Eleven victims, three countries, one mystery | Forensic Files

she was seen by several witnesses walking toward the car park and then sarah mcdermott was gone i could see
blood on the bitumen maybe he thinks i can get away with this they don't know where she is they don't know who did it
and i could hear footsteps behind me and they were getting closer i just think those men at vidato saved my life pulled
out a couple of the cards and it said sarah mcdermott searching for sarah mcdermott out now for free only on
spotify the holiday season is also called the silly season for a reason there's shopping to do friends and loved
ones to visit and parties to be celebrated what does team member jess do when she
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best fiends is the game that has it all an amazing storyline tons of puzzles and
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app store or google play that's friends without the best fiends [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often
distressing incidents if you feel at any time you need support please contact your local crisis center
for suggested phone numbers for confidential support please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on
our website [Music] it was a crisp spring night on may 13 1974 when a young woman walked out of a
salzburg bar with a smartly dressed stranger julia not her real name had started
chatting to the man after he initiated a conversation with her although they had just met julia was
more than impressed with his charming and talkative manner as he led julia outside he offered her a
lift home gesturing to his expensive ford mustang parked across the street accepting his offer julia hopped into
the car's passenger seat as the mustang drove away from the bright lights of salzburg and into the
surrounding countryside julia realized that the man was driving in the opposite direction of her home
she began to panic they headed down a small laneway and into a meadow surrounded by dense bushes
it was completely deserted with no street lights to illuminate the area all was pitch black outside
julia's fear grew then just as the man drove deeper into the field the car became stuck in the
mud suddenly they stopped as the mustang's wheels turned and turned without gaining any traction
julia saw her chance she leapt from the passenger seat and began sprinting across the field
but the man followed he was quick catching up in no time and tackling her to the ground
he shoved her face in the mud to silence her screams then began beating the back
of her head after he roughly removed her shoes he tore off her stockings and used them to
bind her hands behind her back dragging julia back to the car the man sexually assaulted her with a steel pole
while he masturbated when he was finished he freed julia from her restraint headlights suddenly illuminated the
field behind them another car had pulled up to the scene its occupants had noticed the mustang
stuck in the mud and the driver walked over to assist julia's attacker got out and greeted him
feigning distress over his car's state as they spoke julia saw her second chance to escape
she clambered out of the mustang and raced over to the other car frantically asking the passenger to take her to the
police he agreed and called over the driver so they could leave immediately as they pulled away carrying julia to
safety their car's headlights cast a bright light over her attacker in the meadow
he stared back still standing next to the ford mustang stuck a deep in the mud [Music]
[Music] seven months after the attack on julia eighteen-year-old margaret scharfer said
goodbye to her friends after spending the evening bowling with them and began to walk home
margaret lived in everspark germany approximately 650 kilometers north of the austrian city of salzburg
as she strolled along the footpath a mercedes pulled up alongside her glancing inside margaret saw her friend
barbara sitting in the passenger seat barbara asked margaret if she would like a lift home to save walking in the cold
night air margaret gratefully agreed [Music] three weeks later a group of hunters
were navigating through a dense cops of trees in a wooded area outside of the german town of hairborne
as they carefully made their way through the forest they spotted something lying face down beneath a tall conifer
was the naked body of a woman someone had tried to cover her with leaves and branches but her skin and
dark curly hair were still visible it was margaret shafar her wrists had been restrained before
she was beaten about the head with a blunt object then her attacker had used margaret's
own bra to strangle her it had been expertly tied in a unique series of knots to form an extremely
taut ligature german detectives attended the location and commenced an investigation making
sure to interview those close to margaret this led them to her friend barbara [Music]
it wasn't long before she cracked under the pressure [Music] 24 year old jack unterveiga was already
well known to authorities in the neighbouring country of austria in 1970 jack abducted a 16 year old girl
and tried to force her into sex work his extensive rap sheet also featured charges for robbery car theft burglary
and fraud over time jack added sexual assault to his long list of criminal convictions
women were easy targets for him he presented himself as intelligent gregarious wealthy and well-groomed and
was able to charm his victims despite his urbane persona the truth was that jack was broke and could not read
or write throughout 1973 and 74 jack's assaults landed him short stints in prison but
every time he was released he attacked again over time his violence against women
escalated like the time he attacked julia in a field outside salzburg having gotten a good look at jack she
quickly identified him as her attacker and he was sent to prison for the assault in mid-1974
after attempting to take his own life jack was transferred to a local psychiatric hospital
a few months later he was released and decided to make a fresh start in frankfurt germany
it was there that he began dating a young woman named barbara on the night of december 11 1974
jack and barbara decided they needed some easy cash and hatched a plan to rob barbara's parents
they drove from frankfurt to barbara's hometown of eva's bark and headed directly to her family's house
they'd expected to find it empty but to their dismay barbara's parents were home
their plan foiled the couple began driving around town looking for someone else to rob
soon they spotted margaret schaffer walking all alone barbara knew margaret well she had
previously lived next door to her and the two were friends barbara told jack as much and he hastily
pulled over so they could offer margaret a lift she happily accepted the two women chatted in the car's back
seat while jack drove after a little while he stopped by the side of the road as recounted in the book entering hades
by john lake jack asked barbara do you have anything else you want to tell her when barbara said no
jack remarked then now we'll get to the point he grabbed margaret by her shirt finding
her slim frame easy to pull into the front seat using barbara's belt he restrained
margaret's hands behind her back after rifling through her belongings and pocketing some cash
jack drove to margaret's house barbara let herself inside with a key from margaret's purse
she wandered through the residence pocketing about 40 dollars from margaret's room and grabbing some
clothing as well meanwhile jack waited in the car with margaret he had pushed her to the rear foot well
