1 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:13,720 Speaker 1: The following episode contains disturbing and graphic scenes that are 2 00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: not suitable for children. Parental discretion is advised. You're listening 3 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:31,440 Speaker 1: to Unexplained, Season five, episode nine, Tenebrous, Part two. The 4 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: cars turned off the main road and headed deeper into 5 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,720 Speaker 1: the fields, toward the small, solitary light in the distance. 6 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:43,559 Speaker 1: Behind it, a vast wall of trees, silhouetted under a 7 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:48,080 Speaker 1: pale half moon, stood still and black, growing ever taller 8 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:52,880 Speaker 1: the closer they got. And on they continued toward the 9 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,880 Speaker 1: light that seemed to be luring them in like a silent, 10 00:00:56,120 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: haunting beacon, toward an unfathomable horror. Inside the cars, a 11 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,120 Speaker 1: team of investigators from Eunich, led by fifty five year 12 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,920 Speaker 1: old George Rheinruber, as well as Mayor Gregor of Vangen, 13 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: the next village east of Gruben, prepared themselves for the worst. 14 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: The local district police, having been first to arrive on 15 00:01:18,319 --> 00:01:21,560 Speaker 1: the scene at hinter Kaifek, had quickly realized they were 16 00:01:21,600 --> 00:01:24,520 Speaker 1: woefully out of their depth. They had called in the 17 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 1: Munich Force in a desperate plea for help. Rheinruber's team 18 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:32,520 Speaker 1: hadn't arrived in the area until after one am, prompting 19 00:01:32,520 --> 00:01:34,640 Speaker 1: them to spend the night at the mayor's residence in 20 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: Vangen before making their way to the farm first thing 21 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 1: in the morning. It had just gone six am when 22 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:46,399 Speaker 1: the cars finally pulled into the courtyard on Wednesday, April fifth. 23 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:50,840 Speaker 1: As the seven officers, two police dogs, and the mayor 24 00:01:51,160 --> 00:01:55,280 Speaker 1: stepped out into the chilly morning air, Lourene Schlittenbauer appeared 25 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: at the front door of the main house, his footsteps 26 00:01:58,760 --> 00:02:03,640 Speaker 1: echoing about the courtyard as he approached. Lorenz quickly introduced 27 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:05,919 Speaker 1: himself as one of the men who had first found 28 00:02:05,920 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: the bodies, and that he'd been there all night guarding 29 00:02:09,040 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: the scene for them. Ryan Gruber was struck immediately by 30 00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: the man's odd, nervous energy, a natural consequence perhaps of 31 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: the fact he hadn't slept since the night before, But 32 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:22,560 Speaker 1: as to why he'd taken it on himself to stay 33 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:27,160 Speaker 1: at the property, he was less sure. As Lorenz continued 34 00:02:27,200 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: to babble about everything he knew of the family and 35 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 1: how he discovered the bodies, Ryan Gruber eventually interrupted. Perhaps 36 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:40,639 Speaker 1: he said, we should take a look for ourselves, and so, 37 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 1: as the first light of dawn began to break, Lorenz 38 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 1: turned and led the investigator and his team into the barn. 39 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:58,799 Speaker 1: The bodies of Andreas and the young Cecilia had been 40 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: placed against the far wall, a small pool of blood 41 00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 1: on the hay, in the spot where they'd first been found. 42 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: The other two bodies, those of Victoria and the elder Cecilia, 43 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: had been pulled through a doorway into a stable corridor 44 00:03:13,919 --> 00:03:17,399 Speaker 1: linking the barn to the main house. When asked why 45 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:20,600 Speaker 1: the bodies had been moved, Lorenz explained that he was 46 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: looking for his son, who at first he thought might 47 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,680 Speaker 1: be there too. Rhine Gruber made a quick inspection of 48 00:03:27,720 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: their injuries, then turned his attention to the door between 49 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:35,480 Speaker 1: the two areas. It was covered in blood splatter. There 50 00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: was something else, said Lawrence, leading