Hinterkaifeck
Encyclopedia
Hinterkaifeck, a small farmstead situated between the Bavarian towns of Ingolstadt
and Schrobenhausen
(approximately 70 km north of Munich
), was the scene of one of the most puzzling crimes in German history. On the evening of the 31st of March 1922, the six inhabitants of the farm were killed with a pickaxe
, and the murder is still unsolved.
The six victims were: the farmer Andreas Gruber (63) and his wife Cäzilia (72); their widowed daughter Viktoria Gabriel (35) and her two children Cäzilia (7) and Josef (2); as well as the maid Maria Baumgartner. The two-year-old Josef was rumoured to be the son of Viktoria and her father Andreas: it was common knowledge that they had an incest
uous relationship.
Hinterkaifeck was never an official place name. The name was used for the remote farmstead of the hamlet of Kaifeck, located nearly one kilometer north of the main part (another two farmsteads) of Kaifeck and hidden in the woods (the prefix Hinter, part of many German place names, meaning behind), part of the town of Wangen, which had been incorporated into Waidhofen
on October 1, 1971.
Six months earlier, the previous maid had left the farm, claiming that it was haunted; the new maid, Maria Baumgartner, arrived on the farm on 31 March, only a few hours before her death.
Exactly what happened on that Friday evening cannot be said for certain. It is believed that the older couple, as well as their daughter Viktoria and her daughter Cäzilia, were somehow all lured into the barn one by one where they were brutally slaughtered. The perpetrator(s) then went into the house where they killed two-year-old Josef who was sleeping in his cot in his mother’s bedroom, as well as the maid, Maria Baumgartner, in her bed-chamber.
On the following Tuesday, the 4th of April, some neighbours went to the farmstead because none of the inhabitants had been seen for several days, which was rather unusual. The postman had noticed that the mail from the previous Saturday was still where he had left it. Furthermore, young Cäzilia had not turned up for school on Monday, nor had she been there on Saturday.
In 2007 the students of the Polizeifachhochschule (Police Academy) in Fürstenfeldbruck got the task to investigate the case once more with modern techniques of criminal investigation. Their final report is kept secret.
To this day, many hobby investigators continue to investigate the case.
The police first suspected the motive to be robbery, and interrogated several inhabitants from the surrounding villages, as well as travelling craftsmen and vagrants. The robbery theory was, however, abandoned when a large amount of money was found in the house. It is believed that the perpetrator(s) remained at the farm for several days – someone had fed the cattle, and eaten food in the kitchen: the neighbours had also seen smoke from the chimney during the weekend – and anyone looking for money would have found it.
Even the death of Karl Gabriel, Viktoria’s husband who had been reported killed in the French trenches in 1914
, was called into question. His body had never been found.
The following day, on the 5th of April, court physician Dr. Johann Baptist Aumüller performed the autopsies
in the barn. It was established that a pickaxe was the most likely murder weapon. The corpses were beheaded, and the skulls sent to Munich, where "clairvoyant
s" examined them without result. The autopsy also showed that the younger Cäzilia had been alive for several hours after the assault. Lying in the straw, next to the bodies of her grandparents and her mother, she had torn her hair out in tufts.
. Close to where the farm was located, there is now a shrine.
The farm was demolished the following year, in 1923.
“Hinter Kaifeck” is a mystery thriller from 2009 made by director Esther Gronenborn and producer Monika Raebel, starring
Benno Fürmann
and Alexandra Maria Lara
.
In 2006, German writer Andrea Maria Schenkel
wrote a novel with the title "Tannöd" where she tells the story of Hinterkaifeck using different names for the locations and people involved. Also the novel "The Murdered House", written by French writer Pierre Magnan, is allegedly inspired by this case. In this novel, the youngest victim of the massacre survives and returns to the farm as an adult to investigate the crime.
Munich journalist Peter Leuschner wrote two books with the title "Hinterkaifeck. Der Mordfall. Spuren eines mysteriösen Verbrechens." in 1979 and 1997. The second book is an extension of the first book. The title means "Hinterkaifeck. The Murder Case. Traces of a mysterious crime". In this book, Leuschner quotes the original police files.
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
and Schrobenhausen
Schrobenhausen
Schrobenhausen is a town in the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Paar, approx. 25 km southwest of Ingolstadt, and 35 km northeast of Augsburg....
(approximately 70 km north of Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
), was the scene of one of the most puzzling crimes in German history. On the evening of the 31st of March 1922, the six inhabitants of the farm were killed with a pickaxe
Pickaxe
A pickaxe or pick is a hand tool with a hard head attached perpendicular to the handle.Some people make the distinction that a pickaxe has a head with a pointed end and a flat end, and a pick has both ends pointed, or only one end; but most people use the words to mean the same thing.The head is...
, and the murder is still unsolved.
The six victims were: the farmer Andreas Gruber (63) and his wife Cäzilia (72); their widowed daughter Viktoria Gabriel (35) and her two children Cäzilia (7) and Josef (2); as well as the maid Maria Baumgartner. The two-year-old Josef was rumoured to be the son of Viktoria and her father Andreas: it was common knowledge that they had an incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous relationship.
