1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:03,600 Speaker 1: Hello, it's Richard McLean Smith here with Unexplained on an 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:07,119 Speaker 1: end of season break. This is our final archive episode 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: before season nine begins next Friday, October thirty first, and 4 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: with Halloween only a week away, this week's episode takes 5 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,079 Speaker 1: a suitably dark and chilling turn. It is perhaps the 6 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:25,439 Speaker 1: darkest story ever covered or unexplained. Our final journey into 7 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:29,240 Speaker 1: the archive takes us to the remote Bavarian countryside in 8 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:33,080 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty two, to a lonely farmstead and the family 9 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: who lived there, where something unspeakable was about to unfold. 10 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: It was a place where shadows seemed to linger a 11 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: little too long, and where the boundary between safety and 12 00:00:44,680 --> 00:00:48,320 Speaker 1: terror proved to be as fragile as a footprint in 13 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 1: fresh snow. The word tenebris means dark, shadowy, and obscure, 14 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: an apt word to capture what descended upon this isolated 15 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: family in those final terrifying days. Just what exactly happened 16 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:08,960 Speaker 1: at their remote farm would become one of Germany's most 17 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:14,319 Speaker 1: notorious unsolved mysteries, a case so disturbing it continues to 18 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:20,559 Speaker 1: defy explanation a century later. This is Unexplained Season five 19 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 1: episode nine, Tenebrous The following episode involves scenes of sexual 20 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:31,720 Speaker 1: abuse that some may find disturbing. Parental discretion is advised. 21 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:45,720 Speaker 1: There was once a place deep in the rural hinterland 22 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: of Bavaria in southern Germany, Positioned half a kilometer to 23 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,160 Speaker 1: the west of the village of Greerben. It sat quiet 24 00:01:54,200 --> 00:01:58,840 Speaker 1: and still alone in the fields, surrounded by thick pine forest. 25 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: House made of stone and painted white. The farm, known 26 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,760 Speaker 1: as hinter Kaifek, had passed through many hands over the years, 27 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,840 Speaker 1: all of which had, at one time or another worked 28 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:17,920 Speaker 1: the rich, dark earth that surrounded it, sewing it, tilling it, 29 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,320 Speaker 1: and pulling from it. Fingers plunged deep into the black 30 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,359 Speaker 1: of it, and all had, in one way or another, 31 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:29,959 Speaker 1: left a piece of themselves in it too. By eighteen 32 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:33,720 Speaker 1: eighty six, the property had been passed to Cecilia Assam 33 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: and Andreas Gruber, the pair having taken ownership of it 34 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,639 Speaker 1: shortly after the death of Cecilia's first husband, Joseph, for 35 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:46,359 Speaker 1: Cecilia left to run the farm and raise two young 36 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:51,720 Speaker 1: children alone. Andreas was an apt partner, a farm laborer 37 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:55,520 Speaker 1: with an intense and quiet disposition. His hands were strong 38 00:02:56,080 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: and his shoulders broad enough for them all not that 39 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:04,000 Speaker 1: Cecilia's weren't also, and so in April eighteen eighty six, 40 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:10,079 Speaker 1: Cecilia Assam became Cecilia Gruber, and together she and Andreas 41 00:03:10,200 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: worked the farm and the surrounding fields, maintaining a fine 42 00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 1: and stable business. In eighteen eighty seven, new life arrives 43 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: in the form of a baby girl named Victoria. She 44 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: is joined by Sophie two years later, and for those 45 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,919 Speaker 1: first few years joy threatens to rain at hint Kaifek, 46 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: but the joy is short lived. Like almost twenty percent 47 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:39,400 Speaker 1: of children in the local district at the time, Sophie 48 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,280 Speaker 1: does not live to see her second birthday. And now 49 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:48,400 Speaker 1: a cloud is descending over this dark white property, cast 50 00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:51,520 Speaker 1: a drift from the nearby town and seeming to move 51 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:55,920 Speaker 1: further away with each passing day, the forests surrounding it 52 00:03:56,240 --> 00:04:00,800 Speaker 1: seeming to grow ever denser, and the trees looming ever taller. 53 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: It is a natural habit of humans to project onto 54 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:08,120 Speaker 1: all that we see, and no more so than with 55 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:13,120 Speaker 1: our interpretations of the forest. For some, the forest is 56 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: foreboding a locusts for unknown dangers that lurk deep within. 57 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: But the forest does not think itself foreboding. The forest 58 00:04:23,040 --> 00:04:27,720 Speaker 1: just is, And yet for hinter Chaifek, it is hard 59 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 1: not to read those tall, thick pines that surrounded the farm, 60 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,719 Speaker 1: and the gloom of the forest beyond, as some kind 61 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:39,720 Speaker 1: of psychic projection emanating from the darkness festering inside that 62 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: white stone building, a darkness that would one day come 63 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:49,200 Speaker 1: to define that land in more ways than one. How 64 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,279 Speaker 1: fitting too that the patch of woodland closest to the 65 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:57,919 Speaker 1: farm should be called Hexenholtz, or the Witch's forest, the 66 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: notion of the witch often being just a projection of 67 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:04,719 Speaker 1: our own innate fears of the other, but also two 68 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:09,960 Speaker 1: as women. Suffragist Matilda Joslyn Gage once noted the fear 69 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:14,880 Speaker 1: of women. But perhaps it isn't just fear that manifests 70 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:20,880 Speaker 1: this patriarchal image of the malevolent witch, but guilt too. 71 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:33,680 Speaker 1: You're listening to Unexplained, and I'm Richard McLean Smith. The 72 00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: couple looked happy enough as they stood reciting their vows 73 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,040 Speaker 1: under the watchful eyes of the priest. As they stepped 74 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,240 Speaker 1: out at the church, arm in arm, Some say for 75 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,800 Speaker 1: a brief moment, the clouds above parted and a ray 76 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:52,960 Speaker 1: of sunshine slipped through. Perhaps the bride a now twenty 77 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: six year old Victoria saw it too, and perhaps for 78 00:05:57,160 --> 00:05:59,679 Speaker 1: a moment there was even the hint of a smile 79 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,400 Speaker 1: as she looked into the eyes of her new husband, 80 00:06:02,880 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 1: Carl Gabriel, and saw there the hope of a better future, 81 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: a future safe from harm and full of warmth for 82 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:15,440 Speaker 1: the child that would surely come. But such thoughts were 83 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:18,200 Speaker 1: never kept long in her mind before the sight of 84 00:06:18,200 --> 00:06:25,400 Speaker 1: her father, Andreas Gruber dissolved them instantly, that unmoving, impassive face, 85 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:31,440 Speaker 1: ever present, always watching the sight of him, never failing 86 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:35,680 Speaker 1: to catch in her throat, congealing like thick black tar. 87 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,800 Speaker 1: There had long been rumors about the man, about how 88 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,800 Speaker 1: he regularly beat his