The haunting mystery of Hinterkaifeck farmhouse | Forensic Files

did you know that 70% of people say they want to use natural products but only 2%
do that's why Grove collaborative makes finding healthy affordable effective formulas easy and convenient now more
than 500,000 American households shop Grove for their healthy home essentials Grove collaborative is the online
marketplace that delivers all natural home beauty and personal care products directly to you every Grove product is
guaranteed to be good for you your family your home and the planet their site is easy to use they offer recurring
shipments plus shipping is free on your first order Grove only ships to the US so I'm very jealous of my friends over
there if they delivered to Australia I'd definitely be a customer for a limited time when listeners of case bar
go to Grove CEO slash case Bowl you will get a free five piece for gift set from
mrs. Myers and Grove free shipping and a free 60 day VIP trial for a limited time
only you can choose from best selling fall scents like apple cider acorn spice mum and pumpkin spice exclusively sold
at grove go to grove dot CEO slash case file to get this exclusive offer grove dot co slash case bar
our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at anytime 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 today's episode contains violence against children that won't be suitable
for all listeners the small rural property of hinter kai-shek lay approximately 70 kilometers
north of the German city of a Munich said against Bavaria's flat sweeping farmlands meadows and pine forests the
acreage earned its unofficial name from a nearby hamlet called Chi FAC with hinter being German for behind built in
1863 the single-story stone farmhouse was shaped like the letter L the living waters occupied the longer portion of
the building voilà bon stables and engine room were at the other end the outside the large
yard featured a well crop fields livestock pastures and a tool shed that also functioned as a laundry room and a
bakery it was an isolated spot the closest neighbor was half a kilometre away and to the nearest the village was
even further in 1922 hinter kai-shek was owned and operated by three generations
of the groover gabriele family fronted by 63 year old andreas Gruber and his 72 year old wife Cecilia their 35 year old
daughter Victoria Gabriel also lived at the farmstead along with her two children 2 year-old Joseph and 7 year
old Cecilia who was named after her grandmother that went by the nickname seeley seeley attended primary school in
the nearby municipality of vite often with classes scheduled six days a week including Saturdays on Saturday April 1
1922 Seeley was absent from school it was not unusual given she was prone to illness and was noticeably exhausted the
day before her teacher led the class in the Lord's Prayer to help Seeley recover
before moving on with their studies later that afternoon - coffee merchants delivering an order to hinder Chi affect
noticed all of the doors on the property were locked and - nothing stirred within
they could hear a dog barking from inside the stables accompanied by the sounds of cattle the merchants went up
the road to a neighboring property and informed the shittin bough family that inter kaya appeared deserted Saturdays
were typically busy for the Gruber Gabriel family with members often cited working around the farm yet the pastures
remained empty the next morning two friends of the household waited by the front gate to
meet Victoria Gabriel on their weekly walk to Sunday Mass she failed to appear so the pair continued onwards without
her other passers-by were also beginning to notice the inactivity in Takai affair
when no one greeted the postman on Monday he peered through the kitchen window expecting to see people bustling
about but the room was empty at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday April 4 a mechanic arrived for a scheduled appointment to
repair a diesel engine he to herd the cattle mooing and dog barking from within the stables but he's knocked to
the front door went unanswered and there was no smoke coming from the chimney thinking the family must have
stepped out he went to inspect the engine room and to notice the lock was broken and easily removable
he carried the engine to the tool shed and spent the next four and a half hours fixing it afterwards as he walked across
the courtyard he noticed the previously locked the door to the barn was now wide
open and the family's pet a german spitz watchdog had been removed from the stables and was now tied up by the front
door snarling the mechanic assumed someone had since returned home but was confused as to why they hadn't
approached him he too visited the neighboring sluttin bower residents to report on hinter KFX unusual stillness
concerned for the family 48 year old Lorenz Linton Bower sent his two young sons to check if anyone was home
they found the entire farmhouse locked with no lights on inside all was silent except for the cattles loud frantic
sounding mooing [Music] [Music] Cecelia had inherited hinter kayfa at age 35 following the death of her first
husband in 1885 with whom she had two children the following year she married the property's farmhand 27 year old
Andreas Gruber generally viewed as helpful Andreas was willing to lend a hand on his neighbors farms but was
otherwise the socially with the drawn person he and Cecelia had three daughters yet only their firstborn
Victoria survived infancy the Gruber's were a private family who rarely interacted with others gossiper dictated
Andreas beat his wife and that his two deceased the children had passed away from mistreatment and starvation
unsavory rumors about Andreas's unsettling relationship with his daughter Victoria gained validity when
at age 16 she admitted to a neighbor that her father was forcing himself on her and she could not bear the sight of
him Cecilia's to children from her previous marriage eventually moved out of hinter Kai fact leaving Victoria
behind tall slim and strong Victoria did more than her fair share of labor on the
farm she had a serious disposition but was the most social member of her family performing as a leading member of the
church choir and attending Mass every Sunday by the time she turned 27 Victoria was engaged to a man named Carl
Gabriel and the pair were married in April of 1914 following day Union Victoria and Carl were granted the deed
to hinter kai-shek Andreas and Cecilia remained a living at the property and working on the land