the inspector through to 51 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: the stable corridor. That he said, pointing to a pickaxe 52 00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 1: leaning up against a feeding trough in the corner. He'd 53 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,800 Speaker 1: found it the day before, he said. The inspector took 54 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: a closer look, noticing a few dark spots on the handle, 55 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,200 Speaker 1: but little else. Perhaps the cattle had licked it clean, 56 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: suggested Lorenz, Perhaps, said rhine Gruber in reply. Lorenz then 57 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: led the team into the kitchen. While two of the 58 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:14,080 Speaker 1: officers made their way into the attic, rhine Gruber took 59 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: note of the now moldy food that had been left 60 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:19,600 Speaker 1: out in a pan and blood spots on the stone 61 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,240 Speaker 1: floor as they continued through, Arriving at the doorway to 62 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:27,800 Speaker 1: maria the maid's room. Running his hand over the door frame, 63 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,359 Speaker 1: the inspector spotted a few splatters and some more on 64 00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: the ground, but no bloody hand or footprints. Looking through, 65 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: he saw Maria's body partially obscured by a mattress, lying 66 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:45,080 Speaker 1: in a fetal position. Evidently she had been attacked while 67 00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:48,480 Speaker 1: preparing for bed, perhaps crouching down for cover in a 68 00:04:48,600 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: vain attempt to protect herself. Next was Victoria's room. The 69 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,239 Speaker 1: place appeared to have been ransacked, with cupboards flung open 70 00:05:04,600 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: and the bed unmade. A watch and an empty purse 71 00:05:08,680 --> 00:05:11,839 Speaker 1: had been left out on top of it, prompting rhine 72 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 1: Gruber to wonder if theft had been the motive. Lorens 73 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,520 Speaker 1: informed him that the family was said to have kept 74 00:05:18,520 --> 00:05:21,760 Speaker 1: around a hundred thousand marks at the property, close to 75 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 1: four thousand US dollars in today's money. The inspector approached 76 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: the baby stroller at the end of the bed and 77 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,240 Speaker 1: pulled back the dress that was draped over it to 78 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:37,680 Speaker 1: reveal the blood soaked baby Joseph underneath, his face, unrecognizable 79 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: from the blows. The hood of the pram had also 80 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: been torn apart, suggesting it had been closed when the 81 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: killer struck. Perhaps even they had found the thought of 82 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,479 Speaker 1: killing a baby too much and couldn't bear to have 83 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: to see what they were doing. That all the bodies 84 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,480 Speaker 1: had been covered over without any real attempt to hide 85 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 1: them was an indication, perhaps of the killer's sense of shame, 86 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:08,200 Speaker 1: a shame likely only felt by someone who knew the victims. 87 00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: Rhyme Gruber stared up at the three religious icons hanging 88 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:16,760 Speaker 1: on the wall above the bed and the three crucifixes 89 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:21,159 Speaker 1: hanging underneath them. Then a call came down from the 90 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: attic above. Is there something interfering with your happiness or 91 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,160 Speaker 1: preventing you from achieving your goals? Better help will assess 92 00:06:34,200 --> 00:06:37,320 Speaker 1: your needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist. 93 00:06:37,720 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: Sign up today and start communicating in less than forty 94 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: eight hours. You'll get timely and thoughtful responses. Plus you 95 00:06:43,960 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: can schedule weekly video or phone sessions so you won't 96 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,560 Speaker 1: ever have to sit in an uncomfortable waiting room. You 97 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,200 Speaker 1: can also log into your account any time to send 98 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 1: a message to your counselor. Better Help is not a 99 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,120 Speaker 1: crisis line nor self help. It is professional counseling done 100 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:02,520 Speaker 1: securely on line, with a broad range of expertise available, 101 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,760 Speaker 1: and with better helps commitment to facilitating great therapeutic matches. 