Bio
Fritz Haarmann was born in Hanover, Germany on
October 25, 1879. He was the sixth child of extremely poor parents. As a kid he
didn't like to play sports or any male activities. He instead liked to play
with dolls that belonged to his sister. Since Fritz was a poor student his parents forced him to enroll at a military academy where he was performing well before he started have seizures. Shortly after his first seizures he was discharged from the military academy. Shortly after returning home, he was arrested for molesting a boy in 1898. Doctor ruled Haarmann as mentally unfit to stand trial so he walked free of charges. For the next decade, Haarmann lived as a petty thief, burglar and con artist. In 1914, Haarmann was convicted of a series of thefts and frauds and was imprisoned just as World War I began. Upon his release in 1918, he was struck by the poverty of the German nation as a result of the loss the nation had suffered in World War I. The country was bankrupt. Fritz Haarmann immediately reverted to the criminal life he had lived before he was arrested in 1914. The new state of Germany provided him with even more opportunities to operate on the fringes of the criminal network, and because of the increase in crime as a result of the poverty the nation was enduring, police again began to rely on Haarmann as an informer. Between 1918 and 1924, Haarmann committed at least 24 murders, although he is suspected of murdering a minimum of 27. Haarmann's subsequent victims largely consisted of young male commuters, runaways and, occasionally, male prostitutes. Haarmann was eventually apprehended when numerous skeletal remains, which he had dumped into the Leine River, washed up downstream in May and June 1924. The police decided to drag the river and discovered more than 500 human bones which were later confirmed as having come from at least 22 separate human individuals. Suspicion fell upon Haarmann, who had convictions for molesting children and had been connected to the disappearance of Friedel Rothe in 1918. Haarmann was placed under surveillance and on the night of June 22, was observed prowling Hanover's central station. He was quickly arrested after trying to lure a boy to his apartment. His apartment was searched and the walls were found to be heavily bloodstained. Haarmann tried to explain this as a by-product of his illegal trade as a butcher. However, clothing and personal items known to be possessions of several missing youths were also found in his home. Under interrogation, Haarmann quickly confessed to raping, killing and butchering young men since 1918. When asked how many he had killed, Haarmann claimed "somewhere between 50 and 70". The police, however, could only connect Haarmann with the disappearance of 27 youths, and he was charged with 27 murders. Fritz Haarmann's trial began on December 4, 1924. The trial lasted barely two weeks. On December 19, 1924, Haarmann was found guilty of 24 of the 27 murders and was sentenced to death. Haarmann made no appeal against the verdict. On April 15 1925 Fritz Haarmann was beheaded by Guillotine.
Fritz Haarmann was born in Hanover, Germany on
October 25, 1879. He was the sixth child of extremely poor parents. As a kid he
didn't like to play sports or any male activities. He instead liked to play
with dolls that belonged to his sister. Since Fritz was a poor student his parents forced him to enroll at a military academy where he was performing well before he started have seizures. Shortly after his first seizures he was discharged from the military academy. Shortly after returning home, he was arrested for molesting a boy in 1898. Doctor ruled Haarmann as mentally unfit to stand trial so he walked free of charges. For the next decade, Haarmann lived as a petty thief, burglar and con artist. In 1914, Haarmann was convicted of a series of thefts and frauds and was imprisoned just as World War I began. Upon his release in 1918, he was struck by the poverty of the German nation as a result of the loss the nation had suffered in World War I. The country was bankrupt. Fritz Haarmann immediately reverted to the criminal life he had lived before he was arrested in 1914. The new state of Germany provided him with even more opportunities to operate on the fringes of the criminal network, and because of the increase in crime as a result of the poverty the nation was enduring, police again began to rely on Haarmann as an informer. Between 1918 and 1924, Haarmann committed at least 24 murders, although he is suspected of murdering a minimum of 27. Haarmann's subsequent victims largely consisted of young male commuters, runaways and, occasionally, male prostitutes. Haarmann was eventually apprehended when numerous skeletal remains, which he had dumped into the Leine River, washed up downstream in May and June 1924. The police decided to drag the river and discovered more than 500 human bones which were later confirmed as having come from at least 22 separate human individuals. Suspicion fell upon Haarmann, who had convictions for molesting children and had been connected to the disappearance of Friedel Rothe in 1918. Haarmann was placed under surveillance and on the night of June 22, was observed prowling Hanover's central station. He was quickly arrested after trying to lure a boy to his apartment. His apartment was searched and the walls were found to be heavily bloodstained. Haarmann tried to explain this as a by-product of his illegal trade as a butcher. However, clothing and personal items known to be possessions of several missing youths were also found in his home. Under interrogation, Haarmann quickly confessed to raping, killing and butchering young men since 1918. When asked how many he had killed, Haarmann claimed "somewhere between 50 and 70". The police, however, could only connect Haarmann with the disappearance of 27 youths, and he was charged with 27 murders. Fritz Haarmann's trial began on December 4, 1924. The trial lasted barely two weeks. On December 19, 1924, Haarmann was found guilty of 24 of the 27 murders and was sentenced to death. Haarmann made no appeal against the verdict. On April 15 1925 Fritz Haarmann was beheaded by Guillotine.