married life was fraught for the newlyweds primarily due to Andreas's dislike of his son-in-law carl
complained to friends that andreas bullied and tormented him sometimes by depriving him of meals he returned to
his parents home a few weeks after the wedding but they insisted he make the relationship work as Victoria was the
Gruber's only child ownership of hinter kai-shek would eventually pass to the Gabriele family should the couple have
children less than four months into their marriage Karl enlisted to fight in World War one when he left for the
frontlines in France Victoria was pregnant with their first child Karl was killed in action before the
year's end and his daughter Seeley was born one month later three-quarters of Karl's land title passed to his newborn
and the remainder went to his widow making Victoria the sole at old owner of hinter koifish six months after Carl's
death Victoria and her father andreas were convicted of having an incestuous relationship the charges related to
crimes occurring between 1907 and to 1910 when andreas was aged in his early 50s in Victoria in her early 20s
Victoria received a one month prison sentence and andreas one-year both returned to hinter cofac upon their
release and the family resumed their reclusive existence in September 1919 Victoria gave birth to her second child
Joseph the birth certificate listed the initials LS as Joseph's father which correlated with a brief relationship
Victoria had a year prior with her widowed a neighbor Lorenz shootin Bower regardless townsfolk's suspected the
child was a product of Victoria's incestuous relationship with her father the 1920s were a time of political and
social upheaval for Bavarians impacted by World War one but the residents of hinter KY fact found themselves in a
stable financial position the family of five were well-off tending crops and raising cows oxen piglets and chickens
although they had a reputation for being stingy with money in November 1920 the family hired 23 year-old Krantz Riga as
their live-in maid while at the farm crash and server heard andreas order his daughter not to remarry as he would be
hers as long as he lived Andreas once kept a Victoria locked in a closet when a suitor arrived to ask for
her hand in marriage then in late 1921 chrétien scented the bond and witnessed andreas into Victoria
engaged in sexual activity Victoria later explained that if she had known prescients was about to enter she quote
would not have surrendered to her father Krantz resigned 10 months into her employment and the family began
searching for replacement the following year in March of 1922 hinter kai-shek was disturbed by a
series of strange events first a set of housekeys went missing then a munich-based in newspaper was found on
the property no one in the area subscribed to the publication or had recently traveled that far
Andreas queried the postman but he had no idea how it got there on the morning of Thursday March 30 Andreas noticed the
padlock on the engine room door was broken nothing appeared to be missing but snow had been tracked inside
indicating someone had entered he noticed two sets of footprints in the snow heading from the rear fields to his
farmstead but there were no tracks leading away andreas encountered his neighbor Lorenz Linton Bauer out in the
fields and mentioned that break-in footprints and missing keys Lorenz hadn't noticed anything suspicious but
offered to contact police and to land Andreas his revolver for protection Andreas refused he didn't
want police in his home and felt capable of defending himself later Andreas ran into a different neighbor expressing his
belief that rogues were inside his house Andreas rejected his neighbors invitation to search the property
claiming he was not afraid when he returned home later he noticed the cow was loose from the stables and running
around in the yard that same day Victoria Gabriel was out looking for a new maid she visited a
woman named Francisca to inquire whether her sister 45 year old maria Bumgardner
would be interested in the role maria was a deeply religious and introverted woman who had worked as a maid since her
mother's death in 1904 she often encountered discrimination due to her slight intellectual disability
and a birth defect that left one leg significantly shorter than the other as such
Francisca graciously accepted the hint akai effect job on behalf of her older sister with Maria scheduled to arrive to
the farm the following day that evening as members of the Gruber Gabriel family lay in their respective beds they heard
muffled footsteps pacing the attic above armed with a torch andreas made his way
upstairs to investigate but only found a large amounts of straw scattered across
the floor at school the following morning of Friday March 31 seven-year-old Seeley gabriel was
noticeably exhausted and fell asleep in class the teacher woke her and asked if something was wrong
Sealy made a no mention of the Attic noises the night prior instead she said her family had spent the night searching
for her mother who had run into the woods after a violent altercation with andreas fears that Victoria had drowned
in a nearby river subsided at daybreak when she was discovered sitting on a tree stump
meanwhile at gente Kai FAC Andreas conducted another thorough search of the farmhouse but was unable to determine
the source of the noises the night before he and Victoria left the farm in the afternoon to complete several
errands in the nearby town of Schrauben Heusen while there andreas told a hardware store clerk about the troubles
on his farm adding quote I am Not Afraid I have already prepared my rifle Victoria mentioned the unsettling events
to another shopkeeper expressing fear that somebody was determined to break into their property
at five o'clock that afternoon maria bamboo nur arrived to hinter kai-shek escorted by her sister Francisca Cecilia
and young Joseph were the only family members home at the time Maria was led to the maid's quarters
tucked away off the kitchen where she'd reside throughout her employment Francisca stayed to help Maria get
settled but was eager to return home before dark though it was spring the snowy weather had been remarkably cold
and storms were anticipated for later that night Francisca farewelled her sister and exited the house Francisca
sensed hinter kai-shek was an eerily lonely place as she approached the dirt road she turned to see Maria running
towards her Maria hugged her sister firmly wanting to say goodbye again Francisca wasn't particularly close to