102 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:10,240 Speaker 1: They make it especially easy and free to change counselors 103 00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,120 Speaker 1: to help you find the right fit. This podcast is 104 00:07:13,160 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: sponsored by better Help and Unexplained. Listeners get ten percent 105 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: off their first month at betterhelp dot com. Forward slash unexplained. 106 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: That's better help dot com. Forward slash unexplained joined the 107 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:28,880 Speaker 1: over one million people taking charge of their mental health 108 00:07:29,080 --> 00:07:32,800 Speaker 1: with the help of an experienced professional. Better Help wants 109 00:07:32,840 --> 00:07:41,880 Speaker 1: you to start living a happier life today. Rhine Grouper's 110 00:07:41,880 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 1: men were standing to the side in a section of 111 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: the attic above the stable corridor, pointing at something on 112 00:07:48,360 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 1: the hay covered floor. As Rhine Grouper drew near, he 113 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:57,280 Speaker 1: caught the unmistakable noxious whiff of it. It was human excrement. 114 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 1: There were also bacon ryan scattered about two and two 115 00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:07,679 Speaker 1: indentations in the hay suggesting the possibility of two perpetrators. 116 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,600 Speaker 1: Then one of the officers noticed a kink of light 117 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: coming through the roof. Moving toward it, he found that 118 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: a number of tiles there had been loosened. A similar 119 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:21,240 Speaker 1: set of loose tiles were found in another section of 120 00:08:21,240 --> 00:08:24,880 Speaker 1: the attic over the main barn. Anyone looking out of 121 00:08:24,960 --> 00:08:26,960 Speaker 1: the gaps in the roof would have had a clear 122 00:08:27,040 --> 00:08:29,640 Speaker 1: view of the courtyard and the entrance to the main 123 00:08:29,720 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: house had they been watching the family. Rhyan group of thought. 124 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:39,720 Speaker 1: The family's bread supply, usually well stocked, was empty, while 125 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,720 Speaker 1: some smoked meat appeared to have been taken after their 126 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:47,079 Speaker 1: deaths in their absence. The livestock had also been watered 127 00:08:47,080 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: and fed, all in all, suggesting that whoever had done 128 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: this had not been gone long After. A thorough search 129 00:08:55,520 --> 00:09:00,120 Speaker 1: of the house, investigators uncovered around fifteen thousand marks in 130 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:03,960 Speaker 1: various denominations of cash and gold, but no sign of 131 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 1: the hundred thousand marks that Lorenz claimed was kept at 132 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: the property. With the bodies having been moved, it was 133 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: difficult to ascertain who had been murdered first, but aside 134 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,960 Speaker 1: from baby Joseph and Maria, it seemed reasonable to assume 135 00:09:19,240 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: the victims had been lured into the barn one by 136 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: one and then bludgeoned violently to death. Since seven year 137 00:09:27,679 --> 00:09:31,240 Speaker 1: old Cecilia hadn't been seen at school on Saturday, the 138 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:33,839 Speaker 1: murders were considered to have taken place on the night 139 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 1: of Friday, March thirty first, only hours after Maria Baumgartner 140 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:41,440 Speaker 1: had arrived at the farm to begin her new job. 141 00:09:42,960 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 1: Just then, rhine Gruber heard a commotion outside and stepped 142 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,000 Speaker 1: into the courtyard to find a small crowd of onlookers 143 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 1: had gathered at the edge of the property, desperate to 144 00:09:52,880 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: see the murder scene for themselves. It was early in 145 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: the afternoon when doctor Johann al Mullah, the district court doctor, 146 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:11,200 Speaker 1: arrived from the nearby town of Neuburg ad Donnau to 147 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:15,760 Speaker 1: carry out the autopsies. One by one, the bodies were 148 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,520 Speaker 1: taken from out of the farmhouse and laid side by 149 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: side in the middle of the courtyard