Frederick Mors

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Frederick Mors (born October 2, 1889 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary as Carl Menarik , † after 1916 ) was an Austrian serial killer .

In February 1915, Mors confessed to having poisoned at least eight residents within four months while working at a retirement home in New York City , United States . After his arrest, he was diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and was admitted to hospital, from which he fled in May 1916. The further fate of Mors is unknown.

Life

Mors was born Carl Menarik on October 2, 1889 in Vienna , Austria-Hungary , the son of an accountant. He had two other siblings. Nothing is known about his childhood, except that his greatest dream was to become a doctor. However, his family was too poor to actually allow him to study. Nevertheless, he gained some knowledge, among other things because he sneaked into hospitals and clinics and watched the doctors at work there.

In June 1914, he set out for the United States to start a new life. Leaving his family, friends and identity behind, he called himself Frederick Mors from that point on. On June 26, 1914, he reached New York City and then moved into the elegant Union Square Hotel . Mors was described as well dressed, but the hotel staff noticed a long hunting knife that he was wearing under his coat. When asked about this, he said that he was a famous hunter in his home country and that he wanted to go bear hunting in the Rocky Mountains . After just six days he left the hotel penniless, presumably he had lost all his money to a fraudster. He then appeared at the Immigrant Free Employment Bureau looking for work. Mors was placed in a German-speaking nursing home in Unionport (now the Bronx ) supported by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows . At that time the house was home to 250 orphans and 100 elderly men and women. Shortly after starting his work, Mors' behavior showed the first signs of megalomania . He always wore a white coat and a stethoscope around his neck, even though he was only a porter. He also insisted that the older residents address him as "Herr Doktor". Because of this, the elderly residents distrusted him. However, the younger ones and visitors appreciated his presence and liked him.

Between September 1914 and January 1915, the death rate in the nursing home rose unusually strongly. 17 elderly residents died within four months. Mors murdered at least eight of them with the help of arsenic and chloroform in order to “relieve” them from their suffering, he said. He committed the first murder with arsenic, which he had bought from a pharmacist. He then used wool soaked in chloroform, which he put into the nostrils of his victims.

"When you give an old person chloroform, it's like putting a baby to sleep."

"When you give an old person chloroform, it's like putting a baby to sleep."

The management of the retirement home wanted to investigate the inexplicable accumulation of deaths and turned the police on. The investigations turned to Mors early on based on the statements of the residents. Eventually, Mors himself appeared to the district attorney and bragged about having committed eight murders. He himself saw the murders as an act of grace and that his victims only caused trouble. He also claimed that the head of the nursing home encouraged him to kill, but this could not be proven. He described his modus operandi as follows:

“First I would pour a drop or two of chloroform on a piece of absorbent cotton and hold it to the nostrils of the old person. Soon my man would swoon. Then I would close the orifices of the body with cotton, stuffing it in the ears, nostrils and so on. Next I would pour a little chloroform down the throat and prevent the fumes escaping the same way. "

“First I would put a drop or two of chloroform on a piece of absorbent cotton and hold it against the old person's nostrils. Soon he would pass out. Then I would close the orifices with cotton, stuffing them into the ears, nostrils and so on. Next I would pour a little chloroform down my throat and prevent the fumes from escaping. "

A psychiatric examination revealed that Mors had committed the delusional killings. She was also diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder . The district court did not find him guilty of murder, but ordered him to be admitted to the Hudson River State Hospital in Poughkeepsie , New York . Shortly before his deportation to Austria, Mors fled the hospital in May 1916.

In 1923, a male skeleton was found in the woods of Torrington , Connecticut . A bottle was found next to it, so poison suicide was assumed. The body is said to be a certain Dr. Frederick Maurice Beno acted. He came to the city in 1917. He has been described as kind with a great knowledge of medicine. He became the head of the first aid department at a local factory. Just a year after arriving in Torrington, Dr. Beno again. It has been suggested that Beno and Mors were one and the same person, but that assumption could never be proven. Neither Mors nor Dr. Beno were ever seen again.

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personal data
SURNAME Mors, Frederick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Menarik, Carl (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH October 2, 1889
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna , Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH after 1916