her siblings but she returned to the odium brace and promised to visit again soon it was over the weekend that hint
akai fact fell unusually quiet Seeley failed to show up for her Saturday school class and the remainder of the
family were absent from the fields the house was locked up and two lifeless with the only sounds coming from the
animals secured inside the stable on Tuesday April 4 Lorenz linton Bella and his two young sons collected two other
neighbours Jacob's Eagle and Michael Pell and headed to hinter kai-shek concerned that Andreas Gruber may have
taken his own life they arrived at around 5 p.m. to discover all the animals were secured away and the doors
to the building were all locked except for the one to the engine room inside the group attempted to open a second
interior door that led into the barn a wooden beam had been propped up on the other side preventing entry after some
heavy pushing the beam gateway and to the men entered the dim barn with flashlights in hand one of the stables
was open and a cow had broken loose from its pen Lorenz climbed over a board slipping on some hay as he went behind
him Michael shuffled his way through the dark suddenly he yelled out there's a foot Lorenz looked down and saw a foot
sticking out from a bale of hay he pulled it towards him uncovering the body of Andreas Gruber dressed in
trousers and an undershirt his face was covered in blood and he had suffered significant head injuries the Rennes
could say three more bodies partially concealed under the straw Jacob and Michael staggered out of the barn in
shock but Lorenz remained behind and inspected the three other corpses finding Cecilia Victoria and Seeley with
severe head wounds both Cecilia and Victoria were fully dressed and Seeley wore her nightgown Lorenz dragged the
seven-year-old towards a wall where the lighting was better Jacob returned and asked him to stop and wait for the
police but Lorenz replied on looking for my son two-year-old Joseph was nowhere to be
seen Lorenz proceeded towards the adjoining stables noticing a pickaxe leaning against the wall the family dog was tied
up inside despite the mechanic having seen it restrained by the front door only hours
earlier the dog had a wound above its right eye and recoiled and shook when the men
approached the cattle were making a lot of noise prompting lorenz toward a Jacob to throw
them some hay the wrens continued to the door which connected the stables to the
living quarters finding it unlocked he entered the kitchen and searched the house finding Joseph's stroller in a
bedroom with a woman's skirt draped over the top Lorenz pulled the skirt aside and saw the toddler quote with his head
shattered he then unlocked a rear door to let Jacob and de michael win jacob questioned where he had gotten the key
from to which Lorenz responded it had been in the lock in the maid's quarters a mattress had been pulled from the bed
frame onto the floor two feet poked yeah from under a check to duvet on top one wearing a shoe and the other bare Lorenz
removed the blanket and revealed the body of hint a Carfax recently hai had made Maria Baumgartner who had also
enjoyed a horrific attack Jacob and Michael rushed to the nearby village of Groban to raise the alarm Lorenz asked
one of his sons to inform the local mayor while he stayed behind to look after the livestock the men notified in
nearby authorities and placed their call to the police chief in mean eek news of the gruesome massacre spread
quickly and by 6:00 p.m. a crowd had gathered an inter Chi FAC as authorities had yet to arrive and notably calm
Lawrence took it upon himself to escort visitors through the property pointing out the bodies as they went
one neighbor cautioned him against allowing anyone else in in case they disturbed the crime scene the Lorenz
replied that they were already there and there was nothing he could do about it more people traipsed through the
building with one guest reportedly pausing in the kitchen to fix themselves a snack five investigators were
dispatched from unique along with to tracker dogs but a slow journey meant they didn't arrive until 1:30 a.m. as it
was too dark for them to inspect the crime scene they rested at the mayor's home until first to light they arrived
to hinter chi FAC at 5:30 the following morning when they found Lorenz shootin Bauer still watching over the farm
lead investigator detective George Ron Gruber entered the barn the bodies of Cecilia and Victoria were
beyond the threshold Andreas and Seeley was still positioned by the wall where the rents had left them all four had
sustained fatal blows to the skull but there was no blood spatter anywhere except on the door that led to the
stables upon inspecting the pickaxe propped against the wall detective Ron Gruber noted it was clean but took red
brown spots on the handle for bloodstains Lorenz informed the detective he believed this was the
murder weapon and the cattle must have licked it clean investigators made their way into the kitchen where they noticed
a few blood spots on the threshold leading to the maid's room inside Maria was fully dressed and lying
in the fetal position on the floor appearing as though she had been attacked before she prepared for bed
there were also some small bloodstains in the hallway leading to the family's bedrooms but there were no bloody
footprints the room Victoria shared with her two children had been ransacked with
cupboard doors flung open and an empty purse papers a notebook and a watch strewn across her bed but no other areas
in the house showed any signs of burglary the roof of Joseph's stroller had been torn apart by a forceful blow
and the killer had used one of Victoria's skirts to conceal the boys body in the Attic above the barn
investigators noticed hay had been spread across the floor and featured several impressions as though one or
more people had lain there bacon rinds as well as human excrement were found in the corner there were also some loose
tiles on the roof that could be raised slightly to view the living quarters and yard outside as all external doors to
the property had been locked from the inside investigators wondered how the perpetrator exited the building
following the murders two police dogs were sent out into the woods to track down evidence but nothing was found it
had rained in recent days and much of the snow that had previously covered the ground had since melted away detective
Ron Gruber noted in his report there are no tangible clues about the persons who