as the ever 150 00:10:21,280 --> 00:10:25,840 Speaker 1: growing crowd of onlookers jostled for the best view. A 151 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:29,640 Speaker 1: door was placed over two wooden tressels as a makeshift table, 152 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:34,160 Speaker 1: and then, with the help of two porters and clerk assistant, 153 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:37,320 Speaker 1: twenty seven year old Heinrich Nay, the first of the 154 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:41,600 Speaker 1: bodies was lifted on to it. The bodies were pale 155 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:45,720 Speaker 1: and gray, the skin like rubber, with liver mortis and 156 00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: dark patches underneath where the blood had pulled. For Andreas, 157 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:54,400 Speaker 1: death had come quickly, having been bludgeoned to death with 158 00:10:54,480 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 1: a blunt object that pulverized the right side of his face. 159 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:03,160 Speaker 1: Maria Baumguard and the young Joseph were similarly killed with 160 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 1: heavy blows to the head and face. Victoria and her 161 00:11:07,559 --> 00:11:12,920 Speaker 1: mother's injuries, however, were subtly different, suggesting they'd endured something 162 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,720 Speaker 1: even worse. Both displayed bruising around the neck, as if 163 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,719 Speaker 1: they'd been strangled before being beaten. Both their skulls had 164 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:26,200 Speaker 1: been smashed, but Victoria also had nine peculiar star shaped 165 00:11:26,240 --> 00:11:31,640 Speaker 1: puncture wounds in hers. The crowd gasped as seven year 166 00:11:31,640 --> 00:11:35,400 Speaker 1: old Cecilia's body was lifted from the ground and placed 167 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:39,640 Speaker 1: on the table. The lower jaw was shattered and her 168 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:43,480 Speaker 1: head smashed, but there was also a huge gaping wound 169 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:46,480 Speaker 1: on her neck, suggesting the weapon had not only been 170 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:52,280 Speaker 1: blunt put sharp to Doctor al Mullah noticed something scrunched 171 00:11:52,360 --> 00:11:56,200 Speaker 1: up in her right hand, prying the fingers open, he 172 00:11:56,280 --> 00:12:00,880 Speaker 1: found a clump of Cecilia's hair inside. The doctor concluded 173 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,240 Speaker 1: that she'd likely survived for some time after the attack 174 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:07,120 Speaker 1: and had clawed it out of her own head in 175 00:12:07,160 --> 00:12:13,120 Speaker 1: the agony and confusion. Having finished his investigations, doctor al 176 00:12:13,160 --> 00:12:17,600 Speaker 1: Mullah reached for his surgical sore and began methodically to 177 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:22,520 Speaker 1: remove Cecilia's head from the body, a thick bluish blood 178 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:26,320 Speaker 1: oozing onto the table as he went. The process was 179 00:12:26,360 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 1: repeated for each of the bodies, with the heads being 180 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,240 Speaker 1: backed up and sent to the Pathology Institute at the 181 00:12:32,320 --> 00:12:43,480 Speaker 1: University of Munich for further investigation. With the autopsies complete, 182 00:12:43,880 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 1: Heinrich and the porters gathered each headless body onto a 183 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:51,520 Speaker 1: stretcher and returned them to the barn. Having brought the 184 00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:54,319 Speaker 1: rest of the bodies in, the young Cecilia's was the 185 00:12:54,400 --> 00:12:58,720 Speaker 1: last to be returned. Placing the headless corpse onto the stretcher, 186 00:12:59,120 --> 00:13:02,080 Speaker 1: the porters each grabbed an end and headed toward the 187 00:13:02,120 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: barn as Heinrich Nay followed close behind. As the porters 188 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: stepped inside, one of them cried out in horror and 189 00:13:10,720 --> 00:13:15,560 Speaker 1: dropped the stretcher, knocking the body to the floor. Heinrich 190 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:19,040 Speaker 1: ran inside and found them pointing toward a thick line 191 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,079 Speaker 1: of rope hanging down from a beam at the base 192 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:26,280 Speaker 1: of the hayloft above. Heinrich stared up in utter amusement, 193 00:13:26,880 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: then looked to the others in stunned silence. The rope 194 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,559 Speaker 1: had not been there when they last came into the barn. 195 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:38,160 Speaker 1: Taking a breath, Heinrich pulled a ladder from the side 196 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:42,720 Speaker 1: and carefully made his way up to the loft. Pulling 197 00:13:42,720 --> 00:13:45,400 Speaker 1: at the knot, he could feel just how tight it was, 198 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 1: as if a significant weight had only just been applied 199 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: to it. And there, right next to it in the 200 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:56,360 Speaker 1: dust on the beam was a set of freshly made handprints. 