Hinterkaifeck was a small farmstead located in Bavaria, just between the towns of Ingolstadt and Schrobenhausen. It was also the site of one of the most brutal, bizarre crimes in history.
The farm was the home of a rather large family, consisting of six members and a maid. Andreas Gruber, 63, was the head of the household along with his wife C zilia. Their daughter, a widow, also lived on the farmstead along with her two children. A maid was also known to live on the farm, replacing the previous one whom had quit, claiming the farm was haunted.
The crime itself was the culmination of a series of increasingly strange occurrences around the farmstead. Several days prior, Andreas claimed to have seen footsteps in the snow, leading from the edge of the woods to the farm. It was also claimed that footsteps were heard in the attic. A newspaper was also supposedly found, though no one in the family was familiar with it. Gruber had even checked his tool shed to discover that the lock had been damaged, evidently due to an attempt at lock-picking. None of these events were reported to the authorities, not even the sudden disappearance of a set of house keys.
The exact details of the crime are not known, though it is believed that the members of the family were lured into the barn. They were killed, one by one. The perpetrator or perpetrators then proceeded to murder the two-year old child and the maid, both still sleeping.
It was not until Tuesday, on the 4th of April, that neighbors investigated the farmstead. Curiously, it seemed that the perpetrator(s) had remained at the farm after the murders. The livestock were fed, food was missing from the kitchen, and neighbors claimed to have seen smoke arising from the chimney. This was in spite of evidence that during this time, the entire family was dead.
Additionally, no money was found to be missing from the farm, despite the perpetrator(s) having plenty of time to steal whatever they needed. As far as can be determined, robbery was not the motivation of the crime.
The remains of the majority of the family were found in the barn. All had been killed using a Mattock, an implement similar to a pick. The victims received trauma in such a manner that suggested multiple weapons, though this was not confirmed. It was noted that C zilia and her daughter had also received trauma consistent with strangulation. Additionally noted was that the grand-daughter had torn her own hair out, though it is not known why exactly this occurred.
The remains were beheaded and the heads sent for analysis. Said heads have since been lost. The headless bodies were laid to rest and the farm was subsequently demolished.
The identity of the perpetrator(s) is still unknown, though speculation is rampant. One notable suspect is Karl Gabriel, the husband of the supposedly widowed daughter. He was believed to have died in 1914 and while his remains were never found, his comrades left multiple statements supporting the story that he was killed. Others have argued that Karl may have mentioned his family and the farm, giving others the idea to commit the crime. However, the lack of any missing wealth goes against this narrative.
The crime has since been deemed unsolvable. Evidence was either not removed from the scene or lost entirely, no fingerprints were ever taken, and no sketches of the scene were ever made. All that could be determined was that it was a crime of passion, and that the perpetrator(s) knew the family personally.
Who the perpetrator or perpetrators in question were, why they murdered the family, and what exactly happened at Hinterkaifeck remains and will likely forever remain unknown.