and she was unable to move when barbara returned jack drove 30 kilometers south to
hairborne asking barbara if she knew of any woodlands nearby as margaret sobbed in the back of the
car barbara directed jack past a restaurant and onto a forest road jack drove deep into the woods then
parked the car he untied margaret and ordered her to take her clothes off but she refused
jack punched her in the face before undressing her himself when he hopped out of the car
margaret asked barbara what he was going to do to her barbara just shrugged in reply
jack reappeared and grabbed a steel rod from the glove box then dragged margaret
from the car he asked barbara if she'd like to accompany him she declined but watched as jack dragged
a naked margaret across the snow-covered ground they disappeared into a thicket of
nearby trees in a statement barbara later told detectives i was terribly afraid for her but also
for myself about 15 minutes later he came back to the car and after he sat in the driver's
seat he handed me the steel rod which was covered with blood and hair what did you do with her i asked him
he replied there's no way she can betray us now [Music] while there was no physical evidence
from the crime scene linking jack to the murder his girlfriend barbara's confession was enough to warrant action
on january 17 1975 just a month after margaret's murder jack unterweger was arrested and charged
due to a treaty between germany and austria jack an austrian citizen would be tried in his homeland despite killing
margaret in germany it is unclear whether his girlfriend barbara faced any legal ramifications
for her actions on the night of margaret's murder in july 1975 while still waiting for
margaret scharfer's murder trial to begin jack unterweger was tried for violent offences against four other women in
austria he was found guilty and sentenced to three years in prison one year into his sentence the murder
trial finally commenced [Music] in court jack wore a dark suit with a gaudy tie while his long shaggy hair
fell around his face short slim and baby-faced with delicate features and small white eyes jack
unterweger didn't look like a stereotypical criminal the prosecution instructed those present
to look beyond his appearance as they heard the evidence against him the trial drew a large crowd
they listened attentively as jack's defense team spoke of his troubled childhood
he was born in 1950 in the historic austrian town of udenborg his mother was a waitress and sex worker
jack's father who he never met was an american soldier he'd been part of a group of u.s troops
occupying the area following the end of world war ii when jack was about 18 months old his
mother was jailed for fraud and he was sent to live with his grandfather in a desolate rundown cottage in the austrian
countryside it was during this time that jack struggled the most his grandfather was a violent alcoholic
who beat jack for misbehaving jack often claimed that he was forced to sleep in the same bed as his grandfather
while the elderly man had sex with various girlfriends and sex workers however this was likely not true
with many of jack's stories about his childhood being embellished and exaggerated for sympathy
ever since his arrest jack unterveiga had denied murdering margaret scharfer but on the stand he suddenly broke down
he admitted to beating margaret and then strangling her with her own bra when he'd looked into her face
he saw his mother's which caused him to explode with rage and hatred jack sobbed and pleaded for forgiveness
instead of being forgiven he was found guilty and given a life sentence to be served at stone prison a maximum
security facility in krems austria police inspector august shena sat in the courtroom listening to jack unto vegas
sentencing with interest the murder of margaret scharfer bore strong similarities to a case that had
landed on his desk three years earlier on april 1 1973 the body of a petite woman with long black hair was found
floating in a lake in salzburg aged in her mid-20s she wore a turtleneck jumper and was naked from the
waist down the woman's ankles had been tied together tightly with her stockings and
her wrists bound expertly behind her back with a necktie a bandage likely taken from a car's
first aid kit was wrapped multiple times around her head and mouth acting as a makeshift gag
she had been violently beaten across the face but the cause of her death was drowning
an autopsy revealed the woman had sexual intercourse just prior to her murder but
it could not be determined if she had been raped or if it was consensual when tire marks were discovered leading
to the lake's shoreline from the surrounding woodland a horrifying picture began to emerge
the woman had been undressed restrained and gagged then dragged from a car to the lake and thrown in while still alive
the following morning a man named mato horvat reported his wife missing marika horvat had failed to return home
after catching a bus into salzburg two nights prior mato was taken to see the body of the
woman recovered from the lake and was devastated to find that she was his wife marika
at the time austria had one of the lowest violent crime rates in the world and murders were virtually unheard of
catching marika's killer was of the utmost importance so the country's top detectives were assigned to the case and
no expenses were spared despite this a lack of leads and physical evidence had authorities coming
up empty over time the investigation dwindled and the murder gradually faded from public
attention but it remained firmly in the mind of investigating officer august shanna
although he couldn't find the man responsible algust was certain of one thing whoever killed marika was a sadistic
monster when he later learned about the murder of margaret shafa in germany algust was
struck by the similarities her case brought to that of marika horvath he sat in on jack unterweger's trial
taking in every detail the more he heard the more certain he was that jack was the man he'd been
looking for but he didn't have enough evidence to charge him as jack's sentence was read aloud to the
court algust shena took comfort in the fact that at least the jack was now facing life behind bars
on june 19 1991 15 years after jack until vega went to prison twenty-year-old shannon exley
stood on the corner of seventh and main in downtown los angeles behind her the sign for the cecil hotel
was brightly illuminated in the night sky shannon had been working in the sex industry since she had run away from
home at the age of 16. she used her earnings to support her drug habit but earlier that night she'd
called her father telling him she was going to get her life back on track and was looking forward to a brighter future
just after midnight a car pulled up alongside her shannon hopped in the next morning a group of girls were
picking up trash behind the parking lot of the girls scout center two and a half
miles from where shannon had been standing the night before as they worked the girls noticed
something lying in a vacant overgrown lot approximately 50 feet beyond the car park
they drew closer to get a better look it was the body of the murdered woman shannon xle was lying on her stomach
underneath a tall eucalyptus tree she was naked except for a t-shirt that had ridden up around her shoulders and a
pair of bright blue socks around her neck was her bra tied tight in a series of unique and complex knots
whoever had attacked shannon had used her bra to strangle her cuts and scrapes on her feet indicated