are offenders statements were taken from local residents including the three men
who discovered the crime scene the ranch linton bower jacobs eagle and michael Pell Lorenz insisted he hadn't let
anyone else enter the property after finding the bodies despite several statements to the contrary
he claimed the family had 100,000 marks in cash stashed on the premises yet investigators only found a five mark
bill tucked away in a prayer book as such robbery was the suspected a motive for the massacre
however the perpetrator ignored a many valuables in the home including jewelry watches into more than twenty-two
hundred marks worth of gold and silver coins witness statements were used to piece together a probable timeline of
events given Seeley's absence from school on Saturday April 1 the murders were estimated to have occurred between
8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on Friday March 31 experiments concluded that screaming
inside the barn could not be heard in the house furthermore the internal door leading from the house into the barn was
narrow enabling only one individual to enter at a time thus it seemed unlikely the entire family were killed at once
inside the barn as some would have had the opportunity to flee it appeared as though that were lured in one at a time
andreas Gruber's previous remarks to neighbors that a cow had inexplicably escaped into the yard led investigators
to presume this was the technique used to draw the family out of the house given that lawrence linton bower moved
two of the bodies the order of the killings couldn't be confirmed police suspected Victoria and Cecelia were the
first victims as they were both fully dressed next was andreas who was in the process
of changing into his nightclothes followed by Seeley who was ready for bed after that the killer entered the living
quarters and struck Maria from behind before murdering Joseph the family's entire bread supplier and several pieces
of smoked meat were missing this coupled with witness reports that the hint akafuku livestock were quiet
immediately following the massacre led to the belief that the killer remained at the property after the slaughter
possibly for several days feeding themselves and the animals the delay in discovering the bodies and disruptions
to the crime scene hampered forensic evidence but the investigation was minimal regardless no fingerprints were
collected even though this method had been established more than a decade earlier and only five photographs were
taken of the crime scene autopsies were conducted on the grounds of hinter Chi FAC overseen by a crowd of onlookers a
door was placed across two wooden trestles to function as a makeshift table the district court doctor
confirmed all six victims had died from head injuries by the blunt edge of a farmyard tool such as a pickaxe the
perpetrator appeared a left-handed as the majority of the wounds were inflicted on the right side of the
victims heads Victoria had sustained the most injuries including markings consistent with strangulation and a nine
star-shaped wounds to her skull seven year old Seeley was the only victim who did not die instantly injuring two to
three hours of agony before finally succumbing to her injuries it was believed had she received immediate
medical attention she would have survived the heads of all six victims were sent
to the pathology Institute at the University of Munich for further examination and to their bodies remained
a hint a kayak to await burial as two officers carried Seeley's body inside the barn they noticed the rope hanging
down from the loft above which had not been there moments earlier they climbed up and sighted handprints on the dusty
beam the rope was tied to police dogs were dispatched in an attempt to capture whoever had been hiding above but no
trace of the individual was found hiring can be a slow process cafe Arturo's chief operating officer Dylan Miska wits
needed to hire a director of coffee for his organic coffee company but was having trouble finding qualified
applicants so he switched to zip recruiter zip recruiter doesn't depend on candidates finding you it finds them
for you it's technology identifies people with the right experience and invites them to apply it to your job so
you get qualified candidates fast dylan posted his job on zip recruiter and said
he was impressed by how quickly he had a great candidate supply he also used the
zip recruit as candidate rating feature to filter his applicants so he could focus on the most relevant ones and
that's how Dylan found his new director of coffee in just a few days with results like that it's no wonder four
out of five employers who post on zip recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day see wise if recruiter is
effective for businesses of all sizes try zip recruiter for free at our web address zip recruiter comm slash case
file that's a zip recruiter com slash CA se fil-a zip recruiter dot-com / case file zip
recruiter - smartest way to hire a way make thoughtful products designed for modern travel and their signature
carry-on suitcase is made to last for a lifetime of travel it has a lightweight and durable shell for 360 degrees
spinner wheels that guarantee a smooth ride and TSA approved combination locks keep your belongings safe for those with
more to pack there's the bigger carry-on size designed to make the most of the overhead bin I got an away carry-on and
it's made traveling so much easier my favorite features are the ejectable charging station that keeps your phone
charged while you're on the go and the removable laundry bag the built-in compression pads help me fit more in so
I don't need to check any luggage I just carry it straight on and straight off a
way offers a 100 day trial that lets you try any away product on the road and their limited lifetime warranty means
they'll fix or replace your back if it ever gets damaged for $20 off a suitcase visit away travel calm / case file and
use promo code case file during checkout that's $20 off a suitcase if you visit away travel.com / case file and use the
promo code case file during checkout the number one ecommerce shipping solution in the states is now available in the UK
Australia and Canada shipstation was created to make life easier for online sellers it works with all of the major
shipping carriers including FedEx UPS Australia Post your local courier and more so you can compare rates and choose
the best shipping option for you and your customers whether you sell on eBay Magento Amazon Shopify or over 100 other
