known schoolteacher in Dryden, a leader in 133 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,400 Speaker 1: the village. He was highly intellectual and very hard working 134 00:08:34,080 --> 00:08:34,959 Speaker 1: and a little strict. 135 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:37,120 Speaker 2: Will you tell me about the family values? 136 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:44,640 Speaker 5: Well, perseverance, stubbornness, that's right up there on top of 137 00:08:44,720 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 5: the list. 138 00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:48,400 Speaker 3: My grandfather used to say, a man's only as good 139 00:08:48,400 --> 00:08:51,199 Speaker 3: as his word. If you give somebody your word, make 140 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 3: sure you keep it. He always was stressing. 141 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 5: That Yeah, and that was something that my dad lived 142 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:02,240 Speaker 5: by as well, in commitment hmm to each other. 143 00:09:02,880 --> 00:09:03,080 Speaker 2: Yep. 144 00:09:09,600 --> 00:09:13,800 Speaker 1: Henry Scott was John and Hannah's second eldest child. Henry 145 00:09:13,880 --> 00:09:17,400 Speaker 1: was trusting. His mother and father had raised their five 146 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: girls and seven boys to always welcome the wandering men 147 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:24,199 Speaker 1: who stumbled onto their farm, because the Scots were really 148 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:26,440 Speaker 1: known for inviting people in. 149 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:29,960 Speaker 3: Their home was always open to anybody that needed a 150 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 3: place to stay or passers by, you know, could come 151 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,640 Speaker 3: in and spend the night or get a meal. That 152 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:38,200 Speaker 3: they were just that kind of people. 153 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:41,120 Speaker 2: And so that leads you to be pretty trusting. 154 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 3: Yes, you have to be to do that. 155 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:48,240 Speaker 1: Henry Scott had become used to meeting laborers searching for 156 00:09:48,280 --> 00:09:51,360 Speaker 1: work along the canal. The twenty seven year old worked 157 00:09:51,400 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 1: on a packet, a small shallow vessel that carried riders 158 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,320 Speaker 1: between stops along the waterway. Passengers stepped on and off 159 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 1: along the roof between Albany on the Hudson River and 160 00:10:02,559 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 1: Buffalo at Lake Erie. Local reporter David Wrenn has studied 161 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: the region's history extensively. 162 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 9: So in that day and age, with the Erie Canal 163 00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 9: and the boats and the traffic Cayuga was quite busy, 164 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 9: so there were a lot of strangers coming and going. 165 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,160 Speaker 1: When Henry scutt doctor briefly in Syracuse that May of 166 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: eighteen forty two, a man strolled down the path, caught 167 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: his eye, and then soon gripped his hand. He seemed 168 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:38,000 Speaker 1: about Henry's age, early twenties, with dark, gleaming eyes and 169 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: a quick smile. He seemed cheerful. Henry gave him a 170 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: silent evaluation. The man's name was Edward Rulolf. 171 00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:51,160 Speaker 9: People are attracted to people who are intelligent, you know. 172 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:55,280 Speaker 9: He was a big, bronic guy. His personality was charming 173 00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 9: when he was charming. 174 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,640 Speaker 1: The man wasn't particularly tall, just under five foot nine, 175 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,160 Speaker 1: but he was solid, with broad shoulders and a compact body, 176 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: the model for a canal laborer. Henry noticed that he 177 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,400 Speaker 1: didn't smell like alcohol. He also seemed well groomed, not 178 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: at all disheveled like the other workers. Edward promised he 179 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:18,840 Speaker 1: would be reliable. He said he needed a job on 180 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:21,120 Speaker 1: the canal, just for a bit. He had been a 181 00:11:21,120 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: clerk at a hardware store, but now he was out 182 00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: of work. He hoped to begin a teaching career in 183 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:31,120 Speaker 1: a country village. Soon he loved books on history and philosophy. 184 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:36,079 Speaker 1: He knew many different languages. Edward assured Henry that his 185 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:40,240 Speaker 1: work ethic would help him educate many young students. He 186 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:47,199 Speaker 1: had noble intentions, he said. Edward proved to be a 187 00:11:47,240 --> 00:11:51,480 Speaker 1: godsend for Henry. When they approached the towpath, Edward would 188 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:54,079 Speaker 1: hop out and wade through the muddy water to guide 189 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: the boat in its passengers. The men became good friends. 190 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:00,720 Speaker 1: Edward was so incredibly nice. 191 00:12:00,760 --> 00:12:04,880 Speaker 9: Personality was everything. I think he really wooed them. 192 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: And when it came time for Henry to return to 193 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:11,520 Speaker 1: his family's home, the boatman asked his assistant to come along. 194 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 1: They set off on horseback together, both looking forward to 195 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:27,440 Speaker 1: their new friendship. But soon both men would recall that 196 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:32,840 Speaker 1: chance encounter on the passenger boat with bitterness, regret, and sorrow. 