she'd been dragged through the vacant lot then dumped semen from a number of different men was
extracted from shannon's body none matched the dna profiles of anyone on record the murder had been carried out in a
clean meticulous fashion and there was no evidence left at the scene detectives concluded that the killer
must have planned the slaying scoping out the area in daylight as it was not a site clearly visible at night
it was a puzzling location detectives knew that the city's sex workers rarely traveled more than a
block or two from where they were picked up the distance from shannon's last known
location suggested she had not gone to the lot willingly ten days later a homeless man was
looking for firewood one and a half miles from where shannon axley was found as he searched around the parking lot of
a freight company he noticed something beneath a big rigged trailer it was the body of a woman lying on her
back and naked aside from a t-shirt and one sock she had been hid in the abdomen so
forcefully that it caused internal damage but the cause of her death was ligature
strangulation the woman's own bra was knotted tightly around her neck her name was irene rodriguez and she was
33 years old irene had been in los angeles for less than three months performing sex work to
support a heroin addiction she left behind a husband and four children irene had worked on the same corner as
shannon just down the road from the cecil hotel just as in shannon's murder her killer
left no evidence and a forensic examination resulted in zero leads detectives suspected irene's attacker
may have been a trucker from out of town given where her body had been dumped sex workers who frequented the area
where shannon and irene were taken were worried many were friends and words spread
quickly amongst their community that two women had been killed while working some shared their fears with the
journalist who was writing a series of articles on the dangers of sex work in los angeles
known for his compassionate understanding of controversial topics he wrote an article about the murdered
women for tiroline magazine an excerpt of which read real life in la is dominated by a tough
struggle for survival by the broken dreams of thousands who come to the city and an equal number who leave
sometimes dead sex workers who knew shannon axley and irene rodriguez opened up to the
sympathetic journalist describing how the murders had impacted them and crying over the loss of their friends
in one recorded interview an unnamed woman said it's ugly it's dirty it's scary every time you walk out on the street
you take your life in your hands you could die every time you get in a car every time you drive away you don't know
this person you don't know if he's gonna kill you two weeks after the murder of irene
rodriguez a deputy sheriff drove to a deserted malibu hilltop in response to a frantic call received by the la county
sheriff's department as described in john leg's book entering hades the deputy was met at the scene by
a group of men and their children they'd headed there to view a solar eclipse that was set to black out the
los angeles skyline by mid-morning instead they had stumbled across the body of a dead woman
[Music] she was lying on her back with her shirt up around her shoulders exposing her
breasts otherwise she was fully clothed her fingerprints identified her as peggy
booth a sex worker who worked on hollywood's sunset boulevard approximately seven miles from where
shannon and irene were picked up detectives assumed peggy must have known her murderer well as the desolate
location where she was found was not a place she would usually frequent just like shannon and irene peggy had
been strangled to death with her own bra [Music] while the murder of sex workers in los
angeles was tragically not a rare occurrence this identical manner of killing was
dr lynn herald from the la county sheriff's department analyzed the ligatures in the hundreds of strangulation murders
dr harold had seen over the course of her career these three were the only ones she had
come across where a victim had been strangled by their own undergarments the fact that the victim's bras had all
been dismantled and tied together in the exact same way left her in no doubt that
the same person was responsible for all three murders detectives began surveilling downtown
haunts where sex workers were known to operate in case the killer struck again but he never did
on july 16 1991 the journalist who had reported on the slangs in los angeles boarded a flight back to his home
country he'd gathered ample material for his work comparing the differences between
sex work in la and europe and intended to broadcast these findings in a radio series for the austrian broadcasting
corporation he also planned to write several articles on the same topic it was a busy time for the journalist in
addition to his investigative deep dive he also had a book to promote with public signings
in his homeland the journalist was a beloved public figure with thousands of fans who adored his empathetic writing
style he considered himself a ladies man and picked up women effortlessly even having a whirlwind romance with one
of the cecil hotel's receptionists she hoped to visit him in austria soon the journalist was jack hunter vega
jack unto vegas prison sentence for the murder of margaret scharfer who he had abducted and strangled to death in 1974
coincided with the period of reform in austria's penal system the nation's minister for justice
implemented a program based on the theory that even the most violent criminals could be successfully
rehabilitated whilst incarcerated one prisoner who took advantage of the new opportunities offered was jack
unterveiga he became a regular at the prison library teaching himself to read and
write over time he discovered that he had a natural talent for the written word he began writing plays poetry and short
stories for children while he remained behind bars his short stories were broadcast over the radio to
the delight of many parents and children who tuned in in 1983 eight years into his sentence
jack unterweger completed his autobiography entitled at figa foyer which translates to purgatory in english
jack told of his tragic childhood and the despair of prison life neglecting to mention why he was
imprisoned the book was published later that year and became a bestseller people felt connected to jack and his
compassionate descriptions of life behind bars he seemed relatable genuine and sensitive
but police inspector auguste shanna hadn't forgotten about marika hovard the woman who drowned in salzburg lake
he remained convinced that jack unterveiga was responsible and arranged to interview him in prison
a girlfriend of jacks had written a statement placing them in salzburg on the night of marica's murder
she recalled that jack had left without explanation for a period of the night and also remembered jack keeping
newspaper clippings about the murder when she pressed him for information about the clippings he threw them away
when august shena confronted jack with this information in prison he burst into tears and told the investigator that if
this line of questioning continued he would return to his cell and hang himself undeterred inspector shena appealed to
the district attorney to prosecute jack for marika's murder as per austrian law jack could only serve one life sentence
but if he was found guilty of killing marika time would be added to his current term
the district attorney declined to proceed with the case telling inspector shena he already has a life sentence he can