201 00:13:58,480 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: With police rushing into him investigate, the search dogs sniffed 202 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:05,040 Speaker 1: eagerly at the rope for a cent, and though an 203 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,840 Speaker 1: effort was made to track it, it was quickly lost 204 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:16,080 Speaker 1: out in the fields. Are you a proud cat person? 205 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:18,520 Speaker 1: You love your cat, but that doesn't mean you love 206 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:21,320 Speaker 1: having a litter box in your home. 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Just go to kittiepooclub dot com and 223 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:13,040 Speaker 1: enter promo code unexplained to get twenty percent off when 224 00:15:13,080 --> 00:15:16,000 Speaker 1: you set up autoship that's k I T t y 225 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: p ooclub dot com and enter promo code unexplained a checkout. 226 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:30,520 Speaker 1: With the investigation of the crime scene finished, lead investigator 227 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:34,400 Speaker 1: Rheine Gruber turned his attention to Lauren Schlittenbauer and the 228 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 1: two other men Michael Pearl and Jacob Siegel, who'd first 229 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,720 Speaker 1: discovered the bodies. After explaining again why he'd moved the 230 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:46,280 Speaker 1: bodies and decided to stay overnight at the property, Lorenz 231 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:50,000 Speaker 1: was keen to justify his decision, insisting that his being 232 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:52,640 Speaker 1: there had helped to keep anyone else from entering the 233 00:15:52,680 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 1: house until rhine Gruber and his team arrived. This, however, 234 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:02,280 Speaker 1: was a lie, as reported by many others. As soon 235 00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:05,000 Speaker 1: as word had got out, a number of villagers had 236 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 1: descended on the property, keen to see the murder scene. 237 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:12,120 Speaker 1: Lorenz had not only welcomed them, but shown them around 238 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,760 Speaker 1: the property himself. One man had even paused in the 239 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: kitchen to fix himself a snack. But there were other 240 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:24,600 Speaker 1: concerning things too. It was strange, thought Michael Pearl, when 241 00:16:24,680 --> 00:16:28,000 Speaker 1: giving his statement later how Lawrence had managed to unlock 242 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: the front door and let them into the property in 243 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,680 Speaker 1: the first place. Lawrence himself had told him that Andreas 244 00:16:34,720 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: had complained about one of his house keys going missing. 245 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: Lorenz maintained that he'd merely found it sticking out of 246 00:16:41,920 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: the lock when he went to open the door for 247 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: Jacob Siegel, it was the strangeness of Lorenz's calm demeanor 248 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,840 Speaker 1: and eagerness to move the bodies that most stuck out 249 00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,480 Speaker 1: to him. Despite his and Michael's protestations that they should 250 00:16:57,520 --> 00:17:03,040 Speaker 1: leave the scene untouched, Lorenz gnawed them immediately after finding 251 00:17:03,040 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: the bodies. As Siegel explained, he'd set about fetching milk 252 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: from the cellar to feed the pigs and rearranging other 253 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 1: parts of the house. At one point, he'd even suggested 254 00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: that Jacob go into the hay loft and throw down 255 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,919 Speaker 1: some hay for the cattle to eat, but Jacob refused, 256 00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,640 Speaker 1: and he and Michael left the property soon after, wanting 257 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:28,600 Speaker 1: nothing more to do with it. Michael was so suspicious 258 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,440 Speaker 1: of Lawrence's behavior, according to Jacob, that he accused him 259 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,600 Speaker 1: then and there of being the murderer, although in his 260 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:46,440 Speaker 1: own statement Michael neglected to a portion any blame. It 261 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:50,000 Speaker 1: was certainly well known amongst the community what Lawrence's feelings 262 00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:54,160 Speaker 1: were toward Victoria. As it turned out, he'd