197 00:12:33,679 --> 00:12:36,680 Speaker 1: Henry Scott didn't know it yet, but he was traveling 198 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:42,160 Speaker 1: through the countryside with a devil. But for now, the 199 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 1: pair rode happily together toward Dryden. No one in that 200 00:12:47,760 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 1: village could know how much hell one man could bring 201 00:12:50,960 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: along with him. When Edward Ruloph arrived at Brookfield Farm 202 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,920 Speaker 1: in May of eighteen forty two, John and Hannah Scutt 203 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: welcomed him into their home. He was hardworking, friendly, and 204 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:17,440 Speaker 1: he seemed committed to starting a teaching career. Edward happily 205 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: chopped wood in the barn, fed the horses, and did 206 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,680 Speaker 1: other odd jobs in exchange for room and board. He 207 00:13:23,720 --> 00:13:26,720 Speaker 1: even played with the kids. The couple had three children 208 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:30,920 Speaker 1: under the age of ten. John watched the twenty three 209 00:13:31,040 --> 00:13:33,679 Speaker 1: year old read late into the night by his oil lamp. 210 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:39,000 Speaker 1: Edward was clearly bright and very ambitious. What are the 211 00:13:39,040 --> 00:13:41,240 Speaker 1: things that are fascinating about him as a person? 212 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:47,160 Speaker 9: His mastery of language. He certainly wrote beautifully. 213 00:13:47,760 --> 00:13:51,360 Speaker 1: He was well versed in Latin, Greek, French, and German, 214 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 1: among other disciplines. He could recall the Latin names for 215 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:59,640 Speaker 1: all the flora and fauna in the county. His penmanship 216 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: was gorgeous. John Scott was an incredibly respected teacher, so 217 00:14:04,880 --> 00:14:08,240 Speaker 1: he decided to help. He asked a neighbor if Edward 218 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 1: could teach some classes at the man's house, not an 219 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:15,240 Speaker 1: uncommon practice in rural communities in the eighteen hundreds. Soon 220 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:19,560 Speaker 1: local families began sending their students to Edward's select school. 221 00:14:21,600 --> 00:14:25,320 Speaker 1: What do you think the family thought of him, well. 222 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,280 Speaker 3: He was very intelligent, so they were probably impressed by that. 223 00:14:28,880 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: These families knew nothing about him. He just seemed so sincere. 224 00:14:34,520 --> 00:14:37,640 Speaker 1: David Wrinn says that people in the countryside had blind 225 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:39,360 Speaker 1: faith in just about everybody. 226 00:14:39,520 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 2: I mean, it seems gullible to me. 227 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:46,600 Speaker 9: People fall for the snake oil salesman. They actually enjoy 228 00:14:46,760 --> 00:14:48,080 Speaker 9: the snake oil salesman. 229 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: Well, actually, they didn't have blind faith in everyone. John 230 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: Scutt treated Edward politely, but with some reservation. He did 231 00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:02,520 Speaker 1: not trust immigrants, and Edward said he was German. Historian 232 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:05,960 Speaker 1: hw Brand says that John's concern was typical for someone 233 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,320 Speaker 1: in a small village in the nineteenth century. 234 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:15,080 Speaker 4: It's been a theme of American history to feel as though, 235 00:15:16,160 --> 00:15:19,440 Speaker 4: whoever the latest immigrants are, they represent a threat to 236 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 4: the American way of life. And so when German started 237 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:27,200 Speaker 4: arriving in large numbers in the eighteenth century, even pretty 238 00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:30,080 Speaker 4: open minded people like Benjamin Franklin thought that they're just 239 00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 4: not assimilating, They're not going to make good Americans. 240 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,720 Speaker 1: But Edward Ruloff seemed to want to assimilate. He wore 241 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,520 Speaker 1: clothes from the area to look like other villagers. He 242 00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:45,200 Speaker 1: didn't speak German, only English. He hid his accent. Gerald 243 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,920 Speaker 1: Smith says that villagers accepted Edward because he wanted to 244 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: be an American too. 245 00:15:51,480 --> 00:15:56,120 Speaker 7: Were strangers embraced if they're speaking English without an accent, 246 00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,200 Speaker 7: if they're going to a Protestant church, if you're white, 247 00:16:00,560 --> 00:16:02,680 Speaker 7: if you're a male, if. 248 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 2: You assimilate essentially yes. 249 00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: In the eighteen forties, America's landscape was changing, but it 250 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,840 Speaker 1: was still mostly rural and academics were not a priority. 251 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:16,720 Speaker 1: Most students in the countryside only completed eighth grade before 252 00:16:16,760 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 1: they began working full time to help support their families. 253 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:24,640 Speaker 1: But the Scott strongly believed in educating their children, including 254 00:16:24,640 --> 00:16:28,280 Speaker 1: the girls, so they enrolled their two eldest daughters in 255 00:16:28,440 --> 00:16:32,520 Speaker 1: Edward's classes. John Scott hoped the young teacher would become 256 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:36,680 Speaker 1: a trusted mentor. He was so much more intelligent than 257 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 1: the other villagers. Everyone in Dryden seemed to trust him, 258 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:46,200 Speaker 1: so John Scott hid his suspicions for now. What a 259 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: dreadful mistake. Sixteen year old Harriet was a beauty, tall, 260 00:16:56,840 --> 00:17:00,920 Speaker 1: slender with long, thick, light brown hair, pale skin, and 261 00:17:00,960 --> 00:17:05,439 Speaker 1: hazel eyes. She was studious, too serious about her schoolwork. 