popular selling channels shipstation lets you access all of your orders from one simple dashboard plus shipstation
offers discounted shipping rates usually reserved for fortune 500 companies stop
spending so much time on shipping and get back to growing your business with shipstation and right now
case file listeners get to try shipstation free for 60 days when you use promo code case file see for
yourself why shipstation is rated number one by online sellers in the US just visit shipstation com click on the
microphone at the top of the homepage and type in case file that's shipstation comm then enter promo
code case file shipstation comm mate ship happen the funerals for the hinter kai-shek
household were scheduled for Saturday April 8th word incorrectly spread that the service was taking place on April 7
resulting in an influx of visitors to the area a day early they planned to use the extra time to examine the site of
the murders only to find that police had cordoned off the crime scene the following morning avoid hyphens Catholic
Church struggled to accommodate the approximately 3,000 mourners who had gathered the six matching coffins were
carried to the church on a wagon father Michael Haas told the congregation that God viewed
murder as a terrible abomination and only a man with no spark of faith in his heart could commit such a horrific act
the five members of the gruber Gabriel family and Maria Baumgartner were buried together in a mass grave with the adults
coffins flanking the children's tiny caskets police announced a reward of 100 thousand marks for information about the
killer's identity the amount was soon increased to 500,000 marks and posters were distributed throughout the region
to publicize the investigation the murders had shocked and terrified the local community and made newspaper
headlines across the country fearful citizens began reporting their friends neighbors and other individuals who they
deemed suspicious rural residents were advised to be vigilant especially at night and to thoroughly search their
properties each evening they were also encouraged to keep a large guard dogs for protection look out for their
neighbors and avoid storing valuables or large sums of money in their homes tales
of the strange events at hint akai effect preceding the massacre spread and several more bizarre incidents were
reported two weeks before the murders father hath supposedly found an anonymous donation
of 700 gold marks in his church which he suspected had been left by Victoria Gabriel when he queried her about it she
reluctantly admitted to making the sizable donation a local carpenter reported that on Saturday April 1 he
walked past hinter kayfa at around 11:30 p.m. more than 24 hours after the murders were believed to have taken
place he saw a light shining from the oven inside the farmstead and a curl of smoke coming from the chimney he then
noticed the figure holding a flashlight moving about in the yard the figure began to approach shining the light in
his eyes somewhat spooked the carpenter hurried home without stopping in addition to robbery other motives were
also considered the strangulation marks on Victoria hinted at it being a personal attack and some speculated the
murderer could be a scorned lover others believed the killings were a form of retribution for andreas and Victoria's
incestuous relationship following the murders victims relatives embarked on a legal battle over ownership of hinter
cofac as Seeley was the last to die she had been the farms sole owner for a brief period therefore the Gabriel side
of the family believed possession of the property should pass to her paternal grandparents the matter was resolved out
of court with the Gabriel's purchasing in Turkey fact from the Gruber's for three million marks in late February
1923 they decided to demolish the entire property they commissioned an artist to
paint a watercolor picture of the property beforehand capturing the white vom house in a field of green framed by
budding trees the next day carpenters dismantling the roof trusses noticed several loose
floorboards in the Attic next to the staircase they pried them up revealing a small nest of hay underneath along with
a blood-stained mattock a hand tool commonly used for clearing small trees and shrubs it had a blunt horizontal
accent and a long wooden handle alongside it was a small metal hoop coated in dried blood the tool had
previously belonged to andreas Gruber as neighbors recognized the distinctive screw protruding from the handle that he
had fitted during repairs the screw perfectly matched the star-shaped injuries to victoria's skull and police
declared the mattock as the murder weapon several days later while clearing out the barn excavators found a bloody
penknife close to where the bodies had been found maintaining they had conducted a thorough search of the crime
scene investigators believed the killer returned to the farm to hide the mattock
and pen knife once the heat of the investigation had died down no fingerprints were recovered from either
item given the social and cultural climate of Bavaria at the time political motivations for the murders were also
considered the region was a hotbed for paramilitary organizations and extremist groups
and it was theorized that andreas Gruber had belonged to one and either embezzled
funds or committed treason investigators sought to question an individual associated with one such extremist group
33 year old former soldier Adolph Gump after World War one Gump joined a Bavarian paramilitary faction and
eventually formed a commando unit within the group in 1921 he participated in the
massacre of nine farmers which he often boasted a unsubstantiated rumors accused gump of
having been romantically involved with Victoria Gabriel however he could not be found three weeks into the investigation
police in Munich received a letter requesting they look into carl gabriel victoria's former husband Karl had been
reportedly killed in action during the war eight years earlier yet his body was never returned to Germany and stories
circulated of soldiers who faked their death to live under assumed identities the theory was the Karl had done exactly
that but upon learning of the incestuous relationship between Victoria and andreas returned to him Takei fact to
murder the entire family police spoke with several of Karl's fellow officers who confirmed they had seen his body
after his death and revealed he was buried in a war cemetary in France other theories centered on Carl's family that