actually gone 263 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: as far as to ask for her hand in marriage, 264 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:01,600 Speaker 1: only to be denied it by her father Andreas. Investigator 265 00:18:01,680 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 1: Rhine Gruber also spoke to Franciska Maria Baumgartner's sister and 266 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:13,439 Speaker 1: Bernard Gruber, Andreas's brother, but nothing valuable was ascertained. In 267 00:18:13,520 --> 00:18:18,640 Speaker 1: the end, Rheine Gruber concluded that although Lorenz's behavior was bizarre, 268 00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:22,720 Speaker 1: it wasn't in itself evidence that the man was guilty 269 00:18:22,720 --> 00:18:27,439 Speaker 1: of the crime. On the morning of Saturday, April eighth, 270 00:18:27,760 --> 00:18:30,640 Speaker 1: a crowd of up to three thousand people watched as 271 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:34,680 Speaker 1: six coffins were transported to the cemetery of Wadehoffen parish church, 272 00:18:35,200 --> 00:18:39,320 Speaker 1: where only seven years previously Victoria and Carl had been married. 273 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,080 Speaker 1: The five bodies of the Gruber and Gabriel family and 274 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:48,040 Speaker 1: that of their maid, Maria Baumgartner, the adults on the 275 00:18:48,080 --> 00:18:51,760 Speaker 1: outside and the two children in the middle, were lowered 276 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:57,040 Speaker 1: down into a mass grave and buried there together with 277 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:00,760 Speaker 1: no fresh leads. Munich police announced aard of one hundred 278 00:19:00,840 --> 00:19:04,159 Speaker 1: thousand marks to anyone offering information that might lead to 279 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:08,040 Speaker 1: the arrest of a perpetrator, equivalent to twenty thousand US 280 00:19:08,160 --> 00:19:12,120 Speaker 1: dollars in today's money. This was soon increased to half 281 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:15,800 Speaker 1: a million marks, likely due to the hyperinflation that had 282 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:18,480 Speaker 1: begun to take hold of the country in the aftermath 283 00:19:18,520 --> 00:19:21,399 Speaker 1: of defeat in the First World War, and though a 284 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:25,199 Speaker 1: flurry of suspects were offered by numerous locals, spurred on 285 00:19:25,240 --> 00:19:34,200 Speaker 1: by the promise of the reward, nothing came of them. 286 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: Dealing with stress as a daily struggle, I've tried to 287 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,520 Speaker 1: host a strategies to help manage my daily stress, like 288 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:42,520 Speaker 1: trying to maintain a consistent structure to my day or 289 00:19:42,560 --> 00:19:45,520 Speaker 1: getting regular exercise, but with a young family and an 290 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:49,320 Speaker 1: unpredictable workload, it's not always been possible. 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In the evening of May second, nineteen twenty two, 307 00:20:52,400 --> 00:20:55,120 Speaker 1: three people are gathered round a table in a dark, 308 00:20:55,320 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 1: oak paneled room somewhere in Nuremberg. On the table sit 309 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:04,560 Speaker 1: a number of unopened packages. Two of the group, a 310 00:21:04,640 --> 00:21:10,200 Speaker 1: retired public prosecutor and Paris psychologist doctor Joseph Boehm, watch 311 00:21:10,280 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 1: on in quiet expectation as the third, self described medium 312 00:21:15,680 --> 00:21:19,920 Speaker 1: Ellen Jurgens, or Miss Yu as she prefers to be known, 313 00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:25,520 Speaker 1: sits deep in concentration with her eyes closed, when suddenly 314 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 1: she opens them. There is something there, she says, pointing 315 00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:34,120 Speaker 1: at the largest of the packages. A man that does 316 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:39,600 Speaker 1: not belong. He looks small, poor and depraved. I see 317 00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:44,920 Speaker 1: a village, a house like a farmhouse. There is a 318 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:48,080 Speaker 1: room that goes out at the back, and someone hears something. 319 00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:53,560 Speaker 1: Monsieur gathers the package in her arms. It's deadly cold 320 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:57,760 Speaker 1: and eerie, she says. There is a small child, a 321 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:04,639 Speaker 1: boy strangled, suffer, hated, crushed in a bed. A young woman, 322 00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 1: old woman, old man, another child. Are the people Catholic? 323 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:15,800 Speaker 1: Doctor Boem moves forward with excitement, Yes, he says, yes. 324 00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:21,080 Speaker 1: Someone screams something about the child six years Is there 325 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:26,080 Speaker 1: a six year old child? Close, says Boam again. Monsieur 326 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,000 Speaker 1: places the large package back on the table, inside which 327 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,320 Speaker 1: are the five skulls of the Gruber and Gabriel family. 