262 00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 2: She knew that not all. 263 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:10,639 Speaker 1: Girls in the countryside were given an opportunity to be educated. 264 00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:15,600 Speaker 1: But Craig Scutt says Harriet seemed like an innocent sixteen 265 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:16,080 Speaker 1: year old. 266 00:17:16,680 --> 00:17:23,600 Speaker 3: She was a very bright young lady in her own right, attractive. 267 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:26,840 Speaker 3: I think she may have been some kind of naive 268 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 3: about men. 269 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:37,920 Speaker 1: Harriet was devoted to her family, especially her parents. Edward 270 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:40,480 Speaker 1: smiled at her as he glanced over her work. Lying 271 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,800 Speaker 1: on her school desk, he piled wood in the small 272 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:47,640 Speaker 1: stove during the winter storms, determined to keep her warm. 273 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:52,800 Speaker 1: Almost from the beginning, he complimented her looks. She grinned 274 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 1: and flirted back. By the fall of eighteen forty three, 275 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:00,359 Speaker 1: a year later, it was clear that Harriet and Edward 276 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,600 Speaker 1: were determined to be married. Edward's career appeared to be thriving. 277 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:07,399 Speaker 1: He was still teaching in Dryden, but he was also 278 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:11,600 Speaker 1: apprenticing with a botanical doctor in Ithaca. He was learning 279 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:18,359 Speaker 1: how to treat patients with herbs and roots. Yet the 280 00:18:18,359 --> 00:18:22,200 Speaker 1: Scots still knew little about the girl's suitor, and Edward's 281 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:25,760 Speaker 1: growing status wasn't a comfort at all to Harriet's older 282 00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:29,560 Speaker 1: brother Ephraim or the rest of the family, Edwards seemed 283 00:18:29,760 --> 00:18:33,560 Speaker 1: so unstable. At times, when he was calm, his voice 284 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,320 Speaker 1: was mellow, even a little indifferent. As he described his 285 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:41,160 Speaker 1: love for academia, he was lively and animated. But when 286 00:18:41,160 --> 00:18:46,879 Speaker 1: he was upset, his tone became shrill and harsh, and 287 00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: he liked to play mean tricks on the boys in 288 00:18:49,600 --> 00:18:50,440 Speaker 1: his schoolhouse. 289 00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:55,199 Speaker 9: It's really kind of an amazing It's almost as if 290 00:18:55,840 --> 00:18:59,640 Speaker 9: the three phases of Eve he had more than one. 291 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,080 Speaker 9: Your personality. You just didn't want to be around him 292 00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 9: when he was unpleasant. 293 00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:13,160 Speaker 1: If Harriet became too flirty with another man, Edward might 294 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:17,040 Speaker 1: scowl at the girl, then quickly turn cold, and when 295 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:21,480 Speaker 1: Harriet finally apologized, he would flash a wolfish half grin 296 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:23,960 Speaker 1: to show he was pleased that she had relented. 297 00:19:24,960 --> 00:19:28,400 Speaker 5: He seems like what you would call an incredible narcissist. 298 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:29,880 Speaker 9: It's all about him. 299 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,959 Speaker 8: The universe is around him. 300 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,399 Speaker 1: That was Michael Weiss, a linguistics professor at Cornell University. 301 00:19:36,920 --> 00:19:40,000 Speaker 1: He studied Edward's story for quite a while. I'll explain 302 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:46,040 Speaker 1: more about that later. By December of eighteen forty three, 303 00:19:46,359 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: all of the men in Harriet's family were frustrated. The 304 00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: wedding day was almost here. Harriet had eight brothers, and 305 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:58,399 Speaker 1: none of them liked Edward. The brothers approached Harriet delicately, 306 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,400 Speaker 1: there's something not quite right about him, They pleaded to her, 307 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:06,439 Speaker 1: but she absolutely refused to abandon her fiance, and she 308 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:08,679 Speaker 1: was furious at her brother's for trying to turn her 309 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:14,000 Speaker 1: against him. Ephrem Scutt was exasperated, and he did the 310 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:18,120 Speaker 1: only thing he could. He demanded character references from Edward's 311 00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:21,240 Speaker 1: past life, people who might be able to explain his 312 00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:26,520 Speaker 1: curious personality. Positive testimonials might provide some comfort to an 313 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:32,120 Speaker 1: increasingly alarmed family. Edward was insulted, and he was outraged 314 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 1: at the notion that his professional reputation wasn't enough to 315 00:20:36,480 --> 00:20:38,200 Speaker 1: gain passage into this family. 316 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,680 Speaker 9: It's just that obviously he held a vendetta even know 317 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 9: if he decided he didn't like you. 318 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,400 Speaker 1: Edward would later complain to a friend they were an ignorant, 319 00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:49,880 Speaker 1: ordinary sort of family. 320 00:20:50,040 --> 00:20:50,480 Speaker 2: He said. 321 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:54,920 Speaker 1: They were always bickering and backbiting each other, such as 322 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:57,879 Speaker 1: is always the case in large families of country people. 323 00:20:58,520 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: I was not used to such tatting and telltale deceit. 