only be given one it was suggested that his decision was influenced by the strong links jack had
to prominent austrians who wholeheartedly enjoyed his body of work although inspector shenna was outraged
he had nowhere else to turn [Music] it wasn't long before figa foyer caught the attention of austria's literary
elite they praised the autobiography describing it as the ultimate example of the power the arts had to transform
lives those responsible for the country's prison reform held up jack unterveiga as
their greatest success story in 1984 jack received an award for his work a stage production titled terminal
prison he was permitted day release to attend the opening night performance and arrived to a throng of photographers
clamoring to take his picture in 1985 austria's literary community began to petition for jack's early
release his editor recalled a reading jack gave in stein prison stating at his reading he was so tender and at
that moment we decided we had to get him pardoned but austrian president rudolf kerschlager refused to sign off on
jack's release pointing out that he was legally required to serve at least 15 years of
his life sentence in 1988 jack's autobiography was adapted into a film he collaborated with its director but
differences in artistic vision became evident when jack continually requested to be portrayed as a hero
the director disagreed unable to look past the jack's conviction for murder he believed jack had a massive ego and
only used his writing as a means to escape prison later telling british newspaper the
guardian jack doesn't like literature jack doesn't like writers jack doesn't like anything
jack only likes jack nevertheless the film was released to positive reviews and as the movie gained
popularity and jack's book was toured in austrian high schools support for his release only increased
on may 23 1990 39 year old jack unterweger left prison as a free man having served his minimum term of 15
years his release was due in part to the campaigning of psychiatrist dr ernest bornemann who never met jack but had
read his autobiography dr bornemann wrote a letter to the justice minister which read in part
the man committed a serious act he's remorseful understands the motive of his actions at the time and has the means
never to have a relapse i am convinced that this act will never be committed again
upon jack's release one prison warden said we will never find a prisoner so well
prepared for freedom a psychologist at steinprison who was straight out of university had an
hour-long conversation with the jack and wrote that he was now fit for society having worked on his problems with
intellectual rigour jack unterweger was welcomed back into the community with open arms
he settled into an apartment in vienna and bought a german shepherd he named joy
when jack walked down the street and ate at cafes he was constantly interrupted by people wanting to talk to him
he soaked up this newfound celebrity status soon jack was given a job as a reporter
with the austrian broadcasting corporation he went to photo shoots sometimes posing
shirtless to reveal the prison tattoos that covered his torso on one occasion he thought it would be
amusing to take a series of photos posing with a noose around his neck jack attended book signings and gave
public poetry readings he became a regular on magazine covers and talk shows a fortnight after being released from
prison he appeared on the popular national television program club 2 and debated the topic of penal reform with
other esteemed authors the panelists described jack as an exception to the prison rehabilitation
program which had since been deemed unsuccessful for 99 of inmates in response jack said
they fail they end up in homeless shelters because they don't have the inner strength to fend for themselves
it was less than four months after jack went to vegas release that the murders of vulnerable women began
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you support case file [Music] regina prem was a sex worker in vienna austria who provided for herself and her
husband rudolph as well as their young child on the night of april 28 1991 she had an
appointment with a regular client so rudolph dropped her off at an intersection in vienna's red light
district she said goodbye to him then got out of the car rudolph waited at home for regina's
phone call saying she was ready to be picked up hours ticked by when 2am came and went with no call
rudolph grew concerned he began driving around the city streets in search of his wife but there was no
sign of her a food vendor came forward to say he'd spotted regina at around 11 30 pm
leaving a hotel she often frequented with wealthy clients this was the last confirmed sighting of
regina pram a month passed with no leads rudolph pram issued a public plea telling reporters for the viennese
newspaper kuria quote i don't want to believe she's dead maybe she's been abducted and locked up
somewhere but if the lunatic has killed regina he should at least say where her body lies
my wife deserves a decent burial about five weeks later rudolph was at home when his phone rang
he answered it a male voice on the other end said at the vienna woods lake go left and
follow the path that steeply ascends and forks a few are lying there when the figure 8 at the zenith stands
then i'll tell you where your wife lies rudolph abruptly hung up the call believing he was a cruel hoaxer
he didn't report the incident to the police at 11 45 pm on october 8 1991 rudolph
prem received another call the same voice from three months earlier stated i am an executioner on two being a hill
lies guerra god commanded me to do it tonight i have completed my work to eleven i have carried out the just
punishment five hours later the phone rang once more again the anonymous man spoke
they lie in the place of atonement facing downward toward hades because otherwise it would have been an outrage
[Music] rudolph continued to dismiss these calls he had no idea that bodies had recently
started turning up in the very area that the caller spoke of [Music] the vienna woods are a 45 kilometer
stretch of dense woodland that runs through vienna and lower austria the forested expanse is a popular
destination for those wishing to escape city life throughout winter the bitter cold keeps
all but the most determined of hikers away but during the warmer months when the
snow melts and sun shines through the wooded canopy the woods buzz with tourists and locals
alike on may 20 1991 a 62 year old man was walking along one of the woodlands paths
when he noticed a putrid smell looking around for its source he saw the body of a woman positioned on her
stomach with her face pushed into the mud she was naked aside from a leotard pushed up around her shoulders
part of her right leg was missing chewed off by foxes the body was that of 25 year old sex
worker sabine moizo who had been reported missing five weeks earlier and was last seen on the street corner she
frequented for work three days later on may 23 a woman scouring the woods for her guinea pig's
favorite food found another decomposing body also lying naked and face down it was 25 year old karen aruglu slutky a
sex worker who'd worked a few blocks from sabine and moizo and had been reported missing two weeks earlier
karen had been left a deeper in the forest suggesting her killer forced her to walk there naked
she had been violently beaten in the face and one of her ears was partially torn
both women were killed in nearly exactly the same manner sabine and moizel was strangled with a
