Rampage in Essen-Kray
The rampage in Essen-Kray took place on the morning of May 28, 1972. A 29-year-old Cologne insurance salesman drove his Renault 4 to the home of his in-laws in Essen-Kray . The house was in a tenement in a miners' settlement . His 27-year-old wife had repeatedly sought refuge there with her two children as part of years of marital conflicts. In the course of the rampage, the perpetrator, who had several weapons and 460 rounds of ammunition with him but did not have a gun license, shot five people, including two children. He had obtained the weapons and ammunition legally through a mail order company. The rampage ended after a police chase on a colliery site in Bochum .
Sequence of events
The father of a family, who had several criminal records, gained access to the hallway by ringing the neighbors 'door and then forcibly entered the in-laws' apartment. Neighbors heard a loud argument, then numerous shots were fired. The gunman used a sawed-off small-bore rifle. In the course of the shooting, the in-laws, the wife and the eight-year-old son were fatally injured by gunfire.
Two neighbors who, startled by the gunfire, wanted to rush to help, entered the apartment and then saw the perpetrator bending over one of his victims. The shocked 5-year-old daughter was uninjured and stood next to the bodies dressed in pajamas. The multiple murderer threatened the two helpers with his rifle drawn and then dragged his daughter past the two men to his car. The two neighbors called the police and an immediate ring manhunt was initiated. Several police helicopters took part in the search. The police helicopter Hummel 3 discovered the car of the fugitive driving on the federal road 1 in the direction of Wanne-Eickel.
The police succeeded in guiding the fleeing gunman through several road blocks into the grounds of the Hanover- Hannibal colliery in Bochum. During his escape, the gunman rammed police cars several times and fired several shots at the pursuing police officers. The police fought a short firefight with the gunman on the colliery premises and then asked the perpetrator via megaphone to surrender and save the child's life. He hesitated for a while and then shot his daughter to death with a heart and head shot. He then left his car with his hands up and was hit with a rubber club by a police officer who rushed over. He was injured with a centimeter-long gaping wound on the forehead.
The processes
During his first trial before the Essen jury, the perpetrator cited gaps in his memory and asked several times why his wife would not visit him in custody and how his children were doing. The defense evaluated the violent crime as an act of affect and pleaded for manslaughter in the affect. Psychological experts confirmed that the perpetrator, who limped due to polio , had a hysterical- sadistic neurosis with psychopathic characteristics, which, however, would have no disease value within the meaning of the penal code , and declared the accused to be fully culpable.
The court did not believe the defendant, referred to the two neighbors who had left the scene of the crime with regard to the existence of an act of affect, and found targeted murder of family members. On June 8, 1973, it sentenced the accused to five life imprisonment for five murders and also determined the gravity of the guilt . The policeman who knocked down the convict before the arrest was reported by him for assault. The case is closed.
The perpetrator started his sentence in the JVA Werl . In December 1973 the appeal was heard before the Federal Court of Justice . The appellate court upheld the judgment of the Essen jury chamber and rejected the defendant's appeal. In 1998 he was released from prison.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Father put the gun on Tatjana's head and pulled the trigger. In: WAZ. May 29, 1972.
- ↑ a b Police: Marital tensions led to the rampage. In: WAZ. May 30, 1972.
- ↑ a b Judgment five times life imprisonment. In: NRZ. No. 132, Pentecost 1973.
- ↑ a b c Lifelong for massacre of family. In: derwesten.de. December 4, 1983, Retrieved August 16, 2015 .
- ↑ Sister's murder trial. Not a word of regret. In: NRZ. No. 124, May 30, 1973.
- ↑ Family tragedy in Essen killed five people. In: NRZ. May 29, 1972.
- ↑ The gunman relies on memory gaps. In: WAZ. No. 129, June 6, 1972.
- ↑ He could not live without power. In: Rheinische Post . No. 133, June 9, 1973.