The vampire of Düsseldorf pt. 2

After getting released in April 1921, Kürten got relocated to Altenburg where he initially lived with his sister. Through his sister, Kürten became acquainted with a woman named Auguste Scharf. A not so sweet shop proprietor and former prostitute who had previously been convicted of shooting her fiancé to death. Two years later, Kürten and Scharf got married, although the couple regularly had sex, Kürten later admitted he could consummate his marriage only by fantasising about committing violence against another individual. After their wedding night, he engaged in intercourse with his wife only at her invitation. For the first time in his life, Kürten obtained regular employment. He formed no close friendships. In 1925, he returned with his wife to Düsseldorf where he soon began affairs with a servant girl named Tiede and a housemaid named Mech. When his wife discovered his infidelity, Tiede reported Kürten to police, claiming he had seduced her, while Mech alleged Kürten had raped her. The most serious charge was later dropped although Tiede's allegations were pursued. This accuse got him a eight months prison sentence for seduction and threatening behaviour. Kürten served six months of this sentence, with his early release being upon the condition he moved back to Düsseldorf. Kürten then picked up his old habits and murdered two people and attempted to murder a third one in only one month. His favourite method to torture his victims was through stabbing, usually with a pair of sharpened scissors. In addition to physical mutilation, he would sexually abuse his victims and strangle them into unconsciousness. He also occasionally returned to the crime scenes to discuss his crimes with the police. Over the next several months he attempted to strangle four women, but each of them got away from him. Then, in August 1929, his killing spree reached an all-time high when he managed to murder six people in one month. The first victim was a woman that he had stalked for almost a week and whose body he wished to crucify on a decomposing tree in order to make a scene for the public. Eventually, he buried her instead. He then sent a detailed letter to the police in which he confessed the murder, including a map to her body. After writing the letter, in an attempt to throw police off his trail, he switched from his signature pair of scissors to a knife. Additionally, he randomly stabbed three people, an 18 year old girl, a 30 year old man, and a 37 year old woman who all escaped but described their attacker differently, confusing the police. Three days after these stabbings, Peter Kürten murdered two sisters, one by strangulation, and the other by slicing her neck. Kürten then committed an act of cannibalism by drinking the blood of the younger girl as it poured from her neck. The next month, Kürten murdered two servant girls, this time using a hammer to strike them over the heads. He also stabbed a child, leaving her for dead in an alleyway. That would be his final murder. On May 14th, Kürten attempted to rape and kill a 20 year old woman named Maria Budlick. When Budlick began to scream, Kürten released his grasp on her throat, before allowing her to leave. However, she didn’t report her ordeal to the police, instead she detailed the event in a letter to a friend, who addressed the letter incorrectly; that letter was opened at the post office by a clerk on 19 May who thankfully passed it to the police. Kürten, knowing that his identity was now known to the police and suspecting they may also have connected him to the crimes committed by The Vampire of Düsseldorf, confessed to his wife he had raped Budlick and that because of his previous convictions, he may receive 15 years' penal labour. With his wife's consent, he found lodgings in the Adlerstraße district of Düsseldorf, and did not return to his own home until 23 May. Upon returning home, Kürten confessed to his wife he was The Vampire of Düsseldorf. With Kürten's full consent, he urged his wife to collect the substantial reward offered for his capture, Auguste Kürten contacted the police the following day. In the information provided to detectives, Kürten's wife explained that although she had known her husband had been repeatedly imprisoned in the past, she was unaware of his culpability in any murders. She then added that her husband had confessed to her his culpability in the Düsseldorf murders, and that he was willing to likewise confess to police. Furthermore, he was to meet her outside St. Rochus church later that day. That afternoon, Kürten was arrested at gunpoint.The trial lasted 10 days. On 22 April, the jury retired to consider their verdict. They deliberated for under two hours before reaching their verdict: Kürten was found guilty and sentenced to death on nine counts of murder. He was also found guilty of seven counts of attempted murder. On the evening of 1 July 1931, Kürten received his last meal. He ordered Wiener Schnitzel, a bottle of white wine, and fried potatoes. Kürten devoured the entire meal before requesting a second helping. Prison staff decided to grant his request. At 6 o'clock on the morning of 2 July, Peter Kürten was beheaded by guillotine in the grounds of Klingelputz Prison, Cologne. He walked unassisted to the guillotine, flanked by the prison psychiatrist and a priest. Shortly before his head was placed on the guillotine, Kürten turned to the psychiatrist and asked the question: "Tell me...  after my head is chopped off, will I still be able to hear, at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from the stump of my neck? That would be the pleasure to end all pleasures." When asked whether he had any last words to say, Kürten simply smiled and replied, "No."

After his death, his head was mummified and is currently on display at the Ripley’s Museum in Wisconsin Dells.

Article by Azzurra Furnari