wife, Cecilia, now sixty four years 89 00:06:44,839 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: old and nine years his senior, but that wasn't all. 90 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,360 Speaker 1: It was said to be common knowledge amongst the local 91 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:57,479 Speaker 1: farming community and in the village of Gurban, that Andreas 92 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:02,440 Speaker 1: regularly raped his daughter, although it wasn't called rape at 93 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:07,360 Speaker 1: the time. Perhaps Carl knew this too when he married Victoria, 94 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:10,440 Speaker 1: and perhaps there was a hope that their marriage might 95 00:07:10,520 --> 00:07:14,000 Speaker 1: put an end to the abuse. Or perhaps, as some 96 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 1: have suggested, the union was more pragmatic than that that 97 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,960 Speaker 1: it merely offered a buffer for Victoria and an opportunity 98 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:26,080 Speaker 1: for Carl and indeed the wider Gabriel family to gain 99 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:31,320 Speaker 1: access to a successful, if modest business. Only a month 100 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: before their wedding, Andreas transferred all the rights to the 101 00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,240 Speaker 1: farm to his daughter, making her the sole heir to 102 00:07:38,280 --> 00:07:43,000 Speaker 1: the property. By marrying Victoria, Karl had guaranteed that any 103 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:49,360 Speaker 1: children of theirs would inherit the land. But for some possessions, 104 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,760 Speaker 1: or at least what they consider to be their possessions, 105 00:07:53,440 --> 00:07:56,400 Speaker 1: are not so easy to let go of, and no 106 00:07:56,480 --> 00:07:59,840 Speaker 1: matter where they turned, nor what time of day, there 107 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 1: would be Andreas, who, along with Cecilia, remained living at 108 00:08:03,800 --> 00:08:16,400 Speaker 1: the property, standing watch stone, faced deep in thought. Barely 109 00:08:16,440 --> 00:08:20,040 Speaker 1: weeks after the wedding, Carl moved back home to his parents, 110 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:23,640 Speaker 1: complaining that he was being bullied and that the fierce 111 00:08:23,680 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: and uncompromising Andreas had even taken to starving him. But 112 00:08:29,000 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: just as Andreas cast his shadow over hint Kaifek, so 113 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: too were other larger shadows being steadily drawn across the land. 114 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:41,880 Speaker 1: In late June of nineteen fourteen, comes the news that 115 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:46,120 Speaker 1: Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria, Hungary 116 00:08:46,480 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 1: has been shot dead. The rickety stumbling wheel of human 117 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:55,959 Speaker 1: civilization takes another lurch from the path and wobbles inexorably 118 00:08:56,120 --> 00:08:59,920 Speaker 1: toward war. And so the men are summoned by a 119 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:04,479 Speaker 1: appeals to duty and valor. Perhaps it is with trepidation 120 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: that Karl packs up the few belongings he'll need and 121 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 1: marches out of the farm toward Munich to sign up, 122 00:09:11,480 --> 00:09:15,960 Speaker 1: leaving behind and now four months pregnant Victoria. Or perhaps 123 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,000 Speaker 1: at the site of the stone faced Andreas, pausing briefly 124 00:09:20,080 --> 00:09:22,960 Speaker 1: from his work in the field to nod goodbye to 125 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:28,439 Speaker 1: his son in law, it is with relief before long. 126 00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:33,680 Speaker 1: It is December twelfth, nineteen fourteen, eight hundred kilometers to 127 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:37,679 Speaker 1: the northwest of hinter Kaifec. A crow swoops down above 128 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 1: a field just north of the town of Arras, coming 129 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:44,240 Speaker 1: to rest on what remains of an old beech tree. 130 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:49,199 Speaker 1: In the field below, freshly scarred and pock marked by shelling, 131 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:54,200 Speaker 1: there lies a body, its forehead split open and the 132 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: lower jaw obliterated, its pale vacant eyes staring up to 133 00:09:59,800 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 1: war a slowly darkening sky. The crow calls and swoops 134 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: down for closer inspection, but a hand quickly shows it away. 135 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:14,920 Speaker 1: Joseph Bickler, a farmer from Vadhoffen, a town close to Gerban, 136 00:10:15,320 --> 00:10:19,360 Speaker 1: stands over the body, recognizing it instantly as that of 137 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 1: his old school friend Carl Gabriel. The following week, back 138 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:29,480 Speaker 1: at hinter Kaifek, a now heavily pregnant, Victoria watches from 139 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:33,520 Speaker 1: the window as postal worker Joseph Meyer draws near to 140 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:37,840 Speaker 1: the house. With him, he carries a copy of Andreas's 141 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 1: regular paper and a letter addressed to Victoria written by 142 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:47,760 Speaker 1: Joseph Bickler, informing her of her husband's death. But Victoria 143 00:10:47,840 --> 00:10:50,720 Speaker 1: has little time to grieve when three weeks later she 144 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: gives birth to her first child, whom she names Cecilia 145 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,960 Speaker 1: after her mother. But still the rumors refuse to go away, 146 00:10:59,480 --> 00:11:02,440 Speaker 1: as many in the village are left wandering is the 147 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: child Carl's or is it her father's. At some point 148 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: in early nineteen fifteen, a complaint is brought to the 149 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:20,400 Speaker 1: local police that Andreas was committing incest with his daughter. 150 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: After a formal investigation, rumor becomes fact when on May 151 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: twenty eighth, Andreas is convicted for the offense with the 152 00:11:29,559 --> 00:11:32,240 Speaker 1: court deciding to limit the period of the crime to 153 00:11:32,280 --> 00:11:36,040 Speaker 1: the years nineteen oh seven to nineteen ten, when Victoria 154 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: was aged twenty to twenty three. This was most likely 155 00:11:40,320 --> 00:11:43,840 Speaker 1: an arbitrary decision to avoid looking into accusations that it 156 00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 1: had in fact been going on much longer than that, 157 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:51,280 Speaker 1: and thereby allowing Andreas the opportunity to escape the accusation 158 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:55,160 Speaker 1: of child abuse. He is sentenced to one year in prison. 159 00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: Such was the attitude of the day. Victoria was considered 160 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: to be a willing participant in the abuse, and as 161 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: such was also convicted for the crime. On January tenth, 162 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:13,119 Speaker 1: nineteen sixteen, the day after her daughter's first birthday, Victoria 163 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 1: was taken to Neuberg Prison to spend the first of 164 00:12:16,200 --> 00:12:23,199 Speaker 1: thirty days behind bars for one relatively blissful year. Victoria 165 00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:26,280 Speaker 1: and her mother Cecilia run the farm with help from 166 00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:31,000 Speaker 1: their maid Cretchens Raiger. Together they manage all the livestock 167 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: and harvest the fields. On Sundays, Victoria makes the short 168 00:12:36,120 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: journey to the village of Vaidhoffen to attend the trade 169 00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: fair and on occasion joins the church choir to sing. 170 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 1: She is praised widely for her voice and is known 171 00:12:47,480 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 1: by the nickname the Lark of hint Kaifek. But in 172 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:57,600 Speaker 1: February nineteen seventeen, Andreas returns, and though Victoria continues to sing, 173 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:03,640 Speaker 1: something of her voice has changed. In nineteen eighteen, Victoria 174 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:07,800 Speaker 1: begins a relationship with Lorenz Schlittenbauer, her neighbour from the 175 00:13:07,880 --> 00:13:12,280 Speaker 1: next farm over, who is only recently widowed. The affair 176 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: is brief, with some blaming the presence of Andreas for 177 00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:21,000 Speaker 1: Lorenz's reluctance to pursue the