stocking tied tightly around her neck in a complex series of knots karen aruglu sludky was strangled to
death with her leotard tied in the exact same way in november 1991 a month after rudolf
prem received his third and final disturbing call which included a reference to the greek god of death
hades a couple strolling through the vienna woods spotted a female body lying amongst the strand of trees
she was naked and positioned face down crudely covered with branches and clumps of soil
dental records identified her as sylvia zagler a 23 year old sex worker who was reported missing four months prior
she had been strangled to death with her own pantyhose the vienna woods were concealing yet
another victim one year after regina pram went missing a retired police officer and his wife
went for a walk along the woods highest hill located deep in the forest as the officer passed a tree he noticed
a branch lying against its trunk and kicked it absent-mindedly he did so he noticed a piece of fabric
tied around the branch then he realized something he hadn't kicked a branch it was a human femur bone concealed
inside insider stocking the bone belonged to regina pram more of her skeleton was found scattered
throughout the area having been scavenged by wild animals around two weeks after the first bodies
were found in the vienna woods a reporter from the austrian broadcasting corporation strolled into police
headquarters to speak with chief max edelbacher he explained that he had been assigned to cover the newly discovered
serial killings because of his personal connection to the crimes claiming that his aunt was a sex worker who had been
murdered by a client decades earlier chief edelbacker was happy to provide a statement saying
despite a number of leads so far we have obtained no positive result what we are really missing is material
evidence the reporter sympathised with the situation remarking it must be very frustrating for an
officer to so to speak run into such a dead end after chief edelbach's shift ended he
returned home and relayed the day's events to his wife he told her about the journalist who had
interviewed him providing her with the man's name his wife was surprised but the chief didn't know why
he'd never heard of jack unto vega before jack was working on multiple pieces about the bodies found in the vienna
woods after sabina and karen were discovered he interviewed sex workers from vienna's
red light district for an article one woman voiced her fear that the killer had gotten away with it stating
what can they do now it's already too late to catch him they should have taken the missing
person's reports more seriously a tone of dismay permeated jack unto vegas finished article
quote the dead in vienna woods are another argument for why society should do more
to provide security for prostitutes the more securely integrated a prostitute is in society the more she
can work in safety with less chance of falling victim to a crime one individual following the coverage of
the sex workers slayings with interest was former detective auguste shanna although he'd long since retired from
the police shanna had been fascinated by the news about the women found in the vienna woods
they reminded him of a case that he'd never been able to set aside the murder of marika horvath in salzburg
in 1973. when jack unterweger was charged with killing margaret shafa sometime later
august shenna became convinced he had murdered marika as well he'd never had enough evidence to charge
him but took some comfort in his suspect receiving a life sentence now almost two decades later jack was a
free man and women were being killed again august shenna was certain he was responsible
he passed on a message to the police which eventually reached chief max edelbacher
chief edelbacher thought the tip sounded highly unlikely but as he had no other credible suspect he decided to put jack
underweiga under surveillance just in case jack led a somewhat lavish lifestyle he often dined at cafes and restaurants
with high-profile people the rest of the time he holed up in his high-end apartment and worked on his
writing the more chief edelbacher observed the less he believed such a man could be his
murderer on june 10 1991 jack unterweger paid another visit to chief edelbach's office
to tell him he was going to los angeles for five weeks to write about crime the sex work industry and law enforcement
he asked if the chief had any connections in the lapd who could help him chief edelbacher did not tell jack that
he was being looked at as a person of interest in the vienna woods crimes because he didn't consider jack a likely
suspect he had no problem with him traveling to the usa jack unterveiga thoroughly enjoyed his
time in los angeles the morning after shannon exley was killed he went sightseeing and
unsuccessfully tried to track down various celebrities to interview including cher and azhar gabor
he got a monster at the gay and lesbian pride parade and a few days after irene rodriguez was killed he saw the sights
of santa monica early one morning jack left his room at the cecil hotel and strolled the
five-minute walk to the lapd central community police station flashing his id he explained what he was
doing in the city when he was offered the chance to go on a ride-along with a local patrol officer
jack left at the opportunity the patrol officer found the small austrian man quirky but friendly enough
he was extremely interested in los angeles law enforcement and constantly asked questions as he snapped photos out
of the car window a few days later jack returned to the police station and flirted with the
female patrol officers taking pictures of them soon after the third american sex worker
peggy booth was murdered upon his return to austria jack unterweger met with the chief edelbacher
to discuss what he'd learned about sex work and crime in los angeles as they chatted chief edelbacker
admitted to jack that he was a person of interest in the vienna woods murders jack wasn't surprised commenting that
his background made him an obvious target while reassuring the chief that he was in no way responsible
nevertheless chief edelbacher asked jack to provide alibis for the nights that the murdered women had disappeared
he agreed and promised to do so within two weeks but soon enough chief edelbacher
received a statement from jack unto vega saying he couldn't give any alibis for the knights in question
as he couldn't remember what he was doing [Music] meanwhile almost 200 kilometers south in
the austrian city of graz detectives began to suspect that two unsolved murders they were investigating
were linked to the vienna woods crimes on the night of october 26 1990 brun hilda massa was standing on her regular
corner in graz's red light district as the nearby clock tower illuminated the time of 12 15 am a taxi driver who
knew brunhilda pulled over to ask why she was out so late brunhilda explained that she was hoping
for one last customer before heading home she planned to take her children on an
outing in the morning and wanted a bit more spending money for them the taxi driver bid brunhilda farewell
then continued on his way brunhilda never made it home that night two months later in january 1991 some
children playing in a wooded area on the outskirts of the city came across brunhilda's body
she was lying in a shallow brook naked face down and poorly concealed by a few tree branches
her clothing and purse had been taken but she was still wearing her jewelry she had been stabbed once in the buttock
and a piece of fabric was knotted tightly around her neck due to the advanced state of