324 00:21:02,600 --> 00:21:07,760 Speaker 1: He vigorously and nearly violently refused Ephraim's request, he couldn't 325 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:12,880 Speaker 1: offer any personal references to comfort them, not even one. 326 00:21:13,240 --> 00:21:18,439 Speaker 1: He didn't have any close friends. Edward Ruloff would only 327 00:21:18,520 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 1: ever reveal things about his life to just one person. 328 00:21:23,440 --> 00:21:26,879 Speaker 1: Years later, he secretly confided in a small town journalist 329 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:32,120 Speaker 1: named Hamilton Freeman. Most people called him Ham. Their relationship 330 00:21:32,119 --> 00:21:35,760 Speaker 1: would become very important later on, but for now, Ham 331 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,000 Speaker 1: served as his sounding board. Edward would later tell him 332 00:21:39,040 --> 00:21:43,280 Speaker 1: about his engagement to Harriet. He said, some of the 333 00:21:43,280 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: family tried to kick up a hell of a row 334 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,880 Speaker 1: about it, and that made me angry with the whole concern, 335 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:59,720 Speaker 1: and I have never forgotten their taunts and insults. If 336 00:21:59,720 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 1: the Scots had only understood who Edward Rulolph really was, 337 00:22:04,320 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: they certainly would have banished him from Harriet's life and 338 00:22:08,080 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: then forced him out of that small village. 339 00:22:11,480 --> 00:22:15,360 Speaker 3: Well, the Scots I think were very community minded all 340 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:19,359 Speaker 3: the way around, and he'd been in trouble even at 341 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:23,159 Speaker 3: a younger age up there, so he certainly didn't have 342 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,240 Speaker 3: to any values small values. 343 00:22:25,480 --> 00:23:00,320 Speaker 5: At least they weren't expressed in his actions. 344 00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:06,080 Speaker 1: Beautiful snow blanketed the main house on Scut Farm, The 345 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,160 Speaker 1: massive maple trees sitting near it was bare of its 346 00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:14,800 Speaker 1: customary orange leaves. Hemlock lay under the snow. This was 347 00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:17,840 Speaker 1: winter in upstate New York. It might have seemed like 348 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:20,679 Speaker 1: an odd time of year to host a wedding, but 349 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:25,080 Speaker 1: perhaps the season was appropriate, considering the chill felt inside 350 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:28,679 Speaker 1: the farmhouse that day. It was New Year's Eve eighteen 351 00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:33,240 Speaker 1: forty three. No one seemed happy for the wedding ceremony, 352 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: and Edward sensed it. John Scutt told his sons that 353 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 1: Harriet was lost now. He said, he washed his hands 354 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: of the crime if she chose to. 355 00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:47,000 Speaker 2: Marry that foreigner. Harriet's family disgusted Edward. 356 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:50,359 Speaker 1: He cringed when the Scuts joked about how he met 357 00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:53,360 Speaker 1: Henry that day on the canal. They thought they could 358 00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,560 Speaker 1: make a tool, a sort of servant out of me 359 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:58,399 Speaker 1: because I was poor, and they picked me up at 360 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,760 Speaker 1: the canal. And his desperation to keep Harriet kept him 361 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 1: quiet for now. But even days before the wedding, his 362 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:12,040 Speaker 1: relationship with the entire Scott family was acrimonious. He later 363 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: complained to him, they called me a pauper and made 364 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: fun of my awkward manners. I knew I was better 365 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:23,919 Speaker 1: than they and that my family was far superior. Craig 366 00:24:23,960 --> 00:24:27,000 Speaker 1: Scutt says he's not surprised by any of those comments. 367 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:32,600 Speaker 3: He was cocky, he was overbearing. He talked down to 368 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:34,800 Speaker 3: the family at times, you know, because he thought he 369 00:24:34,840 --> 00:24:41,240 Speaker 3: was so much more intelligent than any of them. 370 00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,280 Speaker 1: Nevertheless, Edward Ruloff's marriage to Harriet Scutt took place in 371 00:24:45,320 --> 00:24:49,680 Speaker 1: a beautiful winter ceremony on her family's farm. The flames 372 00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:54,000 Speaker 1: of candles stuttered, the cast iron wood stove crackled, warming 373 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: the house. Her eleven siblings stood around Harriet. Edward looked 374 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:03,439 Speaker 1: around the room. None of his family was there. He 375 00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,439 Speaker 1: never bothered to tell his two younger brothers and the 376 00:25:06,520 --> 00:25:10,119 Speaker 1: most important woman in his life his mother had died 377 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,199 Speaker 1: the same month he had arrived in Dryden, which was 378 00:25:13,240 --> 00:25:16,399 Speaker 1: a shame because his seventeen year old bride looked so 379 00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:21,360 Speaker 1: striking that day. Edward would later admit to him that 380 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:25,400 Speaker 1: the marriage wasn't beginning with a strong foundation. There never 381 00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,720 Speaker 1: was much of any courtship or love about it. We 382 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:33,040 Speaker 1: rather slid into it. Edward admired Harriet in her white 383 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: silk dress. He noticed someone else admiring her too, Her cousin, 384 00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,919 Speaker 1: doctor Henry Bull watched the ceremony. Edward grumbled as the 385 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 1: physician strutted around the property, smiling and chatting. He seemed 386 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:49,639 Speaker 1: too friendly with the scut women. He always insisted on 387 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 1: kissing each one of them on the cheek, and he 388 00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:54,440 Speaker 1: liked to visit with them every week. 389 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 3: Doctor Bull apparently was very likable. Everybody liked him, and 390 00:25:59,800 --> 00:26:02,520 Speaker 3: apparently he and Harriet were very close as cousins. 