relationship. However, by the end 178 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:25,320 Speaker 1: of December, Victoria discovers she is pregnant again, and in 179 00:13:25,400 --> 00:13:29,520 Speaker 1: July nineteen nineteen, gives birth to a son, whom she 180 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:34,720 Speaker 1: names Joseph. Now a single mother with two young children, 181 00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:38,480 Speaker 1: Victoria is convinced that Lorenz is the father and approaches 182 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:43,880 Speaker 1: him for financial support. In response, Lorenz, who suspects the 183 00:13:43,960 --> 00:13:47,959 Speaker 1: child might instead be Andreas, reports her and her father 184 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:52,880 Speaker 1: again to the police. With Andreas July arrested and awaiting 185 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:56,480 Speaker 1: a second trial, Victoria pleads with Lorenz to drop the 186 00:13:56,600 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 1: charge and claim paternity of the child to help an 187 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:05,560 Speaker 1: end toward the salacious rumors. Lorenz later said that despite 188 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:11,520 Speaker 1: agreeing to the claim Victoria paid him to say it. Meanwhile, Cretchence, 189 00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:17,120 Speaker 1: the family's maid, is growing increasingly anxious. At night, she 190 00:14:17,200 --> 00:14:20,600 Speaker 1: hears unusual sounds in the house and what seem like 191 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:25,720 Speaker 1: footsteps moving about the place. Sometimes her door even seems 192 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:30,080 Speaker 1: to open on its own accord. One morning in the 193 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: summer of nineteen twenty one, after pulling up water from 194 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 1: the well, cretchens is walking across the courtyard when she 195 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,560 Speaker 1: hears a strange noise coming from the barn, unlike any 196 00:14:40,600 --> 00:14:44,680 Speaker 1: of the usual animal cries. Moving slowly into the barn, 197 00:14:45,080 --> 00:14:48,239 Speaker 1: she catches sight of something in the corner and recoils 198 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:53,320 Speaker 1: in horror. It is Andreas raping his daughter, who lies 199 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:58,720 Speaker 1: motionless underneath him. Crechence leaves the farm the following week. 200 00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:09,200 Speaker 1: The winter of nineteen twenty one is especially cruel, with 201 00:15:09,320 --> 00:15:13,880 Speaker 1: freezing temperatures lasting well into the following year. By mid March, 202 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: there is still no end in sight, with frost and 203 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:22,680 Speaker 1: snow of frequent occurrence. One gray afternoon, Victoria is walking 204 00:15:22,720 --> 00:15:25,960 Speaker 1: across the courtyard when she is distracted by a movement 205 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:29,720 Speaker 1: to the south. Looking up, she can just make out 206 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,880 Speaker 1: a lone figure standing at the edge of Witch's Wood 207 00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: that appears to be watching her. Looking away for a moment, 208 00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 1: she turns back to find that the figure has gone. 209 00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: A few days later, when postal worker Joseph Meyer arrives 210 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,040 Speaker 1: at the property, he is met by Andreas waving a 211 00:15:49,080 --> 00:15:53,560 Speaker 1: paper around a damp and muddy copy of the munich Zeitung. 212 00:15:54,240 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: He'd found it while out in the field close to 213 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: witches Wood. He wants to know if Joseph is dropped it, perhaps, 214 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:04,920 Speaker 1: but Joseph has never seen it before, and neither has 215 00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 1: he ever delivered one like it. Whose evers it was, 216 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:13,040 Speaker 1: he suggests, was not local to the area. It is 217 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:16,400 Speaker 1: early in the morning of March twenty ninth when Andreas 218 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:20,560 Speaker 1: is disturbed from bed by what sounds like footsteps shuffling 219 00:16:20,600 --> 00:16:25,160 Speaker 1: about in the attic above. Grabbing his rifle and a flashlight, 220 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: he makes his way through the darkness toward the attic 221 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:33,520 Speaker 1: stairs and climbs up into the opening above, each step 222 00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:37,720 Speaker 1: creaking as he goes. Pointing the light into the roof, 223 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:42,520 Speaker 1: he could see the hole attic stretched out in both directions, 224 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,760 Speaker 1: empty save for some old patches of straw that were 225 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:49,000 Speaker 1: scattered about, and the pieces of meat hanging in the 226 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:54,560 Speaker 1: smokehouse above the kitchen. On the morning of Thursday, March thirtieth, 227 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 1: Andreas heads toward the engine room, where much of the 228 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: farm's heavy equipment is kept. The room is located at 229 00:17:02,680 --> 00:17:06,240 Speaker 1: the southwest tip of the L shaped farm, tacked on 230 00:17:06,400 --> 00:17:09,960 Speaker 1: to the end of the barn. The snow is still 231 00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:13,480 Speaker 1: thick on the ground as Andreas approaches, to find that 232 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:17,679 Speaker 1: the padlock on the door is missing. What's more, there 233 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: are two sets of footprints in the snow leading inside 234 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: the building, but none coming out. A confused Andreas stares 235 00:17:28,160 --> 00:17:31,639 Speaker 1: down at the tracks and then up toward Whiches Wood, 236 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 1: where they seem to have come from. Andrea shouts for 237 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 1: whoever is inside to come out, but there is no reply. 238 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:43,399 Speaker 1: Pulling the door open, he's relieved to find the place 239 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: completely deserted and everything as he'd left it. Later, however, 240 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:51,880 Speaker 1: he will find one of his two house keys has 241 00:17:51,920 --> 00:18:03,000 Speaker 1: gone missing. Later that night, after a violent altercation with 242 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:07,440 Speaker 1: her husband, Cecilia Gruber is found to be missing, prompting 243 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:10,720 Speaker 1: the rest of the family, including seven year old Cecilia, 244 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:15,160 Speaker 1: to search or night for her. Concern that she may 245 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:18,080 Speaker 1: have drowned herself leads the family to the banks of 246 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:21,240 Speaker 1: the river par a kilometer to the south of the farm, 247 00:18:21,920 --> 00:18:24,040 Speaker 1: but there is no sign of her in the dark, 248 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: icy water. The seventy two year old Cecilia is finally 249 00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: found sitting silently on a tree stump in the forest, 250 00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:37,640 Speaker 1: and is eventually coaxed back to the farm. The following day, 251 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,600 Speaker 1: with things appearing to have abated, the family adjoined by 252 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:45,920 Speaker 1: forty five year old Maria Baumgartner, who arrives accompanied by 253 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,480 Speaker 1: her sister Francisca to take on the role of a 254 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:55,000 Speaker 1: living housemaid. Francisca had helped secure the job for her sister, who, 255 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,400 Speaker 1: due to her learning difficulties and the slight physical disability 256 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:01,240 Speaker 1: of having one leg short end and the other, had 257 00:19:01,280 --> 00:19:05,000 Speaker 1: often struggled for work, her most recent job in the 258 00:19:05,040 --> 00:19:10,040 Speaker 1: nearby town of ent Wittelsbach having been terminated simply because 259 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,960 Speaker 1: the town's mayre deemed her too unsightly for the local community. 260 00:19:15,240 --> 00:19:18,479 Speaker 1: And though Francisca had heard much about the Gruber family 261 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:21,800 Speaker 1: and what was rumored to take place at hint Kifek, 262 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,159 Speaker 1: it was an opportunity too good to refuse from Maria. 