decomposition the forensic pathologist could not determine what the fabric was then on march 7 1991 35 year old sex
worker alfredo schrempf also vanished from graz without a trace it would be another seven months before
her skeletal remains were found not far from where brunhilda had been dumped she was face down and naked aside from a
pair of red socks alfreda's cause of death couldn't be determined but strangulation seemed most
likely given there were no other signs of fatal injury such as bullet knife or blunt force trauma
despite their best efforts investigators in graz hadn't been able to find the person responsible for these crimes
but they noticed they bore striking similarities to another unsolved murder that had been committed late the
previous year on the other side of the country 31 year old sex worker heidi hammera had
vanished from the austrian city of bregenz on the night of december 5 1990. she'd been spotted at 9 30 pm standing
on her regular corner near bregen's train station a few hours later a neighbor saw heidi
back at home in her apartment garage she was with a short man who wore a red scarf and a beige leather jacket
that was the last confirmed sighting of her just over three weeks later on new year's eve two hikers traversing the
nearby lustinaua marsh found heidi's body she was lying face down and almost fully
clothed with her petticoat shoved down her throat her wrists showed restraint marks but
there was no evidence that a sexual assault had taken place her pantyhose were tied around her neck
in a series of tightened intricate knots and this time the killer had left evidence behind
red and black fibres on heidi's clothing had likely come from something her assailant was wearing
when bodies started turning up throughout the vienna woods investigators in graz noted how similar
the crimes were to their own unsolved cases the way the victims had been found and
the method of killing was almost identical when they found out that their colleagues in vienna had looked into
jack unterweger as a person of interest they began digging into his whereabouts at the time of each murder
hours before alfreda shrimp disappeared from grass jack until vega was in the nearby town of kufla for a reading in a
local cafe members of the public who had come to hear him enjoyed watching jack's soulful
performance as the event drew to a close at 10 30 p.m jack left coufla and headed into
graz's red light district the night that heidi hammerer vanished a white vehicle with the vienna number
plate w jack one was spotted driving past the train station she stood near another sex worker said she had actually
seen jack unterweger approach heidi before she went missing the next day he recorded a performance
of his played dungeon at the austrian broadcasting corporation studios just eight miles south of heidi's apartment
gradually the grass detectives pieced together a timeline proving that each time a sex worker went missing jack had
been attending a book signing or was working nearby although he insisted that he had no
contact with sex workers outside of his research a woman came forward with a different story
she had been picked up by jack unterveiga on october 17 1990 not long after she entered his car he
drove her to some nearby woods handcuffed her then began violently raping her frightened the woman began to cry
this seemed to spur jack on when he was unable to ejaculate he angrily released the woman before
driving off the incident had traumatized the sex worker leaving her terrified ever since
when jack learnt of this woman's statement he changed his story now he admitted that he had picked up a
sex worker once but it was entirely consensual the handcuffs were nothing more than a
birthday gift from a friend that he had stashed in his car's glove box and suddenly jack claimed that he
remembered what he had done on the night that one victim went missing he'd been with a girlfriend in vienna
investigators knew this wasn't true jack had been seen by a large number of people at a poetry reading on the night
in question this outright lie convinced austrian authorities that jack unterveiga could
indeed be the murderer they were looking for he was placed under surveillance once
again as part of the investigation authorities began looking into unsolved murders of
sex workers in other european countries they discovered that when jack unterweger had been in prague for work
in september of 1990 four months after his release from prison a young woman named blanca bukuva disappeared from the
city after leaving a cafe blanca's body was discovered the next day in a nearby forest
she was naked and lying face down with a few sticks and twigs scattered across her body
blanca had been stabbed once on one of her buttocks and then strangled to death with an unknown ligature which wasn't at
the crime scene investigators suspicions that jack unterweger was responsible only
increased when the landlady of the hotel he'd been staying at reported seeing him
in the same city square where blanca was last seen at around the same time that she
vanished despite the increasing circumstantial evidence against the jack onto vega
vienna's district attorney concluded there wasn't enough to warrant an arrest the district attorney in graz disagreed
and on february 13 1992 he successfully petitioned the gratz criminal court to water jack's arrest
two days later investigators rushed to jack's apartment to apprehend him armed with an arrest warrant
but he wasn't at home detectives began rummaging through the residence it was spotlessly clean with nothing out
of place however a search soon uncovered three pairs of handcuffs a can of pepper spray
a switchblade knife and a shotgun as a convicted felon jack was not permitted to own any of these items
detectives also found a beige leather jacket similar to the one described by a witness who had seen heidi hammer with a
short man on the night of her murder a red scarf seemed similar to the fibres found on heidi's clothing
discovered in jack's library was a collection of books and manuscripts that featured the same unusual words used in
prank calls to rudolph pram hades the atonement zenith and references to the figure eight
when investigators eventually learned about the prank calls they struggled to determine the meaning behind these
strange phrases one possible explanation behind the reference to the figure eight was that
this was the shape a restraint made when tying someone's hands behind their back
another remark from the calls that puzzled detectives was the killer's claim quote
2 11 i have carried out the just punishment jack unterweger was suspected of murdering seven women in austria and one
in prague throughout the year following his release investigators wondered if there were
three more murders they were unaware of [Music] also found tucked amongst the jack's
belongings was a menu for a seafood restaurant in malibu california lapd detective fred miller was surprised
to receive a long-distance call from somewhere as far away as austria on the other line was investigator ernst
geiger who wanted to know whether any women most likely sex workers had been strangled to death in los angeles
between june and july of 1991. detective miller checked there were three shannon xle irene rodriguez and peggy
booth inspector ernst geiger was certain that jack unterweger was responsible this explained why the los angeles
serial killer had abruptly stopped after a two-week killing spree ernst geiger traveled to la to
investigate further if jack could be tied to those murders that would make him responsible for the
