Adolph Luetgert came to Chicago from Germany shortly before the Chicago Fire of 1871. A man was found dead in the alley behind Luetgert's saloon and grocery on Clybourn and Webster Avenues, after being warned not to spit on Luetgert's floor (the man's cause of death was found to be choking on a plug of chewing tobacco).

Two years later, Luetgert's wife died unexpectedly while in confinement awaiting childbirth.

But worst of all, his second wife went missing, and her wedding ring was found in a rendering vat in the basement of his sausage factory. Luetgert was tried and convicted for the highly-talked about "Boiling Cauldron Murder." He died in Joliet prison..