1875: Ah Kat Hanged at Castlemaine for the Murder of Friedrich Renzelmann
Friedrich Renzelmann, a bricklayer living near Dunolly in central Victoria, had long suspected his wife of visiting the hut of a Chinese laundryman known as Ah Kat. One day in early August 1875, Renzelmann feigned leaving for work, concealed himself near the hut, and watched his wife enter. In a rage, he rushed in and struck Ah Kat twice on the head and neck with a chopper before surrendering himself to police.
The follow year, Renzelmann was dead, his battered body found at the bottom of a deep mine shaft on the Bet Bet Reef near Dunolly. When Ah Kat attended a hospital to have head wounds dressed and could not satisfactorily explain them, he was arrested. His wife was also taken into custody pending the inquest.
Ah Kat was tried, convicted of murder, and hanged at Castlemaine on 9 August 1875.