328 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: Then she grabs a smaller package. This one has Marie's 329 00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:42,680 Speaker 1: skull inside it. There is someone else there too. Her 330 00:22:42,800 --> 00:22:46,520 Speaker 1: name is Marie, looks like a maid. Does she have 331 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:51,640 Speaker 1: anything to do with it or not? Is she dead too, Marie? Yes, 332 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:55,560 Speaker 1: I have the feeling that she is dead too. She 333 00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:58,280 Speaker 1: talked to a man at the front door. He had 334 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: high boots with trousers tucked inside them, made from something 335 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:06,720 Speaker 1: like leather. He has no beard, but used to have one. 336 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:11,120 Speaker 1: He was suspicious of the farmer. There came a few 337 00:23:11,200 --> 00:23:16,280 Speaker 1: days beforehand to figure everything out. Like God, they'd watched 338 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:20,160 Speaker 1: all the people, saying to themselves that it must be done. 339 00:23:21,359 --> 00:23:26,040 Speaker 1: It was over in five minutes, and standing watch over 340 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 1: the bodies as each one fell, Monsieur sensed another man 341 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:34,400 Speaker 1: or his spirit at least the father of the young girl, 342 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:38,399 Speaker 1: who'd wanted nothing more than to intervene, but could only 343 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 1: watch on helplessly from the other realm. The self described 344 00:23:48,800 --> 00:23:52,359 Speaker 1: medium Ellen Jurgens, who had contacted the police to offer 345 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:55,280 Speaker 1: her services, and with little else to go on, there 346 00:23:55,280 --> 00:23:57,560 Speaker 1: seemed no harm in seeing what she had to say. 347 00:23:58,920 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: After providing her with the skulls, she and her partner 348 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:06,119 Speaker 1: in trade, Miss Burr, spent two days attempting to discern 349 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:11,040 Speaker 1: clues from the spirit world. Despite both painting a compelling 350 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 1: picture of a possible suspect in a highly theatrical performance, 351 00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:18,960 Speaker 1: they provided little of significance to the police, with the 352 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:23,800 Speaker 1: exception of one thing. Both Miss Yeur and Miss BurrH 353 00:24:23,880 --> 00:24:27,800 Speaker 1: were adamant that two murder weapons had been used, one 354 00:24:27,960 --> 00:24:33,360 Speaker 1: described strangely as being both blunt and sharp, something hideous 355 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:38,919 Speaker 1: that was more wide than narrow. In June, a fierce 356 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: battle for ownership of the farm was bought out by 357 00:24:41,760 --> 00:24:45,920 Speaker 1: the Gruber and Gabriel families, with Victoria Gabriel's parents in 358 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,560 Speaker 1: law insisting that since the young Cecilia had been the 359 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:53,320 Speaker 1: last to die, technically she was the final living owner 360 00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: of the property. Therefore the Gabriel family were now its 361 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: legal owners. Eventually an agreement was made in which the 362 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:06,480 Speaker 1: Gabriels bought the farm from the Grubers, but still no 363 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: perpetrator could be found, and though some tourists of the 364 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:14,240 Speaker 1: macabre still continued to visit the property, for most of 365 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:18,359 Speaker 1: the following year, the white Stone farm yard stood empty 366 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: and still giving nothing away. Then, in March nineteen twenty three, 367 00:25:25,359 --> 00:25:28,520 Speaker 1: Carl Gabriel's father did what many had been hoping for, 368 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,639 Speaker 1: as he began the process of tearing the place down. 369 00:25:33,960 --> 00:25:36,879 Speaker 1: At some point in the process, two carpenters who were 370 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,119 Speaker 1: disassembling the roof at the time noticed a couple of 371 00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,000 Speaker 1: loose floorboards at the top of the stairs. After clearing 372 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:47,040 Speaker 1: away the hay, pulling them back, they were astonished to 373 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:51,399 Speaker 1: find a large mattock underneath. The farm tool that was 374 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,879 Speaker 1: used mainly for digging and chopping, was comprised of a 375 00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:58,600 Speaker 1: long wooden handle and a stout iron head with a 376 00:25:58,680 --> 00:26:02,560 Speaker 1: small vertical blade on one side and a larger horizontal 377 00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:06,680 Speaker 1: blade on the other. It was stained all over with blood. 