Wykoff’s Imaginary Murderer

In November 1929, a Wykoff man walked into Rochester police headquarters and confessed to a murder in Germany.

There was just one problem: the murder apparently never happened.

George Rohde told police he had killed a friend, stolen his identity, and come to America using the dead man’s passport. But as officers questioned him, the story began to unravel. Soon Rohde admitted the confession—and even his tale of a lost $20,000 fortune—had been fabricated.

His real motive was much stranger: he was homesick for Germany, tired of American farm life, and hoped that if authorities believed he was wanted overseas, someone might pay to send him back.

In this episode, Preston and Lenora revisit one of Wykoff’s most unusual stories—a false murder confession fueled by loneliness, homesickness, and one very complicated plan to get home.

This September, Roots & Riddles is celebrating Wykoff’s 150th birthday with a month of stories from the town’s past.