263 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:29,120 Speaker 1: Even still, it was hard not to feel a little 264 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: trepidation when, after helping her sister settle in. She made 265 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:37,800 Speaker 1: her goodbyes and headed out of the property, with the 266 00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,480 Speaker 1: wind picking up and thick storm clouds beginning to gather 267 00:19:41,800 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 1: in the sky above. Francisca was approaching the main road 268 00:19:46,040 --> 00:19:48,680 Speaker 1: when she heard the voice of her sister calling out 269 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: from behind her. Turning round, she saw Maria racing toward 270 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:58,439 Speaker 1: her for one final goodbye before they parted. After a 271 00:19:58,440 --> 00:20:02,080 Speaker 1: brief hug, Maria asked her sister to visit again soon, 272 00:20:02,840 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: then turned and headed back to the farm. It is 273 00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,840 Speaker 1: late the following night when local carpenter Michael Blockl trudges 274 00:20:16,880 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: past the property and spots a fire burning in the 275 00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:25,240 Speaker 1: outdoor oven and smoke billowing out of its chimney. Perhaps 276 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:29,400 Speaker 1: it was the nauseating smell like burnt rags that caused 277 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,199 Speaker 1: him to stop, or perhaps it was just something in 278 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,840 Speaker 1: the quiet of the night. But as he stares, he 279 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: is taken aback by the sudden movement of a figure 280 00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:44,120 Speaker 1: stepping into the courtyard. Michael watches as the figure slams 281 00:20:44,119 --> 00:20:47,520 Speaker 1: the oven door, shut points a flashlight in his direction, 282 00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:53,360 Speaker 1: and then begins steadily making his way toward him, Frozen 283 00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: with fear at first, as the figure draws closer and closer, 284 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,080 Speaker 1: Michael finally pulls his hands from his pocket and speeds 285 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:06,520 Speaker 1: off in the opposite direction. It is two days later 286 00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:11,240 Speaker 1: when Joseph Mayer arrives at the property to deliver Andreas's paper, 287 00:21:12,080 --> 00:21:15,760 Speaker 1: only to find the place completely deserted, with no sign 288 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,919 Speaker 1: of Andreas or anyone else for that matter, to be found. 289 00:21:20,560 --> 00:21:24,359 Speaker 1: The courtyard unnervingly quiet save for the gentle lowing of 290 00:21:24,400 --> 00:21:29,240 Speaker 1: the cattle coming from inside the barn. Assuming they are 291 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: out working the field somewhere. Joseph leaves the paper on 292 00:21:32,800 --> 00:21:37,200 Speaker 1: the kitchen windowsill and heads off to continue his round. 293 00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:42,960 Speaker 1: It is sometime around midday on Tuesday, April fourth when 294 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:47,360 Speaker 1: machinist Albert Hofner arrives at hinto Kaifek to make repairs 295 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: to the family's threshing machine. A cold wind whips around 296 00:21:52,320 --> 00:21:54,919 Speaker 1: him as he pulls up to the courtyard gate on 297 00:21:54,960 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: his bicycle, surprised to find that it's still locked. After 298 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:03,320 Speaker 1: waiting unsuccessfully for over an hour for someone to meet him, 299 00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:07,479 Speaker 1: Albert makes his way to the engine room. Grateful to 300 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,960 Speaker 1: find the lock is broken, he lets himself inside and 301 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 1: sets to work on the machine. Four and a half 302 00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:17,640 Speaker 1: hours later, there is still no sign of the family. 303 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,600 Speaker 1: With the work completed, Albert heads into the courtyard and 304 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,399 Speaker 1: notices for the first time that the barn door is 305 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,639 Speaker 1: wide open. I'm sure if it was before. He moves 306 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:34,119 Speaker 1: toward it, calling out for Andreas or Victoria, but is 307 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:38,879 Speaker 1: met with only silence. Peering into the darkness beyond, he 308 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:42,720 Speaker 1: sees only the cattle inside and some hay piled up 309 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:47,120 Speaker 1: in the far corner. Hearing the dog suddenly barking manically, 310 00:22:47,520 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: he wanders round to the front of the house and 311 00:22:50,119 --> 00:22:54,639 Speaker 1: finds it tied up by the front door. Ignoring its cries. 312 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:58,880 Speaker 1: Albert cups his hands over the glass and peers inside 313 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:04,560 Speaker 1: to the kitchen, but sees nothing untoward. Turning back, he 314 00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:07,720 Speaker 1: takes one final look at the empty field to the 315 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:12,280 Speaker 1: stretch of forest beyond, then heads off to find his bicycle. 316 00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:22,879 Speaker 1: It's just gone five p m. When farmer Michael Pearl, 317 00:23:23,359 --> 00:23:26,640 Speaker 1: another neighbor of the Grubers, hears a knock at his door. 318 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: He opens it to find a nervous looking Lorenz Schlittenbauer 319 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:36,119 Speaker 1: and their neighbor Jakob Sig, waiting for him. After hearing 320 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:40,360 Speaker 1: about Albert Hofnan's strange experience at the farm, Lorenz had 321 00:23:40,359 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: grown increasingly concerned about the Gruber family and his apparent 322 00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,640 Speaker 1: son Joseph's whereabouts. With the young Cecilia not having been 323 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: seen at school since Saturday, all was eerily quiet as 324 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,879 Speaker 1: the three men stepped into hint Kyfec's deserted courtyard, the 325 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:02,879 Speaker 1: silence only coming more deafening when their desperate cause for 326 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: Victoria and Andreas brought no reply. Finding all doors to 327 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:11,879 Speaker 1: the property now completely shut and locked up save for 328 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,400 Speaker 1: the engine room, the men made their way inside from 329 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 1: the back, only to find that through door to the 330 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:21,520 Speaker 1: barn had been deliberately blocked from behind with a beam 331 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:25,960 Speaker 1: of wood. After finally managing to dislodge it, and with 332 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,320 Speaker 1: the light quickly beginning to fade, the men carried on 333 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:34,080 Speaker 1: into the barn beyond the sudden appearance of a cow 334 00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:39,520 Speaker 1: wandering freely around inside startled them momentarily as they continued 335 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:43,200 Speaker 1: forward into the dark, feeling for obstacles with their feet, 336 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 1: when suddenly Michael cried out, Hey, there's something here. Michael 337 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: pulled back and realized with horror it was a foot. 338 00:24:56,640 --> 00:24:59,439 Speaker 1: Whoever it was, was lying under a large plank of 339 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:03,480 Speaker 1: wood that had been put on top of them. Together, 340 00:25:03,800 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 1: the men pulled the wood to the side and revealed 341 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 1: the body of Andreas Gruber underneath, dressed in trousers and undershirt, 342 00:25:12,520 --> 00:25:16,160 Speaker 1: thickly matted with blood and crudely covered over with hay. 343 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:20,720 Speaker 1: Pulling the body out, the men recoiled at the sight 344 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,080 Speaker 1: of its face. The right side of it was completely 345 00:25:24,119 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: smashed in, its cheekbones clearly visible. But then Lorenz saw 346 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:35,160 Speaker 1: the other limbs all packed underneath. Together. Pulling out one 347 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,600 Speaker 1: after the other, the men revealed the bodies of seven 348 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:42,680 Speaker 1: year old Cecilia, dressed in her night skirt, her mother. 