they carried out the murders for financial gain or revenge for their son's unhappy marriage several locals
expressed suspicion towards brothers Karl and Anton Bikila well-known thieves who had worked at gente KY effect during
the harvest seasons one witness claimed karla Bikila had proposed the idea of robbing hinter kai-shek while another
noticed the brothers had recently been spending a significant amount of money despite being unemployed hinter KFX
former maid crush ands Riga explained that the brothers were familiar with the layout of the property and Danton was
one of the few people whom the family dog never barked at according to crescents Anton once remarked that the
family needed to be killed when she informed her employers of his comment they dismissed the threat this incident
prompted crush ants to quit a sheep feed the Bickler brothers were planning an attack
caryl Bikila was taken in for questioning during which he professed his innocence and was able to provide an
alibi for himself and Anton the brothers had been drinking in a bar 51 kilometers
south of hinter kai-shek at the time of the murders months later on August 2 the
mother of another set of brothers Karl and andreas shreya confessed to a neighbor that her sons were responsible
for the crime destroyer brothers were arrested and a hearing took place the following month
but both men were released due to a lack of evidence other suspects included a former soldier who had escaped from a
Bavarian mental health hospital a year before the murders he was believed to have burgled properties in the vicinity
of hinter KY fair though there was no evidence linking him to the farm and his whereabouts remained unknown suspicions
were also cast on Lorenz schlitt and Bauer the neighbor who discovered the bodies at hinter Chi FAC Lorenz had
resided in the same farmhouse on the fringe of Groban his entire life he also served as the village guide
collaborating with the local council and acting as a spokesperson for the community two weeks after his wife
passed away in 1918 Lorenz commenced the brief romantic relationship with Victoria Gabriel who was 13 years his
junior in late 1918 he asked Andreas for permission to marry Victoria on the condition that andreas ceased having
sexual relations with her Andreas reportedly replied we will see when Lauren's next saw Victoria she said she
was pregnant with his child he refused to accept this convinced that Andreas was really the father
three days after Joseph was born Lorenz reported Victoria and her father to the authorities for incest and once again
Andreas was taken into custody [Music] Victoria begged him to withdraw his statement offering to reimburse the
child support he would be required to pay if he claimed paternity Lorenz agreed and the charges were dropped he
was named as Joseph's father a relationship he occasionally acknowledged but more often denied he
maintained a polite though tense relationship with Andreas and Victoria while gossiping and criticizing them
around town upon discovering the brutalized the bodies of his neighbors including his alleged son Lorenz was
remarkably calm witnesses commented on his apparent eagerness to disrupt the crime scene with detective Georgia Ryan
Gruber noting in his initial report quote it should not be left unmentioned - that the head of the district Lorenz
shootin Bauer showed a somewhat excited behavior he talks a lot and also makes himself otherwise important took care of
everything and was also well acquainted with the domestic circumstances of the murdered although detective Ron Gruber
also noted in his report that there was no known motive for Lorenz to commit the
killings Jacob's Eagle was also present when the bodies were found he had been suspicious of Lorenz since he opened to
the farmsteads front door with the key he claimed was already in the lock jacob openly referred to lawrence as the
kayaker murderer prompting Lorenz to sue him for defamation and publish an article in the local paper that read I
warned anyone who spreads rumors that I was involved in the murder in hinter KY faq from now on I will go against
anybody spreading such rumors whether wealthy or not with a lawsuit four years after the murders the shootin
bowers home burned down villagers gathered to help extinguish the flames but the damage was severe and many of
lorenza's important documents including some relating to Joseph Gruber's paternity were destroyed that same year
detective George Ryan Gruber stepped down from the hinter cofac case and criminal inspector Martin Reid Meyer
took over on the nine-year anniversary of the crime in 1931 read Meyer reopened the case and re-interviewed key
witnesses including a tearful Lorentz Witten Bela who continued to profess his innocence he attributed reports of his
suspicious behavior to his quote helpful actions at the crime scene read Meyer concluded clues for further action are
no longer available a decade after the murders took place an article in a German newspaper reflected on their
lasting impact on the quiet rural community quote the gruesome atrocity still holds the residence of the
Schrauben has an area far and wide in terror the case is still much talked of today the relatives of the Gruber and
Gabriel families were also investigated as possible suspects with financial benefit considered a motive as Cecilia's
daughter from her first marriage I'd lent Victoria a substantial amount of money for farm repairs yet this line of
inquiry didn't progress far in 1937 the two brothers of Victoria's deceased husband Carl Gabriel allegedly confessed
to their maid of committing the hint akai effect murders for monetary gain both men were arrested but subsequently
released without charge three weeks later after proving they had purchased the hint akafuku state with their own
savings by the end of the 1930s the investigation was set aside completely as the Second World War commenced during
the 1940s bombings by Allied forces on German cities such as Nuremberg and des Munich destroyed much of the evidence
relating to the case including the vital documents and the skulls of the victims
six years after the war interest in the cold case was revived when a series of long-form articles about the murders
were penned by journalists the Joseph or Ludovic hacker and published in a Bavarian newspaper as a result several
German prisoners of war came forward alleging to have been released by a Bavarian speaking Soviet officer who
claimed responsibility for the hinter cofac murders these assertions reignited rumors that Karl Gabriel was indeed