391 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,840 Speaker 1: Edward paced around the kitchen after his ceremony and then 392 00:26:08,920 --> 00:26:13,520 Speaker 1: stopped and stared. He watched Harriet receive a kiss from 393 00:26:13,560 --> 00:26:17,000 Speaker 1: doctor Bull as they stood together in the pantry. 394 00:26:17,200 --> 00:26:18,840 Speaker 2: She was still in her wedding dress. 395 00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:23,480 Speaker 1: Edward scoffed at the notion that the small peck was virtuous. 396 00:26:23,880 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 2: This was different. 397 00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 1: Doctor Bull was handsome, wealthy, and single, quite a threat 398 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 1: to a new husband during an era when wooing cousins 399 00:26:32,840 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: was common. But Craig Scutt believes it really was an 400 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:38,000 Speaker 1: innocent kiss. 401 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 3: Harriet tried to reassure him that that just wasn't happening, 402 00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:44,119 Speaker 3: and I think some of the rest of her family 403 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:47,280 Speaker 3: even said to him she wouldn't do that. It was 404 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:50,600 Speaker 3: jealousy because he was a threat. Yeah, he was definitely 405 00:26:50,640 --> 00:26:54,080 Speaker 3: a He's perceived him as a threat to his marriage 406 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:56,320 Speaker 3: and to his life. 407 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: Edward quietly walked away, never saying a word. He was 408 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:06,720 Speaker 1: very angry, said a friend. He said he would never 409 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:10,959 Speaker 1: take her anywhere again. I imagine that my wife liked 410 00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,520 Speaker 1: him better than she did me, Edward said, I was wild. 411 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 1: All sorts of ideas and plans passed through my head. 412 00:27:18,359 --> 00:27:22,080 Speaker 1: After a few days, matters grew worse. The day had 413 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,439 Speaker 1: already been difficult for him. Right after the ceremony, the 414 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:27,840 Speaker 1: minister leaned over and kissed Harriet. 415 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:31,119 Speaker 2: Edward was furious. 416 00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:35,359 Speaker 1: The next day, Harriet's brother William would marry his fiancee, Amilia, 417 00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: and the same minister would kiss her too. Edward later 418 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,360 Speaker 1: turned to a friend and mumbled that if he were 419 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:45,800 Speaker 1: a woman, he would murder the minister for being disrespectful. 420 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:53,919 Speaker 2: Those women have ignored their vows, he hissed privately. 421 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,320 Speaker 1: Edward grated his new bride and hit her several times. 422 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:03,960 Speaker 1: Over the next few weeks, Harriet was inconsolable. William Scott's 423 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,640 Speaker 1: wife Amelia, once found her sobbing. 424 00:28:06,359 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 2: Alone in a room she didn't meet for days. 425 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,480 Speaker 1: The family worried the girl might have made a grave mistake, 426 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,720 Speaker 1: but nineteenth century rules dictated that wives should obey their 427 00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:24,440 Speaker 1: husbands and in laws shouldn't get involved. Edward was desperate 428 00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,760 Speaker 1: to keep her under control. Craig Scutt says that at 429 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,720 Speaker 1: this point his relatives were really losing patience. 430 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:37,280 Speaker 3: He was jealous of doctor Bull, and several witness times 431 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:40,880 Speaker 3: when he struck her. I think that was kind of 432 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:42,200 Speaker 3: the last straw for the family. 433 00:28:43,440 --> 00:28:47,120 Speaker 1: Days after his wedding, Edward continued to fume, Unsure of 434 00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,360 Speaker 1: what to do. He hoped that swab doctor Bull would 435 00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:54,320 Speaker 1: stop his visits. Of course he didn't. When doctor Bull 436 00:28:54,320 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: would arrive and begin his greetings, Edward would excuse himself 437 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:02,760 Speaker 1: and quietly stew His ego was already pretty delicate, and 438 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:14,440 Speaker 1: now it was scarred, and soon someone would die. Within 439 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:17,640 Speaker 1: one week of their marriage, Edward packed up their meager 440 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:23,680 Speaker 1: belongings and moved his wife away from her family. Harriet 441 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: and Edward began a new life and lancing about ten 442 00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:30,440 Speaker 1: miles away. He bought a large old store and converted 443 00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: it into a home. Soon he was enjoying professional success. 444 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:40,360 Speaker 1: He was practicing botanical medicine with doctor Stone in nearby Ithaca. 445 00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:43,840 Speaker 1: He was learning the age old method of treating diseases 446 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:48,240 Speaker 1: with herbs and other organic medicines. Medical treatment in nineteenth 447 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:52,520 Speaker 1: century America was a battleground between traditional physicians who were 448 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:58,200 Speaker 1: formally educated, and botanical doctors, who were largely taught through apprenticeships. 