349 00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:48,920 Speaker 1: Victoria and her mother Cecilia, both fully dressed and hideously mutilated, 350 00:25:49,680 --> 00:25:55,640 Speaker 1: their clothes and faces black with blood. Michael and Jakob 351 00:25:56,000 --> 00:25:58,800 Speaker 1: wretched at the sight of them and stumbled back into 352 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:05,399 Speaker 1: the courtyard, desperate for air. A moment later, Lorenz appeared 353 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,879 Speaker 1: in the yard, having opened the front door to the 354 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 1: main house from inside, and beckoned for the other two 355 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:14,959 Speaker 1: to help him search for his son. They found him 356 00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:17,879 Speaker 1: in the stroller at the foot of Victoria's bed, his 357 00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:22,000 Speaker 1: body partially covered with one of Victoria's jackets. He'd been 358 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:26,920 Speaker 1: killed by a heavy blow to the face. Finally, after 359 00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:30,359 Speaker 1: almost missing her. At first, Michael noticed a pair of 360 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 1: legs peeking out from under the bed in the maid's quarters. 361 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,479 Speaker 1: It was Maria, her clothes and face also soaked black 362 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:45,119 Speaker 1: with blood. As Michael and Jakob struggled to make sense 363 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:50,639 Speaker 1: of it all, an eerily calm Lawrence returned to Victoria's bedroom, and, 364 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,639 Speaker 1: having found a candle, sat down quietly on the bed 365 00:26:55,240 --> 00:27:01,880 Speaker 1: and lit it. Outside, all about the land was silent 366 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:04,919 Speaker 1: and still, save for the gentle rustle of wind in 367 00:27:04,960 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 1: the pines and the occasional wail of cattle coming from 368 00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:20,600 Speaker 1: that solitary white stone building of hinter Kaifek. The cars 369 00:27:20,680 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 1: turned off the main road and headed deeper into the fields, 370 00:27:24,560 --> 00:27:29,080 Speaker 1: toward the small solitary light in the distance. Behind it, 371 00:27:29,480 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: a vast wall of trees, silhouetted under a pale half moon, 372 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:39,000 Speaker 1: stood still and black, growing ever taller the closer they got, 373 00:27:39,680 --> 00:27:42,679 Speaker 1: and on they continued, toward the light that seemed to 374 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,600 Speaker 1: be luring them in like a silent, haunting beacon, toward 375 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 1: an unfathomable horror. Inside the cars, a team of investigators 376 00:27:52,680 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 1: from Eunich, led by fifty five year old George Hinruber, 377 00:27:56,560 --> 00:27:59,760 Speaker 1: as well as mayor gregor of Wangen, the next village 378 00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:05,440 Speaker 1: East German, prepared themselves for the worst. The local district police, 379 00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 1: having been first to arrive on the scene at hint Kaifek, 380 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: had quickly realized they were woefully out of their depth. 381 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:15,000 Speaker 1: They had called in the Munich force in a desperate 382 00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:18,719 Speaker 1: plea for help. Ryan Gruber's team hadn't arrived in the 383 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:21,879 Speaker 1: area until after one am, prompting them to spend the 384 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:25,320 Speaker 1: night at the mayor's residence in Vangen before making their 385 00:28:25,320 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: way to the farm first thing in the morning. It 386 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 1: had just gone six a m. When the cars finally 387 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:36,639 Speaker 1: pulled into the courtyard on Wednesday, April fifth. As the 388 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,520 Speaker 1: seven officers, two police dogs, and the mayor stepped out 389 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:44,240 Speaker 1: into the chilly morning air, Lorenz Schlittenbauer appeared at the 390 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:48,240 Speaker 1: front door of the main house, his footsteps echoing about 391 00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:53,000 Speaker 1: the courtyard as he approached. Lorenz quickly introduced himself as 392 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,719 Speaker 1: one of the men who'd first found the bodies, and 393 00:28:55,760 --> 00:28:59,160 Speaker 1: that he'd been there all night guarding the scene for them. 394 00:28:59,480 --> 00:29:03,520 Speaker 1: Ryan was struck immediately by the man's odd nervous energy, 395 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:07,400 Speaker 1: a natural consequence perhaps of the fact he hadn't slept 396 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:10,080 Speaker 1: since the night before, but as to why he'd taken 397 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:12,800 Speaker 1: it on himself to stay at the property, he was 398 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:17,520 Speaker 1: less sure. As Lorenz continued to babble about everything he 399 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: knew of the family and how he discovered the bodies, 400 00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:26,160 Speaker 1: Brian Gruber eventually interrupted. Perhaps he said, we should take 401 00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:31,000 Speaker 1: a look for ourselves, and so as the first light 402 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:34,600 Speaker 1: of dawn began to break, Lorenz turned and led the 403 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:45,040 Speaker 1: investigator and his team into the barn. The bodies of 404 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:48,320 Speaker 1: Andreas and the young Cecilia had been placed against the 405 00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: far wall, a small pool of blood on the hay, 406 00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,320 Speaker 1: in the spot where they'd first been found. The other 407 00:29:55,360 --> 00:29:59,360 Speaker 1: two bodies, those of Victoria and the elder Cecilia, had 408 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: been pulled through a doorway into a stable corridor linking 409 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,200 Speaker 1: the barn to the main house. When asked why the 410 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: bodies had been moved, Lorenz explained that he was looking 411 00:30:09,680 --> 00:30:12,560 Speaker 1: for his son, who at first he thought might be 412 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:17,120 Speaker 1: there too. Ryan Gruper made a quick inspection of their injuries, 413 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:21,160 Speaker 1: then turned his attention to the door between the two areas. 414 00:30:21,240 --> 00:30:24,920 Speaker 1: It was covered in blood splatter. There was something else, 415 00:30:24,960 --> 00:30:30,160 Speaker 1: said Lawrence, leading the inspector through to the stable corridor that, 416 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,000 Speaker 1: he said, pointing to a pickaxe leaning up against a 417 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: feeding trough in the corner. He'd found it the day before, 418 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:42,400 Speaker 1: he said. The inspector took a closer look, noticing a 419 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:46,600 Speaker 1: few dark spots on the handle, but little else. Perhaps 420 00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: the cattle had licked it clean, suggested Lorenz. Perhaps, said 421 00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 1: Ryan Grueber in reply. Lorenz then led the team into 422 00:30:57,040 --> 00:30:59,960 Speaker 1: the kitchen while two of the officers made their way 423 00:31:00,080 --> 00:31:03,640 Speaker 1: into the attic. Ryan Gruber took note of the now 424 00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 1: moldy food that had been left out in a pan 425 00:31:06,840 --> 00:31:10,240 Speaker 1: and blood spots on the stone floor as they continued through, 426 00:31:10,760 --> 00:31:15,120 Speaker 1: arriving at the doorway to maria the maid's room. Running 427 00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:18,240 Speaker 1: his hand over the door frame, the inspector spotted a 428 00:31:18,280 --> 00:31:21,680 Speaker 1: few splatters and some more on the ground, but no 429 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:27,000 Speaker 1: bloody hand or footprints. Looking through, he saw Maria's body 430 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 1: partially obscured by a mattress, lying in a fetal position. 431 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:35,560 Speaker 1: Evidently she had been attacked while preparing for bed, perhaps 432 00:31:35,560 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: crouching down for cover in a vain attempt to protect herself. 433 00:31:40,640 --> 00:31:51,520 Speaker 1: Next was Victoria's room. The place appeared to have been ransacked, 434 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: with cupboards flung open and the bed unmade a watch, 435 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,600 Speaker 1: and an empty purse had been left out on top 436 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: of it, prompting ryin Gruber to wonder if theft had 437 00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 1: been the motive. Lorenz informed him that the family was 438 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,000 Speaker 1: said to have kept around one hundred thousand marks at 439 00:32:09,000 --> 00:32:12,840 Speaker 1: the property, close to four thousand US dollars in today's money. 