strangulation deaths of 11 women within one year of his release from prison meanwhile austrian authorities waited
for jack to return home so they could arrest him unfortunately for them jack had other plans
by this stage jacqueline de vega had struck up a relationship with a 17 year old named bianca mark who was more than
half his age within two weeks of meeting they were living together and a month later they
got engaged jack was a controlling partner he expected bianca to cook and clean for
him forbade her from visiting her friends and didn't like her leaving the apartment
bianca had taken a job at a bar in switzerland which jack had been supportive of saying the pay was better
than in austria on february 15 1992 the same day that detectives went to jack's apartment to arrest him he
surprised bianca by joining her in switzerland unannounced he claimed he was growing tired of all
the publicity he received at home in reality jack had learnt of his impending arrest
after someone leaked the news to the press soon he told bianca that he was being
framed and they had to flee the couple drove 650 kilometers from switzerland to paris where they booked a
flight to florida bianca had always wanted to visit miami her favorite television show was miami
vice so it seemed the ideal location to hide out the couple rented an apartment in south
beach but struggled to make ends meet on february 21 1992 jack called an austrian radio station to
publicly protest his innocence he promised to return if his arrest warrant was withdrawn
jack still had strong support in his homeland with many members of the public convinced he was being framed because
the police were too inept to catch the real killer after failing to convince a former
girlfriend to provide him with an alibi jack started contacting another woman he
had secretly been seeing behind bianca's back in vienna he begged her to help him by sending
money she didn't have the funds so she passed along the request to her boss who was
the editor of a magazine called success he agreed to pay jack ten thousand dollars in return for an interview from
wherever he was hiding jack excitedly agreed and provided instructions for a wire transfer in
miami beach on february 27 1992 jack drove to miami beach and bianca hopped out of the car to collect the
money from the wire transfer as she did so the couple and their vehicle were suddenly surrounded by us
marshals unbeknownst to jack and his girlfriend in vienna the editor of success intensely disliked jack
after agreeing to pay for an interview he went straight to the austrian authorities and told them about the plan
austrian officials contacted interpol who in turn contacted the us marshals they organized the stakeout waiting in
an apartment building across the street for jack to arrive when they saw him they leapt into action
upon realizing the marshals were there for him jack fled on foot running through
outdoor restaurants and weaving through back alleys but soon the marshals had him cornered
and jack finally surrendered he was taken to the miami metropolitan correctional center sobbing the entire
way detective fred miller and an associate flew to miami from los angeles to interview him about the three murdered
women in their jurisdiction shannon axley irene rodriguez and peggy booth whilst there they took his blood saliva
and hair samples for dna analysis testing revealed that jack unterweger's dna matched one of the semen samples
taken from shannon axley with the evidence mounting against him jack grew fearful that he would be
extradited to california which had the death penalty in a lucky break for him it was against
austrian law to extradite citizens to jurisdictions with capital punishment a deal was struck between the usa and
austria that jack would be tried for the american murders in his home country he was extradited to grass and arrived
on may 28 1992 greeting the reporters who were waiting at the airport with a wide smile
while jack underweight was held in a small jail at the gratz criminal courthouse inspector ernst geiger and
criminal psychologist fred muller travelled to fbi headquarters in quantico virginia
they enlisted the help of special agent greg mccrary to create a signature crime
analysis of their killer it was clear to agent mccrary that all the murders shared the same pattern
the killer drove his victims far out of town strangled them with their own clothing left their jewellery on their
bodies took their identification dumped them near trees or water and partly covered
them with dirt and leaves the lack of semen samples at most crime scenes indicated the killer was impotent
and struck out against the women in rage this was consistent with the statement from a sex worker who said jack had
attacked her after failing to climax the reason why the murderer chose to use painty hoes in europe compared with bras
in the usa was easily explained in europe sex workers did not commonly wear bras
instead they donned leotards and pantyhose as undergarments this murderer was different to other
serial killers though instead of attacking in one familiar area he wasn't afraid to kill in
different countries this suggested that he was intelligent sophisticated and organized
[Music] after two weeks of analyzing the data mccrary was convinced that one killer
was responsible for all the murders and that killer was jack unterveiga jack unterweger had owned six different
cars during the year he spent out of prison and although a search of his most recent vehicle revealed no evidence
tying him to any murders austrian officials successfully tracked down the first car he'd bought a bmw
it had long since been sold and it was sitting in a junkyard untouched investigators searched the vehicle and
found hairs in the passenger seat a few belonged to jack untervega three longer hairs were also found
only one still had its root attached a mitochondrial dna sample was obtained it matched murdered czechoslovakian sex
worker blanket book over with 99.99 accuracy additionally the results of 142 red
fibers and 153 black fibers found on the body and clothing of heidi hammerer were
found to be consistent with the jack's red scarf and a pair of black woolen trousers taken from his wardrobe
jack unterweger was charged with 11 counts of murder in three countries his trial began in graz on april 20
1994. it was the first time in austrian history that a person had stood trial for so many counts of murder and the
media dubbed it the trial of the century members of the public began queuing up at 4 30 am to get one of the 32 seats in
the public gallery and catch a glimpse of jack unterweger as he walked into court
the defendant smiled at reporters as though he was attending a red carpet event one hour into proceedings a bomb threat
was called in forcing everyone to evacuate after the threat was dismissed as a hoax
the trial finally got underway jack's defense blamed the media for painting him as a monster and not
abiding by the principle of innocent until proven guilty they pointed to a claim jack made that
he'd slept with more than 150 women since being released from prison arguing that he didn't need to murder
sex workers when there were so many women available to him jack's girlfriend bianca gave evidence
it was obvious that she no longer wanted to be associated with him in any way she told the court how he had kept
women's clothes in his basement and she found pantyhose in his glove box evidence she'd previously kept from
police ex-girlfriends and sex workers described brutal sex acts jack subjected them to