alive and carried out the crime but were later dismissed when the men revised their statements reducing their
credibility in May 1952 longtime suspect tent extremist group member Adolph Gump was once again implicated
the Dolf had passed away eight years earlier but according to statements his sister later made to a priest he
confessed on his deathbed to carrying out the killings with his brother Anton following this revelation anton was
arrested only to be released two weeks later and the gump brothers were eventually ruled out of the
investigation entirely in 1955 the hinter chi phat case was shelved indefinitely despite going cold
Germany's fascination with the mystery ensured theories and conjecture in Jewett throughout the years in 1971 Karl
and andreas Schreyer the brothers who were briefly arrested in 1922 after their mother reportedly confided in a
neighbor about their involvement in the murders were cast back into the spotlight a woman claiming to be the
daughter of the neighbor penned a letter to the Attorney General and explained that during the visit mrs.
shreya reportedly remarked quote andreas regretted that he lost his penknife curiously the discovery of the bloody
penknife at hinter kai-shek had been kept under wraps by investigators police interrogated the woman who wrote the
letter but with no evidence to support her claims the investigation faltered once again in 1978 journalist Peter Luce
now published the first book on the murders titled hinter kai-shek Germany's most mysterious murder case the book was
such a success that has sold out for extended periods in 1981 film director Hans figer adapted the book into a
documentary called hinter kai-shek symbol of the uncanny other documentaries on the case followed over
the years as well as a play a radio program and a fictionalized film 20 years after the release of Aleutian
House book he published a second edition after gaining access to further documents from Munich in the mid-1980s
final interviews were conducted with several of Seeley Gabriel's former classmates detective Conrad Muller of
the Ingolstadt police assisted and to found himself fascinated by the unsolved case he continued looking into the
murders well after his retirement in the tech nineties collecting a total of 12 binders worth of evidence
teaming up with criminal profiler Klaus beast the pair theorized the slayings were personally motivated with
the strangulation marks on Victoria indicating she had been the prime target in 2007 15 students from a Bavarian
police academy looked into the case to see if it could be solved - using 21st century techniques they compiled 200
pages of documents and critiqued the shortcomings of the original investigation including how police
neglected to interview the mechanic who had visited the property the day the bodies were found until three years
later like Conrad Muller and Klaus beast the students suspected the killer was personally motivated due to the manner
in which they had concealed to the victims bodies they concluded it wasn't possible to solve the crime due to the
lack of forensic evidence the significant loss of documents and the death of key witnesses they did
establish a prime suspect but declined to name the individual out of respect for surviving family members and
descendants the hint akafuku murders captivated armchair sleuths and independent investigators in Germany and
around the world in 2017 American crime writer Bill James and his daughter Rachel McCarthy James co-authored a book
titled the man from the Train which chronicles their attempt to solve Iowa's Villisca ax murders in which six members
of the Moore family and two guests were murdered during a brutal home invasion in 1912 after studying the case and
similar contemporary murders all over the United States the father-daughter team concluded that the unsolved crimes
were the work of a single perpetrator a german-born farmhand named Paul Muller who fled Massachusetts after he was
suspected of murdering the family that employed him they theorized he returned to his homeland
where he later murdered the Gruber Gabriel family in the same manner though no concrete evidence supports these
allegations in 2018 former detective conrad moola finally parted with the evidence he had collected on the hinted
high fat case and gave it to the Bavarian Police Museum in the city of Ingolstadt Mueller's documents now sit
alongside a range of other displays at the museum's hinter cofac exhibit which aims to highlight the evolution of
police methods over the past century the exhibition has attracted thousands of visitors over the past several years and
will close on October 6 2009 teen hint akafuku remains one of Germany's most talked-about unsolved crimes over the
years police have considered a total of 105 potential suspects but despite several
arrests no one has ever been charged myths have sprung up around to the case including that former maid Krantz Riga
left Hin Takei FAC after repeatedly hearing someone in the attic at night although nothing in her police statement
indicates this is true in recent years a local guide began offering ghost tours of the site with participants meeting in
the town of vide - and proceeding on foot through fields and forests to the empty property for the relatives of
those connected to the crime hinter Chi FAC continued to cause suffering long after the murders Lorenz Linton Bower
considered by many to be the prime suspect died in 1941 his descendants of spoken of the negative impact the
Association had on their own lives in 2010 his daughter Regina told the media she and her siblings were ostracized
throughout their lives commenting at some point there must be peace after the hint akai fact farmstead was
demolished in 1923 her wastoid shrine was erected on the land and still stands today marked with the crucifix the small
white memorial is framed by a tiny fence and neatly manicured plants an inscription reads godless murderers hand
felled the groover Gabriel family here on March 31 1922 this inscription is followed by the name of each victim
enter their year of birth the former land of in Toccoa is now used for agriculture over at the fight - cemetery
a tall dark grey obelisk marks the resting place of andreas Cecilia Victoria Seeley Josef and Maria there
bears a similar message to the shrine it has also been engraved with a brief verse from the Bible's Book of Psalms
God remembers those who suffer he does not forget their cry and he punishes those who wronged them
[Music] you