440 00:32:14,200 --> 00:32:17,080 Speaker 1: The inspector approached the baby stroller at the end of 441 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,120 Speaker 1: the bed and pulled back the dress that was draped 442 00:32:20,160 --> 00:32:23,760 Speaker 1: over it to reveal the blood soaked baby Joseph underneath, 443 00:32:24,720 --> 00:32:29,000 Speaker 1: his face, unrecognizable from the blows. The hood of the 444 00:32:29,040 --> 00:32:32,680 Speaker 1: pram had also been torn apart, suggesting it had been 445 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: closed when the killer struck. Perhaps even they had found 446 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: the thought of killing a baby too much and couldn't 447 00:32:40,640 --> 00:32:44,280 Speaker 1: bear to have to see what they were doing. That 448 00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:47,360 Speaker 1: all the bodies had been covered over without any real 449 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,840 Speaker 1: attempt to hide them was an indication, perhaps of the 450 00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:55,480 Speaker 1: killer's sense of shame, a shame likely only felt by 451 00:32:55,520 --> 00:33:00,320 Speaker 1: someone who knew the victims. Ryan Gruper stared up at 452 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:03,200 Speaker 1: the three religious icons hanging on the wall above the 453 00:33:03,240 --> 00:33:08,320 Speaker 1: bed and the three crucifixes hanging underneath them. Then a 454 00:33:08,320 --> 00:33:19,320 Speaker 1: call came down from the attic above Ryin. Gruber's men 455 00:33:19,400 --> 00:33:21,760 Speaker 1: were standing to the side in a section of the 456 00:33:21,760 --> 00:33:25,680 Speaker 1: attic above the stable corridor, pointing at something on the 457 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:30,000 Speaker 1: hay covered floor. As Ryan Gruber drew near, he caught 458 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 1: the unmistakable noxious whiff of it. It was human excrement. 459 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:39,800 Speaker 1: There were also bacon rines scattered about two and two 460 00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:44,920 Speaker 1: indentations in the hay, suggesting the possibility of two perpetrators. 461 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: Then one of the officers noticed a kink of light 462 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 1: coming through the roof. Moving toward it, he found that 463 00:33:52,520 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: a number of tiles there had been loosened. A similar 464 00:33:55,840 --> 00:33:58,440 Speaker 1: set of loose tiles were found in another section of 465 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:02,120 Speaker 1: the attic over the main bar. Anyone looking out of 466 00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,200 Speaker 1: the gaps in the roof would have had a clear 467 00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 1: view of the courtyard and the entrance to the main 468 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:11,280 Speaker 1: house had they been watching the family. Ryan Gruber thought 469 00:34:12,600 --> 00:34:16,960 Speaker 1: the family's bread supply, usually well stocked, was empty, while 470 00:34:17,040 --> 00:34:19,920 Speaker 1: some smoked meat appeared to have been taken after their 471 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:24,280 Speaker 1: deaths in their absence. The livestock had also been watered 472 00:34:24,320 --> 00:34:28,239 Speaker 1: and fed, all in all, suggesting that whoever had done 473 00:34:28,280 --> 00:34:32,720 Speaker 1: this had not been gone long. After a thorough search 474 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:37,279 Speaker 1: of the house investigators uncovered around fifteen thousand marks in 475 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,160 Speaker 1: various denominations of cash and gold, but no sign of 476 00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:44,439 Speaker 1: the one hundred thousand marks that Lorenz claimed was kept 477 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:48,799 Speaker 1: at the property. With the bodies having been moved, it 478 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:52,000 Speaker 1: was difficult to ascertain who had been murdered first, but 479 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:55,719 Speaker 1: aside from baby Joseph and Maria, it seemed reasonable to 480 00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:58,879 Speaker 1: assume the victims had been lured into the barn one 481 00:34:58,920 --> 00:35:04,640 Speaker 1: by one and then bludgeoned violently to death. Since seven 482 00:35:04,719 --> 00:35:07,920 Speaker 1: year old Cecilia hadn't been seen at school on Saturday, 483 00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:10,799 Speaker 1: the murders were considered to have taken place on the 484 00:35:10,880 --> 00:35:15,240 Speaker 1: night of Friday, March thirty first, only hours after Maria 485 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,680 Speaker 1: Baumgartner had arrived at the farm to begin her new job. 486 00:35:20,320 --> 00:35:24,240 Speaker 1: Just then, Ryan Gruber heard a commotion outside and stepped 487 00:35:24,280 --> 00:35:27,200 Speaker 1: into the courtyard to find a small crowd of onlookers 488 00:35:27,360 --> 00:35:30,080 Speaker 1: had gathered at the edge of the property, desperate to 489 00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 1: see the murder scene for themselves. It was early in 490 00:35:40,040 --> 00:35:44,360 Speaker 1: the afternoon when doctor Johann al Mulla, the district court doctor, 491 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:48,400 Speaker 1: arrived from the nearby town of Neuburg at Donau, to 492 00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:52,960 Speaker 1: carry out the autopsies one by one The bodies were 493 00:35:53,000 --> 00:35:55,759 Speaker 1: taken from out of the farmhouse and laid side by 494 00:35:55,840 --> 00:35:58,439 Speaker 1: side in the middle of the courtyard as the ever 495 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:03,120 Speaker 1: growing crowd of onlookers jostled for the best view. A 496 00:36:03,200 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 1: door was placed over two wooden trestles as a makeshift table, 497 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:10,800 Speaker 1: and then, with the help of two porters and Clark 498 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:14,440 Speaker 1: assistant twenty seven year old Heinrich Neay, the first of 499 00:36:14,480 --> 00:36:18,440 Speaker 1: the bodies was lifted on to it. The bodies were 500 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:22,600 Speaker 1: pale and gray, the skin like rubber, with liver mortise 501 00:36:22,920 --> 00:36:28,319 Speaker 1: and dark patches underneath where the blood had pulled. For Andreas, 502 00:36:28,680 --> 00:36:31,640 Speaker 1: death had come quickly, having been bludgeoned to death with 503 00:36:31,719 --> 00:36:35,240 Speaker 1: a blunt object that pulverized the right side of his face. 504 00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:40,360 Speaker 1: Maria Baumgartner and the young Joseph were similarly killed with 505 00:36:40,480 --> 00:36:44,759 Speaker 1: heavy blows to the head and face. Victoria and her 506 00:36:44,760 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: mother's injuries, however, were subtly different, suggesting they'd endured something 507 00:36:50,360 --> 00:36:54,960 Speaker 1: even worse. Both displayed bruising around the neck as if 508 00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:58,920 Speaker 1: they'd been strangled before being beaten. Both their skulls had 509 00:36:58,920 --> 00:37:03,400 Speaker 1: been smashed, but Victoria also had nine peculiar star shaped 510 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:08,799 Speaker 1: puncture wounds in hers. The crowd gasped as seven year 511 00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:12,600 Speaker 1: old Cecilia's body was lifted from the ground and placed 512 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:16,839 Speaker 1: on the table. The lower jaw was shattered and her 513 00:37:16,880 --> 00:37:20,680 Speaker 1: head smashed, but there was also a huge gaping wound 514 00:37:20,719 --> 00:37:24,080 Speaker 1: on her neck, suggesting the weapon had not only been blunt, 515 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:29,680 Speaker 1: but sharp too. Doctor al Mulla noticed something scrunched up 516 00:37:29,719 --> 00:37:33,800 Speaker 1: in her right hand. Prying the fingers open, he found 517 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:38,440 Speaker 1: a clump of Cecilia's hair inside. The doctor concluded that 518 00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:42,000 Speaker 1: she'd likely survived for some time after the attack and 519 00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,480 Speaker 1: had clawed it out of her own head in the 520 00:37:44,520 --> 00:37:50,920 Speaker 1: agony and confusion. Having finished his investigations, doctor al Mulla 521 00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 1: reached for his surgical sore and began methodically to remove 522 00:37:55,280 --> 00:38:00,360 Speaker 1: Cecilia's head from the body, a thick, bluish blood oozing 523 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:04,080 Speaker 1: onto the table as he went. The process was repeated 524 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:06,840 Speaker 1: for each of the bodies, with the heads being bagged 525 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:10,080 Speaker 1: up and sent to the Pathology Institute at the University 526 00:38:10,080 --> 00:38:21,520 Speaker 1: of Munich for further investigation. With the autopsies complete, Heinrich 527 00:38:21,600 --> 00:38:24,840 Speaker 1: and the porters gathered each headless body onto a stretcher 528 00:38:25,160 --> 00:38:29,000 Speaker 1: and returned them to the barn, Having brought the rest 529 00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:31,920 Speaker 1: of the bodies in the young Cecilias was the last 530 00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:35,960 Speaker 1: to be returned, placing the headless corpse onto the stretcher. 