449 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: Edward passionately defended herbal medicine during really nasty debates with 450 00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:06,520 Speaker 1: doctor Bull. The men had no professional respect for each other, 451 00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: of course, but privately Edward feared that the botanical concoctions 452 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: were useless and doctor Stone was a quack, and now 453 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:20,360 Speaker 1: so was he a damned fraud. I was ashamed of myself, 454 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,880 Speaker 1: he told Hamilton Freeman. I only undertook it as a 455 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,400 Speaker 1: flyer until I could get into something else that was 456 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: more profitable and legitimate. But Edward's reputation as a physician 457 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:35,360 Speaker 1: was exceptional. He was gaining prominence as a scholar and 458 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:39,400 Speaker 1: a healer who spoke a variety of languages, and Edward's character, 459 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:45,680 Speaker 1: according to townspeople, was beyond reproach. But despite his booming 460 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:50,840 Speaker 1: medical practice, Edward felt really isolated in the countryside. He 461 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:53,800 Speaker 1: yearned for an academic life in a large city where 462 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:58,960 Speaker 1: he could find intellectual debates and stimulating collaborations. He was 463 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:03,000 Speaker 1: a fraud as a physician and a monster at home. 464 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:10,520 Speaker 1: Edward's rage poisoned his home life. Harriet would argue with him, 465 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: usually over visiting her family. He would dramatically fling open 466 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: a suitcase, her old clothes inside, slam it shut, and 467 00:31:17,720 --> 00:31:21,000 Speaker 1: stomp out the door, threatening to leave her a disgraced woman. 468 00:31:21,600 --> 00:31:25,120 Speaker 1: He ripped her beautiful silk wedding dress and frantically wadded 469 00:31:25,120 --> 00:31:27,760 Speaker 1: it into a ball. He was afraid she was going 470 00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:31,640 Speaker 1: to use it to marry doctor Bull. But throughout all 471 00:31:31,720 --> 00:31:35,400 Speaker 1: of this madness, Harriet denied it all. 472 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:43,120 Speaker 3: You know. But she was young and he was somewhat older, 473 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 3: a lot more experienced. You're married and you make the 474 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 3: best of it, and you do it. 475 00:31:49,760 --> 00:31:53,880 Speaker 1: At seventeen, Harriet was barely an adult. Yet she worked 476 00:31:53,960 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: constantly to please her husband, typical for a nineteenth century bride. 477 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:04,120 Speaker 3: She really wanted to make her marriage work. You know. 478 00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,680 Speaker 3: There's times when she could have said i'm through, when 479 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,160 Speaker 3: her brothers were somewhere around and they would have taken 480 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 3: her somewhere, But it was always all it's my fault, 481 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,720 Speaker 3: I'm sorry, you know, when anybody caught it, she was 482 00:32:14,760 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 3: always apologizing it's my fault that he hit me, or 483 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:19,760 Speaker 3: he didn't hit me that hard. 484 00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:25,760 Speaker 1: Harriet's large, honest family now despised Edward Ruloff, and they 485 00:32:25,800 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: found good reasons. During a visit to the Scots farm, 486 00:32:29,160 --> 00:32:31,960 Speaker 1: one of Harriet's older brothers heard her crying softly in 487 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:35,320 Speaker 1: a bedroom. When he threw open the door, Edward turned 488 00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:40,080 Speaker 1: and glared at him in silence. Tears ran down Harriet's face. 489 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 3: He witnessed him being abusive, and he told Ruloff leave 490 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,760 Speaker 3: her with us, would look after her. And I'm I'm 491 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:55,120 Speaker 3: sure that enraged him even more. They were religious people, 492 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:59,640 Speaker 3: and they had a lot of good morals, and striking 493 00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:03,640 Speaker 3: a woman and was a good thing in their view. 494 00:33:04,640 --> 00:33:07,600 Speaker 1: Ephraim Scutt snapped at his brother in law, demanding that 495 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:10,400 Speaker 1: he treat Harriet properly or just leave her with a 496 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 1: family pick one. Edward quietly agreed to temper himself, but 497 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: privately he blamed the Scuts, and that summer his animosity 498 00:33:20,720 --> 00:33:41,080 Speaker 1: toward them only deepened. The horseback trip from Dryden to 499 00:33:41,160 --> 00:33:43,000 Speaker 1: Ithaca was usually lovely. 500 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:44,680 Speaker 2: Ten miles of. 501 00:33:44,680 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 1: Fields filled with wheat and cotton, spotted with rolling hills 502 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,520 Speaker 1: and patches of forest. It was a time for the 503 00:33:51,520 --> 00:33:59,360 Speaker 1: writers to reflect on their journey, almost like a meditation. Unfortunately, 504 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:02,040 Speaker 1: for William's Scott, that was not the sort of journey 505 00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:02,760 Speaker 1: he would enjoy. 506 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,600 Speaker 2: When his hysterical brother in law joined. 