Case 124: Hinterkaifeck

At 9:00 am on Tuesday, April 4, a mechanic arrived for a scheduled appointment to repair a diesel engine. His knocks to the front door went unanswered and there was no smoke coming from the chimney...

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Erin Munro Creative direction – Milly Raso Production, scoring – Mike Migas and Andrew Joslyn

SOCIAL LINKS

Website https://www.casefilepodcast.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/casefile Twitter https://twitter.com/case_file Instagram https://www.instagram.com/casefilepodcast Patreon https://www.patreon.com/casefile

RESOURCES

For all credits and sources please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-124-hinterkaifeck

Brief Summary

The Hinterkaifeck murders of 1922 remain unsolved, involving the brutal deaths of the Gruber and Gabriel families in Bavaria.

Key points

Grove Collaborative's Natural Products. Grove Collaborative makes natural products accessible to over 500,000 households.
The Disturbing Silence at Hinter Kai-Shek. Neighbors notice the unusual stillness at the Gruber Gabriel farm.
The Gruesome Discovery. A group of neighbors discovers the bodies of the Gruber Gabriel family.
Community in Fear. The murders shocked the local community, leading to heightened vigilance among residents.
The Investigation Deepens. Investigators found a blood-stained mattock, believed to be the murder weapon.
Suspicion Falls on Lorenz. Lorenz's behavior during the investigation raised eyebrows among detectives.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I am Not Afraid, I have already prepared my rifle.

Andreas Gruber expresses his readiness to defend his home.

16:40WatchSep 14, 2019

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from Casefile

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.