531 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:39,319 Speaker 1: The porters each grabbed an end and headed toward the 532 00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:44,520 Speaker 1: barn as Heinrich Neay followed close behind. As the porters 533 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:47,840 Speaker 1: stepped inside, one of them cried out in horror and 534 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:52,800 Speaker 1: dropped the stretcher, knocking the body to the floor. Heinrich 535 00:38:52,880 --> 00:38:56,239 Speaker 1: ran inside and found them pointing toward a thick line 536 00:38:56,280 --> 00:38:59,320 Speaker 1: of rope hanging down from a beam at the base 537 00:38:59,320 --> 00:39:03,520 Speaker 1: of the hayloft above. Heinrich stared up in utter amusement, 538 00:39:04,160 --> 00:39:07,880 Speaker 1: then looked to the others in stunned silence. The rope 539 00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:10,800 Speaker 1: had not been there when they last came into the barn. 540 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,360 Speaker 1: Taking a breath, Heinrich pulled a ladder from the side 541 00:39:15,880 --> 00:39:19,960 Speaker 1: and carefully made his way up to the loft. Pulling 542 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:22,680 Speaker 1: at the knot, he could feel just how tight it was, 543 00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:25,960 Speaker 1: as if a significant weight had only just been applied 544 00:39:26,000 --> 00:39:29,120 Speaker 1: to it, and there, right next to it in the 545 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:34,360 Speaker 1: dust on the beam was a set of freshly made handprints. 546 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:39,600 Speaker 1: With police rushing in to investigate, the search dog sniffed 547 00:39:39,600 --> 00:39:42,239 Speaker 1: eagerly at the rope for a cent and though an 548 00:39:42,239 --> 00:39:45,080 Speaker 1: effort was made to track it, it was quickly lost 549 00:39:45,360 --> 00:39:54,880 Speaker 1: out in the fields. With the investigation of the crime 550 00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:59,400 Speaker 1: scene finished, lead investigator Rhyin Gruber turned his attention to Loreen, 551 00:39:59,440 --> 00:40:04,040 Speaker 1: Schlittenback and the two other men Michael Pearl and Jacob Siegel, 552 00:40:04,360 --> 00:40:08,839 Speaker 1: who'd first discovered the bodies. After explaining again why he'd 553 00:40:08,880 --> 00:40:11,760 Speaker 1: moved the bodies and decided to stay overnight at the property, 554 00:40:12,160 --> 00:40:16,080 Speaker 1: Lorenz was keen to justify his decision, insisting that his 555 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:18,960 Speaker 1: being there had helped to keep anyone else from entering 556 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:23,680 Speaker 1: the house until Ryan Gruber and his team arrived. This, however, 557 00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:28,759 Speaker 1: was a lie, as reported by many others. As soon 558 00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:31,480 Speaker 1: as word had got out, a number of villagers had 559 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:35,520 Speaker 1: descended on the property, keen to see the murder scene. 560 00:40:35,719 --> 00:40:38,600 Speaker 1: Lorenz had not only welcomed them, but shown them around 561 00:40:38,600 --> 00:40:42,239 Speaker 1: the property himself. One man had even paused in the 562 00:40:42,320 --> 00:40:46,160 Speaker 1: kitchen to fix himself a snack. But there were other 563 00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:51,080 Speaker 1: concerning things too. It was strange, thought Michael Pearl when 564 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:54,480 Speaker 1: giving his statement later how Lawrence had managed to unlock 565 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:56,960 Speaker 1: the front door and let them into the property in 566 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: the first place. Lawrence himself had told him that Andreas 567 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,760 Speaker 1: had complained about one of his house keys going missing. 568 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:08,360 Speaker 1: Lorenz maintained that he'd merely found it sticking out of 569 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:12,080 Speaker 1: the lock when he went to open the door for 570 00:41:12,160 --> 00:41:16,040 Speaker 1: Jakob Siegel. It was the strangeness of Lorenz's calm demeanor 571 00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:19,319 Speaker 1: and eagerness to move the bodies that most stuck out 572 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:23,960 Speaker 1: to him. Despite his and Michael's protestations that they should 573 00:41:24,000 --> 00:41:29,480 Speaker 1: leave the scene untouched, Lorens ignored them immediately after finding 574 00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:33,720 Speaker 1: the bodies. As Siegel explained, he'd set about fetching milk 575 00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:36,919 Speaker 1: from the cellar to feed the pigs and rearranging other 576 00:41:37,000 --> 00:41:41,279 Speaker 1: parts of the house. At one point, he'd even suggested 577 00:41:41,320 --> 00:41:44,120 Speaker 1: that Yakob go into the hayloft and throw down some 578 00:41:44,160 --> 00:41:47,799 Speaker 1: hay for the cattle to eat, but Yakob refused, and 579 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:51,440 Speaker 1: he and Michael left the property soon after, wanting nothing 580 00:41:51,440 --> 00:41:55,160 Speaker 1: more to do with it. Michael was so suspicious of 581 00:41:55,239 --> 00:41:59,120 Speaker 1: Lorence's behavior, according to Yakob, that he accused him then 582 00:41:59,160 --> 00:42:02,359 Speaker 1: and there of being the murderer, although in his own 583 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:13,440 Speaker 1: statement Michael neglected to apportion any blame. It was certainly 584 00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:17,040 Speaker 1: well known amongst the community what Lawrence's feelings were toward 585 00:42:17,120 --> 00:42:21,000 Speaker 1: Victoria as it turned out, he'd actually gone as far 586 00:42:21,040 --> 00:42:23,719 Speaker 1: as to ask for her hand in marriage, only to 587 00:42:23,800 --> 00:42:28,840 Speaker 1: be denied it by her father Andreas. Investigator Ryan Gruber 588 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:33,960 Speaker 1: also spoke to Francisca, Maria Baumgartner's sister, and Bernard Gruber, 589 00:42:34,239 --> 00:42:40,399 Speaker 1: Andreas's brother, but nothing valuable was ascertained. In the end, 590 00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:45,960 Speaker 1: Ryan Grueber concluded that although Lorenz's behavior was bizarre, it 591 00:42:46,080 --> 00:42:49,279 Speaker 1: wasn't in itself evidence that the man was guilty of 592 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:54,400 Speaker 1: the crime. On the morning of Saturday, April eighth, a 593 00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:57,359 Speaker 1: crowd of up to three thousand people watched as six 594 00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:01,160 Speaker 1: coffins were transported to the cemetery of vader Hoffen parish Church, 595 00:43:01,680 --> 00:43:05,800 Speaker 1: where only seven years previously Victoria and Carl had been married. 596 00:43:07,360 --> 00:43:10,600 Speaker 1: The five bodies of the Gruber and Gabriel family and 597 00:43:10,640 --> 00:43:14,520 Speaker 1: that of their maid, Maria Baumgartner, the adults on the 598 00:43:14,560 --> 00:43:18,240 Speaker 1: outside and the two children in the middle, were lowered 599 00:43:18,280 --> 00:43:23,520 Speaker 1: down into a mass grave and buried there together with 600 00:43:23,560 --> 00:43:26,880 Speaker 1: no fresh leads. Munich police announced a reward of one 601 00:43:26,920 --> 00:43:30,520 Speaker 1: hundred thousand marks to anyone offering information that might lead 602 00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:34,240 Speaker 1: to the arrest of a perpetrator, equivalent to twenty thousand 603 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:38,280 Speaker 1: U s. Dollars in today's money. This was soon increased 604 00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:41,760 Speaker 1: to half a million marks, likely due to the hyperinflation 605 00:43:42,040 --> 00:43:44,200 Speaker 1: that had begun to take hold of the country in 606 00:43:44,239 --> 00:43:47,520 Speaker 1: the aftermath of defeat in the First World War, and 607 00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:51,080 Speaker 1: though a flurry of suspects were offered by numerous locals, 608 00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:54,600 Speaker 1: spurred on by the promise of the reward, nothing came 609 00:43:54,640 --> 00:44:05,200 Speaker 1: of them. In the evening of May two, nineteen twenty two, 610 00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:08,120 Speaker 1: three people are gathered round a table in a dark, 611 00:44:08,320 --> 00:44:13,439 Speaker 1: oak paneled room somewhere in Nuremberg. On the table sit 612 00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:17,520 Speaker 1: a number of unopened packages. Two of the group a 613 00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:23,319 Speaker 1: retired public prosecutor and parapsychologist Dr Joseph Boehm, which on 614 00:44:23,640 --> 00:44:29,680 Speaker 1: in quiet expectation as the third, self described medium Elen Jurgen's, 615 00:44:30,239 --> 00:44:33,760 Speaker 1: or Miss Hugh, as she prefers to be known, sits 616 00:44:33,800 --> 00:44:38,960 Speaker 1: deep in concentration with her eyes closed, when suddenly she 617 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:43,520 Speaker 1: opens them. There is something there, she says, pointing at 618 00:44:43,560 --> 00:44:47,720 Speaker 1: the largest of the packages. A man that does not belong. 619 00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:53,759 Speaker 1: He looks small, poor and depraved. I see a village, 620 00:44:54,000 --> 00:44:58,319 Speaker 1: a house like a farmhouse. There is a room that 621 00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:02,760 Speaker 1: goes out at the back, and someone hears something Monsieur 622 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:07,480 Speaker 1: gathers the package in her arms. It's deadly cold and eerie. 623 00:45:07,600 --> 00:45:13,319 Speaker 1: She says. There is a small child, a boy strangled, suffocated, 624 00:45:14,040 --> 00:45:20,000 Speaker 1: crushed in a bed, a young woman, old woman, old man, 625 00:45:20,640 --> 00:45:25,680 Speaker 1: another child. Are the people Catholic? Doctor Baum moves forward 626 00:45:25,760 --> 00:45:31,600 Speaker 1: with excitement. Yes, he says, yes. Someone screams something about 627 00:45:31,640 --> 00:45:36,360 Speaker 1: the child six years Is there a six year old child? Close, 628 00:45:36,560 --> 00:45:41,160 Speaker 1: says Baum again. Monsieur places the large package back on 629 00:45:41,200 --> 00:45:44,600 Speaker 1: the table, inside which are the five skulls of the 630 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:49,560 Speaker 1: Gruber and Gabriel family. Then she grabs a smaller package. 