507 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:09,239 Speaker 1: Him on horseback in July of eighteen forty four, Harriet's 508 00:34:09,320 --> 00:34:15,239 Speaker 1: weary older brother half listened as Edward Ruloff obsessed for hours, 509 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,879 Speaker 1: he complained about enduring six months of doctor Bull's inappropriate 510 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:25,040 Speaker 1: flirtations with his wife. William later remembered the conversation. He 511 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:28,480 Speaker 1: thought doctor Bull and his wife had had intercourse together, 512 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:32,799 Speaker 1: and he thought he should leave her. Edward now despised 513 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:35,520 Speaker 1: doctor Bull. He said he had spotted Harriet with her 514 00:34:35,560 --> 00:34:38,720 Speaker 1: cousin at a mill near Brookfield Farm, and it seemed 515 00:34:38,760 --> 00:34:42,200 Speaker 1: like they might kiss again. He told her friend, don't 516 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:47,040 Speaker 1: you see her life is in my hands. William Scott 517 00:34:47,080 --> 00:34:51,480 Speaker 1: patiently listened to Edward's complaints. He frantically pleaded for the 518 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:57,880 Speaker 1: family to stop doctor Bull's visits right now. That William refused, 519 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 1: and he offered no senympathy. Edward was furious at William's disloyalty. 520 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 1: How could William defend doctor Bull and abandon his own 521 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,399 Speaker 1: brother in law? He was a gifted teacher who had 522 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:15,759 Speaker 1: dazzled college professors with his understanding of languages, but now 523 00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:19,759 Speaker 1: he couldn't calm his own anxiety. Edward obsessed over the 524 00:35:19,800 --> 00:35:24,480 Speaker 1: idea of killing. He was going to kill someone many people. 525 00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:29,120 Speaker 6: Actually, he's confusing to me, and he was the Boogeyman 526 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:30,080 Speaker 6: of State New York. 527 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:32,440 Speaker 1: He's not confusing to me. 528 00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:34,000 Speaker 9: He's a psychopath. 529 00:35:42,880 --> 00:35:44,880 Speaker 1: Harriet Scott and her sister Jane. 530 00:35:44,719 --> 00:35:45,720 Speaker 2: Were always close. 531 00:35:46,320 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 1: They were just two years apart, and both were Edward's 532 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,759 Speaker 1: students when he taught at the Dryden Schoolhouse a few 533 00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 1: years earlier. He really isn't that unpleasant, Jane argued to 534 00:35:56,680 --> 00:35:57,240 Speaker 1: her family. 535 00:35:57,600 --> 00:35:58,759 Speaker 2: He's a good provider. 536 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:01,439 Speaker 1: But her view you of her brother in law would 537 00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:07,520 Speaker 1: quickly darken. Less than six months after the couple was married, 538 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:10,719 Speaker 1: Edward listened as Jane and her sister chatted in their 539 00:36:10,760 --> 00:36:12,160 Speaker 1: small kitchen and lancing. 540 00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:14,759 Speaker 2: Harriet lifted a. 541 00:36:14,719 --> 00:36:18,719 Speaker 1: Heavy twenty pound marble pestle and poured some peppercorns into 542 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:22,720 Speaker 1: a large stone mortar. Jane Scutt described what happened next. 543 00:36:24,400 --> 00:36:27,600 Speaker 1: She didn't pound it fine enough to suit him, She said, 544 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:32,520 Speaker 1: he proposed to do it for her. Edward was determined 545 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,319 Speaker 1: to control virtually every aspect of his wife's life. He 546 00:36:36,400 --> 00:36:39,960 Speaker 1: lunged toward the pestle, but Harry pushed back, insisting she 547 00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:43,480 Speaker 1: could finish the job. She was really growing tired of 548 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:47,920 Speaker 1: his demands. Frustrated, Edward snatched the heavy pestle and flung 549 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:48,880 Speaker 1: it against her face. 550 00:36:49,719 --> 00:36:50,520 Speaker 2: Jane flinched. 551 00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,880 Speaker 1: It knocked her back several steps, said Harriet's sister. Edward 552 00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,759 Speaker 1: had hit her so hard that it left a contusion 553 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:03,160 Speaker 1: on her forehead. Jane stood in silence as he began 554 00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:07,320 Speaker 1: to apologize over and over again. I'm sorry, he pleaded 555 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:07,680 Speaker 1: with her. 556 00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 2: You did it on. 557 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:13,960 Speaker 1: Purpose, Harriet snapped. She refused to look at him. Their 558 00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:19,600 Speaker 1: unstable marriage was slipping into open hostility, and now Edward 559 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:22,239 Speaker 1: realized how delicate his wife really was. 560 00:37:23,160 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 2: And how easy it might be to overpower her. 561 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:34,359 Speaker 1: The summer after their marriage, the Ruloff stayed at a 562 00:37:34,360 --> 00:37:38,320 Speaker 1: boarding house over a tailor's shop in Ithaca. Harriet's eleven 563 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:41,360 Speaker 1: year old sister Mary was visiting, and her uncle William 564 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:43,920 Speaker 1: was supposed to pick her up before it became dark, 565 00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,960 Speaker 1: but Harriet's brother was running late, and Edward was furious. 566 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:52,879 Speaker 1: He wanted young Mary to leave now the scuts were insensitive, 567 00:37:53,239 --> 00:37:58,440 Speaker 1: always taking advantage of him, he thought. Edward demanded Mary 568 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 1: walk home to Dryden, about ten miles away, all by herself. 569 00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,600 Speaker 1: He was so angry, and he started shoving Mary toward 570 00:38:06,640 --> 00:38:07,200 Speaker 1: the stairs. 571 00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:09,680 Speaker 2: He seemed cruel. 