378 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: A large screw protruding from the base of the head 379 00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:15,199 Speaker 1: matched exactly with the strange star shaped puncture wounds on 380 00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:20,480 Speaker 1: Victoria's skull. A few days later, while excavating the barn, 381 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 1: a penknife was also found close to where the bodies 382 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:34,080 Speaker 1: in the barn had been discovered. The discovery of the 383 00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: weapons renewed focus on the case. Even Victoria's supposedly deceased husband, 384 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:43,879 Speaker 1: Carl Gabriel, was considered a suspect, with some speculating that 385 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,440 Speaker 1: perhaps he'd faked his death during the war and returned 386 00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:52,320 Speaker 1: to exact revenge on Andreas and his family. Former soldier 387 00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:55,760 Speaker 1: Adolf Gump also became a leading suspect at one point, 388 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: having been accused of participating in the massacre of nine 389 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:02,920 Speaker 1: farmers in a politically motivated attack in nineteen twenty one. 390 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,720 Speaker 1: Then in nineteen thirty seven, two brothers of Carl Gabriel 391 00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:10,920 Speaker 1: was said to have confessed their maid that they had 392 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 1: committed the crime. The pair were arrested and released without charge, 393 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: But before long, with the rise of Adolf Hitler's government 394 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:23,359 Speaker 1: and a Second World War on the horizon, the events 395 00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,520 Speaker 1: at hinter Kaifek was soon to be dwarfed in comparison 396 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:32,080 Speaker 1: by even greater horrors. Lauren Schlittenbauer, who many considered the 397 00:27:32,119 --> 00:27:35,800 Speaker 1: prime suspect and the case died in nineteen forty one. 398 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,760 Speaker 1: The following year, a bombing raid on Munich destroyed most 399 00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: of the case evidence, taking with it two the six 400 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:48,320 Speaker 1: skulls of the victims. The case would be reopened again 401 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: once the dust of war had settled, and though more 402 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: suspects were proposed, by then, there was little hope of 403 00:27:55,080 --> 00:28:00,720 Speaker 1: finding anything significant enough to make a successful conviction. To day, 404 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:05,159 Speaker 1: the killings at hint Kayfek Farm are widely considered to 405 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:09,960 Speaker 1: be one of Germany's most infamous unsolved murders. And though 406 00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,119 Speaker 1: the farmhouse has long gone from that quiet patch or 407 00:28:13,200 --> 00:28:17,480 Speaker 1: central Bavaria, the earth soaked with the sweat and blood 408 00:28:17,720 --> 00:28:21,119 Speaker 1: of those who have come before, and those tall, dark 409 00:28:21,200 --> 00:28:26,040 Speaker 1: pines that care not for the foibles of humankind remain. 410 00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:32,159 Speaker 1: If you enjoy Unexplained and would like to help supporters, 411 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,640 Speaker 1: you can now do so via patroon. To receive access 412 00:28:35,680 --> 00:28:38,760 Speaker 1: to add free episodes, just go to patron dot com, 413 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,480 Speaker 1: Forward slash Unexplained Pod to sign up, or if you'd 414 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:44,800 Speaker 1: like to make a one time donation, you can go 415 00:28:44,880 --> 00:28:49,600 Speaker 1: to Unexplained podcast dot com. Forward Slash support all donations 416 00:28:49,640 --> 00:28:53,800 Speaker 1: no matter how large, or small are greatly appreciated. Unexplained, 417 00:28:53,800 --> 00:28:57,080 Speaker 1: the book and audiobook, featuring ten stories that have never 418 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:01,160 Speaker 1: before been covered on the show, is now available to worldwide. 419 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,880 Speaker 1: You can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Waterstones, 420 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:10,040 Speaker 1: among other bookstores. All elements of Unexplained, including the show's music, 421 00:29:10,120 --> 00:29:13,680 Speaker 1: are produced by me Richard McClain smith. Please subscribe and 422 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,640 Speaker 1: rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts, and feel 423 00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,000 Speaker 1: free to get in touch with any thoughts or ideas 424 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 1: regarding the stories you've heard on the show. 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