against their will and while they were handcuffed an actor who was touring in one of
jack's plays gave evidence about the time jack had told a performer your nipples should be cut off and
preserved in vinegar jack's defense lawyer minimised the comment telling the jury it was just a
guy talk this angered the judge who retorted don't count me among the guys who talk
that way a psychiatrist told the courtroom that jack was a malignant narcissist adding
jack unterweger is legally sane but mentally abnormal he is suffering from a deep reaching
narcissistic personality disorder with sadistic tendencies when judge haase asked if jack had
anything to say in response to these findings he replied what should i say he's the expert
[Music] the trial finally wrapped up on june 28 1994 just before midnight the night
prior a thunderous roar was heard throughout the streets of graz as a section of the
courtroom exploded shattered glass from the windows rained down onto the street and a burst water
pipe caused flooding inside a bomb had been planted in the building although rumors spread that the bomb was
set off by unto vegas supporters this was never confirmed and the culprits were never identified
fortunately the main courtroom was spared and proceedings continued as usual the next morning
as per austrian law jack unterweger was the final person to address the jury before they began deliberating
he stated i was a rat i consumed women rather than loved them i was a greedy ravenous individual
hungry for life and determined to rise in life from the bottom it wasn't me i'm innocent
for jack to be found guilty five of the eight jurors had the vote in favor of his guilt
by 8 50 that night they'd reached a verdict as they reconvened in the courtroom a
furious thunderstorm raged outside jack was found guilty of nine murders six votes to two
he was acquitted of killing alfreda schrampf and regina pram as their causes of death could not be definitively
established due to the deterioration of their remains jack cried upon hearing the verdict
he promised to appeal before being led out of the courtroom at 3 am the following morning a warden
completing a routine check noted jack unterweger was lying quietly on his mattress
forty minutes later the same warden found jack's lifeless body hanging from a curtain rod
he had taken his own life his ex-fiance bianca awoke to the news on her clock radio
she got out of bed and went about her day as normal when jack's lawyer found out about his
client's death he announced that because jack intended to appeal his conviction which had not been reviewed by the court
he could not legally be referred to as guilty under austrian law austria's justice minister had a little
to say about jack unto vega's choice to end his life other than to say that out of all the lives he took this quote
was his best murder the conviction and death of jack unterveiga caused a period of deep
reflection for those who had campaigned for his release special agent greg mccrary said in an a
e documentary about the case you educate a psychopath what do you have you have an educated psychopath
we've not made him better we've probably made him more dangerous in 2009 academy award nominated actor
john malkovich produced and starred in an operatic portrayal of jack kunta vega's life which he toured in theaters
around vienna spain france london and los angeles [Music] titled the infernal comedy confessions
of a serial killer the show had taken more than 10 years to write and produce its musical director had attended one of
jack unto vegas poetry readings many years earlier of the period surrounding jack unto
vega's short-lived release from prison he told the guardian quote it epitomized the thinking at the time
that art is stronger than crime and the far too liberal idea that everybody can be changed
john malkovich recalled first seeing jaconta vega on a television talk show he became enthralled with the murderer
who fooled so many people in an interview malkovich also told the guardian quote
at the time i didn't get it i wondered why people believed in someone who was so obviously fake
so obviously lying only years later did the real story come out [Music] i've been writing about real police
cases for nearly three decades now and there are few more tragic than the case of sarah mcdermott with sarah's
disappearance there's an element of patience of being collected she was always a very good daughter
if she was out someone going to be late she would ring and let us know she was seen by several witnesses walking toward
the car park and then sarah mcdermott was gone when she's come down the bottom of the stairs
and walked towards the car park she's virtually walked into the darkness when sarah's family reported her missing
police mounted an extensive search i could see blood on the bitumen underneath the car that
was parked at the driver's side of her car the blood on the ground it sort of indicated to everybody that there'd been
foul play a couple of suspects emerged ahead of the rest and he said well when i do get out you'll be one of the first
people i look for and i said why is that and he said because i just like to kill
you she said you know that murder that was up at the cannon nook station i was there with two other blokes and i'm
worried because i don't know how staunch they are who knows what he did if he killed sarah and disposed of her body
maybe he thinks i can get away with this they don't know where she is they don't
know who did it just how many other women were followed from the kennenuck railway station
we'll never know so i was walking along there and i could hear footsteps behind me and they were
getting closer and they yelled out to me don't take the shortcut take the bridge
i just think those men have the dotto saved my life the evidence is out there so
pulled out a couple of the cards and looked at the name and it said sarah mcdermott
searching for sarah mcdermott out now for free only on spotify

Case 197: The Austrian Ripper

In 1974, a young woman named Margaret Schafer disappeared from her hometown of Ewersbach, Germany. She was taken to deserted woodlands and strangled to death. It wasn’t long before a suspect was apprehended and the young man, Jack Unterweger, was found guilty of her murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Jessica Forsayeth Editing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

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RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-197-the-austrian-ripper

Brief Summary

The episode details the abductions and murders linked to Jack Unterweger, focusing on Sarah McDermott, Julia, and Margaret Scharfer.

Key points

The Attack on Julia. Julia, impressed by a stranger, accepts a ride that turns into a nightmare.
Murder of Margaret Scharfer. Margaret is abducted by someone she knows, leading to a tragic end.
The Murders of Shannon and Irene. Two sex workers are found murdered, raising fears in their community.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Regina Prem. Regina Prem, a sex worker, goes missing after a client appointment, leaving her husband worried.
Chilling Calls from the Killer. Rudolph receives disturbing calls from a man claiming to be the executioner of his wife.
Discovery of Regina Pram's Remains. A retired officer finds a femur bone tied to a branch, leading to the discovery of Regina Pram's remains.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I just think those men at Vidato saved my life.

0:16WatchNov 20, 2021

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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