572 00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:14,480 Speaker 1: Harriet refused to let her walk home alone. Edward stared 573 00:38:14,480 --> 00:38:18,040 Speaker 1: at his wife. He demanded Harriet follow him to the 574 00:38:18,160 --> 00:38:22,360 Speaker 1: upstairs bedroom on the top floor. They argued, and the 575 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:26,680 Speaker 1: landlady in the parlor heard scuffling. Harriet was screaming, come 576 00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:29,040 Speaker 1: up quick, Edward is going to make me take poison 577 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:33,280 Speaker 1: and then take it himself. Edward and Harriet were clenched together, 578 00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:37,000 Speaker 1: wrestling over a vial with a strange powder inside. He 579 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:40,399 Speaker 1: yelled at her, by living God, this poison will kill 580 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:43,080 Speaker 1: both of us in five minutes, and that would put 581 00:38:43,080 --> 00:38:47,760 Speaker 1: an end to our troubles. She cried out, Oh, Edward, 582 00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:51,799 Speaker 1: I'm as innocent as an unborn child. He opened his 583 00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,840 Speaker 1: hand and smacked her heart in the face. It knocked 584 00:38:54,840 --> 00:38:59,040 Speaker 1: her over. Edward looked down at her and hissed, God, 585 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:01,360 Speaker 1: damn you, you know better than to come near me 586 00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:04,160 Speaker 1: when I am as angry as I am now. He 587 00:39:04,239 --> 00:39:08,440 Speaker 1: unleashed a stream of obscenities sure to offend anyone, especially 588 00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:12,560 Speaker 1: a naive young country girl. The landlady glared at Edward 589 00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:16,640 Speaker 1: and ordered him to leave. He stared down at Harriet 590 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:20,040 Speaker 1: and sneered. He told her that if she left him, 591 00:39:20,520 --> 00:39:23,200 Speaker 1: he would kill her the way a local shoemaker had 592 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:28,880 Speaker 1: murdered his wife. Just a few years before. In eighteen 593 00:39:28,960 --> 00:39:32,040 Speaker 1: thirty two, a man named Guy Clark nearly knocked out 594 00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:35,600 Speaker 1: his wife's eye during a fight, and when she convinced 595 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:39,479 Speaker 1: deputies in Ithaca to arrest him, he vowed, I'll kill 596 00:39:39,520 --> 00:39:44,520 Speaker 1: you for this, and after serving just ten days, that's 597 00:39:44,560 --> 00:39:48,120 Speaker 1: what he did. He hacked her to death with an axe. 598 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:54,799 Speaker 1: Edward actually called Clark a gentleman. He told Harriet he 599 00:39:54,840 --> 00:39:59,000 Speaker 1: would chop her as fine as mincemeat. It was such 600 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:05,520 Speaker 1: a frightening declar but unfortunately Harriet didn't seem to take 601 00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:11,600 Speaker 1: it seriously. She looked at him sweetly. Edward seemed exhausted. 602 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,080 Speaker 1: He flopped down on his knees with his forehead resting 603 00:40:15,120 --> 00:40:18,359 Speaker 1: on the bed. Harriet sat near him and put her 604 00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:23,120 Speaker 1: hand gently on his hair. She whispered, You're mine forever, 605 00:40:23,239 --> 00:40:28,800 Speaker 1: dear Edward, whether you live with me or not. Edward 606 00:40:28,840 --> 00:40:32,160 Speaker 1: looked up at her, then slowly walked downstairs and ordered 607 00:40:32,200 --> 00:40:35,919 Speaker 1: a horse and carriage. He escorted Harriet and Mary back 608 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,880 Speaker 1: to the Scots farm. Craig Scutt doesn't believe his family 609 00:40:39,960 --> 00:40:43,680 Speaker 1: knew just how much Edward Ruloff despised them. 610 00:40:44,239 --> 00:40:46,680 Speaker 3: I think that must have been kind of the straw 611 00:40:46,719 --> 00:40:49,120 Speaker 3: that broke the candles back with him. I'm going to 612 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,920 Speaker 3: show her you can't do that. By then, he had 613 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:56,600 Speaker 3: built up this apparent hatred for the whole family, and 614 00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:59,319 Speaker 3: he did not want her go back to them and 615 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:00,719 Speaker 3: leave him. 616 00:41:01,239 --> 00:41:04,600 Speaker 1: Hours later, Edward returned to the boarding house in Ithaca, 617 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:09,120 Speaker 1: and he was enraged. William Scott had ordered him to 618 00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:13,680 Speaker 1: leave Brookfield Farm. He was no longer welcome, and then 619 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:18,920 Speaker 1: Edward told the landlady something horrifying. He told her that 620 00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:22,320 Speaker 1: he wanted to destroy the whole family and then be 621 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:27,359 Speaker 1: hung like an honest man. Like Clark, Edward resented the 622 00:41:27,520 --> 00:41:31,280 Speaker 1: entire clan, but he was especially disgusted with the eldest 623 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:34,480 Speaker 1: Scott brother. He hated William as much as he did 624 00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:38,719 Speaker 1: his own wife and doctor Bull, and soon at least 625 00:41:38,920 --> 00:41:43,440 Speaker 1: one of them would die. 626 00:41:43,719 --> 00:41:46,600 Speaker 2: This season on tenfold more wicked. 627 00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:50,600 Speaker 3: There's a story about him taking her away and her 628 00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:54,440 Speaker 3: turning around and waving, and that's the last memory, like 629 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:56,439 Speaker 3: her mother and some of them had of her. 630 00:41:57,000 --> 00:42:01,680 Speaker 8: It sort of awoke the area that evil can be 631 00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:03,200 Speaker 8: anywhere at any time. 632 00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:07,920 Speaker 3: The charisma that man had, he had everybody full wid 633 00:42:08,760 --> 00:42:12,600 Speaker 3: for a long time, sort of like a Ted Bundy. 634 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:15,839 Speaker 1: If you love historical true crime, be sure to order 635 00:42:15,920 --> 00:42:19,280 Speaker 1: my book, American Sherlock. It's about a real life Sherlock 636 00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:22,080 Speaker 1: Holmes who solved some of the most gruesome murders in 637 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:25,239 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties. This has been an exactly right and 638 00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:29,600 Speaker 1: tenfold more media production producers Jason Whaling and Laura Soble, 639 00:42:29,960 --> 00:42:34,560 Speaker 1: sound designer Eric Friend, composer Curtis Heath, artwork Nick Toga. 640 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:39,120 Speaker 1: Executive producers Georgia Hardstark, Karen Kilgarriff. 641 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:39,640 Speaker 2: And Danielle Kramer. 642 00:42:40,360 --> 00:42:43,600 Speaker 1: Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at tenfold more Wicked 643 00:42:43,719 --> 00:42:47,239 Speaker 1: and on Twitter at tenfold more. 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