True Crime Friday: Peter Kürten, the Vampire of Düsseldorf
Peter Kürten was born May 26, 1883. He was a prolific German serial killer. He was known as The Vampire of Düsseldorf because after he murdered his victims he drank their blood. He also lived in the town of Düsseldorf where the killings took place. In 1929, he committed murders and rapes between the months of February and November. Before these rapes and murders even began he had amassed a lengthy criminal record. Which included arson, assaults and attempted murder. This maniac killed a nine year old girl and attempted to kill a seventeen year old girl in 1913. Later in the article you will find out what this serial killer has in common with the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Wisconsin.
Peter Kürten was described by the authorities as being the king of sexual perverts. He was found guilty of nine counts of murder and seven counts of attempted murder. He was sentence to death and in April of 1931. He faced the guillotine in July of 1931, he was forty eight years old.
The Early Childhood of Peter Kürten
As with the majority of serial killers, Peter Kürten was born into poverty, neglect and abuse in Germany. He was the eldest of thirteen children. His parents were alcoholics and lived in a one bedroom apartment with thirteen children. His father physically abused the children on a regular basis. Peter’s father would force the children to watch while he raped their mother. His father was arrested after he raped their eldest daughter. He was in prison for eighteen months for the rape. His mother divorced their father and remarried, then relocated to the town of Düsseldorf with the children in tow.
When Peter was just a child he tried to drown one of his classmates. He then befriended a local dog catcher and started going on the rounds with the dog catcher to kill and torture animals. Both of them enjoyed this as a sport. Peter suffered the most abuse from his father. It was said he was a good student but the abuse he suffered at the hands of his father brought down his academic performance. He eventually, ran away from home and was befriended by petty criminals and social misfits. Kürten initially committed crimes as a means of feeding and clothing himself when living on the streets.
The Known Victims of Peter Kürten
- Christine Klein, 9
- Rosa Ohliger, 9
- Rudolf Scheer, 45
- Maria Hahn, 40
- Gertrude Hamache, 5
- Luise Lenzen, 14
- Gertrude Schulte, 27
- Ida Reuter, 31
- Elizabeth Dörrier, 27
- Gertrude Albermann, 5
The Known Survivors of Peter Kürten
- Gertrude Franken, 17
- Apollonia Kühn, 40
The Unknown Victims of the Peter Kürten
- Thirteen Unknown Victims
Peter Kürten was so brazen that he sent a letter and map of where his victim Maria Hahn was buried. An analysis of the handwriting revealed the author was the same individual who had anonymously sent letters to the police about other murders he had committed. The authorities concluded that only one man was committing these gruesome assaults and murders. The murder of Gertrude Albermann was the last killing before he was caught and arrested. The victims that survived his attacks were able to describe their attacker to the police.
Peter Kürten approached Maria Budlick on May 14, 1930, he offered her employment and lodging. She started walking with him and notice he was taking her to an area that was roughly uninhabited. They began to argue bringing attention to themselves. Another man approached the pair to see if Maria was fine. After seeing the man approaching Peter Kürten left abruptly. He was later identified as the man that had approached Budlick. Kürten reappeared and invited the distressed young woman to his apartment to eat and drink. Sensing where Kürten wanted this encounter to lead, Maria told Kürten she was not interested in engaging in sex with him. His response was to choke and rape her. When Budlick began to scream she was allowed to leave.
She was so upset that she sent a letter to a friend where she described her ordeal. Maria sent the letter to the wrong address. A postal worker opened it and was horrified by what he read. The postal worker took the letter to the police. It was not explained why Maria did not go to the police on her own accord. Maria stated one of the reasons Kürten had spared her was because she had falsely informed him she could not remember his address. When the police went to see her and asked if she remember the address of her attacker, she said yes and agreed to take the Chief Inspector to where Kürten lived.
Lady Justice
The walls were closing in on Peter Kürten. Peter saw Maria and the Chief Inspector walking to his apartment. He ducked behind the building until they left. Kürten confessed to his wife he had raped Budlick. He also confessed to his previous crimes. He claimed to have committed his first murder when he was just nine years old. He drowned two of his friends. Authorities had ruled both of the boy’s deaths as accidental.
He asked his wife to turn him in so that she could collect the reward money and be taken care of for the rest of her life. She indeed turned him in and collected the reward money. He was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to nine life sentences.
Kürten had requested the following before his death, “Tell me, after my head is chopped off, will I still be able to hear, at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from the stump of my neck? That would be the pleasure to end all pleasures.” He was executed by guillotine in 1931. His head is now on display at the Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum in Wisconsin.