631 00:45:49,960 --> 00:45:54,200 Speaker 1: This one has Marie's skull inside it. There is someone 632 00:45:54,239 --> 00:45:58,400 Speaker 1: else there too. Her name is Marie, looks like a maid. 633 00:45:59,040 --> 00:46:00,799 Speaker 1: Does she have anything to do with it or not? 634 00:46:01,560 --> 00:46:05,840 Speaker 1: Is she dead too, Marie? Yes, I have the feeling 635 00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:09,399 Speaker 1: that she is dead too. She talked to a man 636 00:46:09,520 --> 00:46:13,120 Speaker 1: at the front door. He had high boots with trousers 637 00:46:13,160 --> 00:46:17,640 Speaker 1: tucked inside them, made from something like leather. He has 638 00:46:17,719 --> 00:46:21,520 Speaker 1: no beard, but used to have one. He was suspicious 639 00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:25,360 Speaker 1: of the farmer. There came a few days beforehand to 640 00:46:25,440 --> 00:46:29,920 Speaker 1: figure everything out. Like God, they'd watched all the people 641 00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:34,640 Speaker 1: saying to themselves that it must be done. It was 642 00:46:34,719 --> 00:46:39,680 Speaker 1: over in five minutes, and standing watch over the bodies 643 00:46:39,800 --> 00:46:44,880 Speaker 1: as each one fell, Monsieur sensed another man or his spirit, 644 00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:48,400 Speaker 1: at least the father of the young girl, who'd wanted 645 00:46:48,440 --> 00:46:51,799 Speaker 1: nothing more than to intervene, but could only watch on 646 00:46:51,920 --> 00:47:03,400 Speaker 1: helplessly from the other realm. The self described medium Elene Jurgens, 647 00:47:03,719 --> 00:47:06,759 Speaker 1: had contacted the police to offer her services, and with 648 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:09,319 Speaker 1: little else to go on, there seemed no harm in 649 00:47:09,360 --> 00:47:13,040 Speaker 1: seeing what she had to say. After providing her with 650 00:47:13,080 --> 00:47:16,400 Speaker 1: the skulls, she and her partner in trade, Miss Burr, 651 00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:21,960 Speaker 1: spent two days attempting to discern clues from the spirit world. 652 00:47:22,120 --> 00:47:25,640 Speaker 1: Despite both painting a compelling picture of a possible suspect 653 00:47:26,120 --> 00:47:30,279 Speaker 1: in a highly theatrical performance, they provided little of significance 654 00:47:30,320 --> 00:47:34,960 Speaker 1: to the police, with the exception of one thing. Both 655 00:47:35,000 --> 00:47:38,320 Speaker 1: Miss Yeur and Miss Burr were adamant that two murder 656 00:47:38,360 --> 00:47:43,080 Speaker 1: weapons had been used, one described strangely as being both 657 00:47:43,160 --> 00:47:48,440 Speaker 1: blunt and sharp, something hideous that was more wide than narrow. 658 00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:53,480 Speaker 1: In June, a fierce battle for ownership of the farm 659 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:57,160 Speaker 1: was fought out by the Gruber and Gabriel families, with 660 00:47:57,320 --> 00:48:00,960 Speaker 1: Victoria Gabriel's parents in law in Cis that since the 661 00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:04,520 Speaker 1: young Cecilia had been the last to die, technically she 662 00:48:05,040 --> 00:48:08,360 Speaker 1: was the final living owner of the property. Therefore the 663 00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:13,520 Speaker 1: Gabriel family were now its legal owners. Eventually an agreement 664 00:48:13,680 --> 00:48:16,279 Speaker 1: was made in which the Gabriels brought the farm from 665 00:48:16,320 --> 00:48:21,840 Speaker 1: the grubers, but still no perpetrator could be found, and 666 00:48:21,920 --> 00:48:25,800 Speaker 1: though some tourists of the still continued to visit the property, 667 00:48:26,600 --> 00:48:29,959 Speaker 1: for most of the following year, the white Stone farm 668 00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:36,040 Speaker 1: yard stood empty and still giving nothing away. Then in 669 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:40,520 Speaker 1: March nineteen twenty three, Carl Gabriel's father did what many 670 00:48:40,600 --> 00:48:43,480 Speaker 1: had been hoping for, as he began the process of 671 00:48:43,520 --> 00:48:48,360 Speaker 1: tearing the place down. At some point in the process, 672 00:48:48,640 --> 00:48:51,560 Speaker 1: two carpenters who were disassembling the roof at the time 673 00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:54,400 Speaker 1: noticed a couple of loose floorboards at the top of 674 00:48:54,440 --> 00:48:58,560 Speaker 1: the stairs. After clearing away the hay, pulling them back, 675 00:48:58,960 --> 00:49:03,040 Speaker 1: they were astonished to find a large mattock underneath. The 676 00:49:03,080 --> 00:49:06,280 Speaker 1: farm tool that was used mainly for digging and chopping 677 00:49:06,960 --> 00:49:10,120 Speaker 1: was comprised of a long wooden handle and a stout 678 00:49:10,239 --> 00:49:13,640 Speaker 1: iron head with a small vertical blade on one side 679 00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:17,719 Speaker 1: and a larger horizontal blade on the other. It was 680 00:49:17,760 --> 00:49:22,680 Speaker 1: stained all over with blood. A large screw protruding from 681 00:49:22,680 --> 00:49:26,440 Speaker 1: the base of the head matched exactly with the strange 682 00:49:26,600 --> 00:49:31,760 Speaker 1: star shaped puncture wounds on Victoria's skull. A few days later, 683 00:49:32,120 --> 00:49:36,440 Speaker 1: while excavating the barn, a penknife was also found close 684 00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:39,120 Speaker 1: to where the bodies in the barn had been discovered. 685 00:49:46,200 --> 00:49:49,160 Speaker 1: The discovery of the weapons renewed focus on the case. 686 00:49:49,920 --> 00:49:55,120 Speaker 1: Even Victoria's supposedly deceased husband, Carl Gabriel, was considered a suspect, 687 00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:58,959 Speaker 1: with some speculating that perhaps he'd faked his death during 688 00:49:59,000 --> 00:50:02,319 Speaker 1: the war and turn to exact revenge on Andreas and 689 00:50:02,400 --> 00:50:07,560 Speaker 1: his family. Former soldier Adolf Gump also became a leading 690 00:50:07,600 --> 00:50:11,120 Speaker 1: suspect at one point, having been accused of participating in 691 00:50:11,160 --> 00:50:14,680 Speaker 1: the massacre of nine farmers in a politically motivated attack 692 00:50:14,800 --> 00:50:19,399 Speaker 1: in nineteen twenty one. Then in nineteen thirty seven, two 693 00:50:19,440 --> 00:50:22,200 Speaker 1: brothers of Carl Gabriel was said to have confess to 694 00:50:22,239 --> 00:50:26,080 Speaker 1: their maid that they had committed the crime. The pair 695 00:50:26,120 --> 00:50:31,200 Speaker 1: were arrested and released without charge, but before long, with 696 00:50:31,280 --> 00:50:34,280 Speaker 1: the rise of Adolf Hitler's government and a Second World 697 00:50:34,280 --> 00:50:37,759 Speaker 1: War on the horizon, the events at hint Kifec were 698 00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:41,200 Speaker 1: soon to be dwarfed in comparison by even greater horrors. 699 00:50:42,440 --> 00:50:46,520 Speaker 1: Lauren Schlittenbauer, whom Many considered the prime suspect in the case, 700 00:50:47,120 --> 00:50:51,920 Speaker 1: died in nineteen forty one. The following year, a bombing 701 00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:55,680 Speaker 1: raid on Munich destroyed most of the case evidence, taking 702 00:50:55,719 --> 00:51:00,239 Speaker 1: with it two the six skulls of the victims. Case 703 00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:03,200 Speaker 1: would be reopened again once the dust of war had settled, 704 00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:07,239 Speaker 1: and though more suspects were proposed by then, there was 705 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:10,560 Speaker 1: little hope of finding anything significant enough to make a 706 00:51:10,560 --> 00:51:16,839 Speaker 1: successful conviction. Today, the killings at hinter Kaifak Farm are 707 00:51:16,880 --> 00:51:21,880 Speaker 1: widely considered to be one of Germany's most infamous unsolved murders. 708 00:51:22,560 --> 00:51:25,600 Speaker 1: And though the farmhouse has long gone from that quiet 709 00:51:25,640 --> 00:51:29,840 Speaker 1: patch of central Bavaria, the earth soaked with the sweat 710 00:51:29,880 --> 00:51:33,560 Speaker 1: and blood of those who have come before, and those tall, 711 00:51:33,800 --> 00:51:39,000 Speaker 1: dark pines that care not for the foibles of humankind remain, 712 00:51:48,440 --> 00:51:51,280 Speaker 1: thank you as ever for listening. Unexplained as an Avy 713 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:55,600 Speaker 1: Club production, the podcast created by Richard mclin Smith. All 714 00:51:55,600 --> 00:51:58,960 Speaker 1: other elements of the podcast, including the music, are also 715 00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:03,160 Speaker 1: produced by me Richard McLean Smith. Unexplained. The book and 716 00:52:03,280 --> 00:52:07,480 Speaker 1: audiobook is now available to buy worldwide. You can purchase 717 00:52:07,520 --> 00:52:12,360 Speaker 1: from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, and other bookstores. Please 718 00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:15,680 Speaker 1: subscribe to and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts, 719 00:52:16,000 --> 00:52:18,280 Speaker 1: and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts 720 00:52:18,360 --> 00:52:21,200 Speaker 1: or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show. 721 00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:24,200 Speaker 1: Perhaps you have an explanation or a story of your 722 00:52:24,239 --> 00:52:26,759 Speaker 1: own you'd like to share. You can find out more 723 00:52:26,800 --> 00:52:30,319 Speaker 1: at Unexplained podcast dot com and reach uses online through 724 00:52:30,640 --> 00:52:34,600 Speaker 1: x and Blue Sky at Unexplained Pod and Facebook at 725 00:52:34,640 --> 00:52:38,480 Speaker 1: Facebook dot com, Forward Slash Unexplained Podcast