Hinterkaifeck was never an official place name. The name was used for the remote farmstead of the hamlet of Kaifeck, located nearly one kilometer north of the main part (another two farmsteads) of Kaifeck and hidden in the woods (the prefix Hinter, part of many German place names, meaning behind), part of the town of Wangen, which had been incorporated into Waidhofen
Waidhofen, Bavaria
Waidhofen is a municipality in the district of Neuburg-Schrobenhausen in Bavaria in Germany.The former farmstead Hinterkaifeck, site of six murders in 1922, falls within this municipality and within the formerly existing municipality of Wangen.-References:...
on October 1, 1971.
The crime
A few days prior to the crime, farmer Andreas Gruber told neighbours about discovering footprints in the snow leading from the edge of the forest to the farm; however, there were none leading back. He also talked about hearing footsteps in the attic and finding an unfamiliar newspaper on the farm. Furthermore, the house keys went missing several days before the murders, but none of this was reported to the police.Six months earlier, the previous maid had left the farm, claiming that it was haunted; the new maid, Maria Baumgartner, arrived on the farm on 31 March, only a few hours before her death.
Exactly what happened on that Friday evening cannot be said for certain. It is believed that the older couple, as well as their daughter Viktoria and her daughter Cäzilia, were somehow all lured into the barn one by one where they were brutally slaughtered. The perpetrator(s) then went into the house where they killed two-year-old Josef who was sleeping in his cot in his mother’s bedroom, as well as the maid, Maria Baumgartner, in her bed-chamber.
On the following Tuesday, the 4th of April, some neighbours went to the farmstead because none of the inhabitants had been seen for several days, which was rather unusual. The postman had noticed that the mail from the previous Saturday was still where he had left it. Furthermore, young Cäzilia had not turned up for school on Monday, nor had she been there on Saturday.
The investigation
Inspector Georg Reingruber and his colleagues from the Munich Police Department made immense efforts investigating the killings. More than 100 suspects have been questioned through the years, but to no avail. The most recent questioning took place in 1986, but even that was fruitless.In 2007 the students of the Polizeifachhochschule (Police Academy) in Fürstenfeldbruck got the task to investigate the case once more with modern techniques of criminal investigation. Their final report is kept secret.
To this day, many hobby investigators continue to investigate the case.
The police first suspected the motive to be robbery, and interrogated several inhabitants from the surrounding villages, as well as travelling craftsmen and vagrants. The robbery theory was, however, abandoned when a large amount of money was found in the house. It is believed that the perpetrator(s) remained at the farm for several days – someone had fed the cattle, and eaten food in the kitchen: the neighbours had also seen smoke from the chimney during the weekend – and anyone looking for money would have found it.
Even the death of Karl Gabriel, Viktoria’s husband who had been reported killed in the French trenches in 1914
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, was called into question. His body had never been found.
The following day, on the 5th of April, court physician Dr. Johann Baptist Aumüller performed the autopsies
Autopsy
An autopsy—also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy , autopsia cadaverum, or obduction—is a highly specialized surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that may be present...
in the barn. It was established that a pickaxe was the most likely murder weapon. The corpses were beheaded, and the skulls sent to Munich, where "clairvoyant
Clairvoyance
The term clairvoyance is used to refer to the ability to gain information about an object, person, location or physical event through means other than the known human senses, a form of extra-sensory perception...
s" examined them without result. The autopsy also showed that the younger Cäzilia had been alive for several hours after the assault. Lying in the straw, next to the bodies of her grandparents and her mother, she had torn her hair out in tufts.
The funeral
The six victims are buried in Waidhofen, where there is a memorial in the graveyard. The skulls were never returned from Munich, after being lost during the chaos of WWIIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Close to where the farm was located, there is now a shrine.
The farm was demolished the following year, in 1923.
Media
There are two movies with the name “Hinterkaifeck”: one by Hans Fegert from 1981, and the other by Kurt K. Hieber in 1991.“Hinter Kaifeck” is a mystery thriller from 2009 made by director Esther Gronenborn and producer Monika Raebel, starring
Benno Fürmann
Benno Fürmann
Benjamin "Benno" Fürmann is a German film and television actor.-Life and work:Fürmann was born in Berlin-Kreuzberg. By the age of 15 he had lost both his parents. At 17, he had a serious accident while train surfing, and had to spend six weeks in the hospital as a result...
and Alexandra Maria Lara
Alexandra Maria Lara
Alexandra Maria Lara is a Romanian-born German actress. She performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of historical and crime films...
.
In 2006, German writer Andrea Maria Schenkel
Andrea Maria Schenkel
Andrea Maria Schenkel is a German writer. She published her debut novel Tannöd in 2006.Based on the Hinterkaifeck murder in the 1920s, Schenkel’s fictional account takes place in the 1950s...
wrote a novel with the title "Tannöd" where she tells the story of Hinterkaifeck using different names for the locations and people involved. Also the novel "The Murdered House", written by French writer Pierre Magnan, is allegedly inspired by this case. In this novel, the youngest victim of the massacre survives and returns to the farm as an adult to investigate the crime.
Munich journalist Peter Leuschner wrote two books with the title "Hinterkaifeck. Der Mordfall. Spuren eines mysteriösen Verbrechens." in 1979 and 1997. The second book is an extension of the first book. The title means "Hinterkaifeck. The Murder Case. Traces of a mysterious crime". In this book, Leuschner quotes the original police files.
External links
- Lots of interviews, pictures, maps and theories (German)
- Two new films about Hinterkaifeck (English)