Harald Sassak

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Harald Sassak (* 1948 ; † August 21, 2013 in Weitra ) was an Austrian serial killer who went down in criminal history as a gas cashier. He was also the longest convict in Austria. In 1971 and 1972 he committed six homicides out of greed in Vienna and served a life sentence in the Stein prison .

Life

Harald Sassak was the son of a bricklayer and a servant. He learned the profession of plumber and after completing his basic military service in the armed forces, he worked as an assistant nurse in the Lainz hospital from 1966 to 1969 . After suffering from jaundice , he did not give his employer a medical certificate and was therefore released. He soon gave up his subsequent work as a confectioner. His relatives, friends and superiors described him as very friendly and helpful, at school he always received a very good for behavior and no disciplinary sanctions were reported by the armed forces.

One day when an elderly woman asked him if he could repair her gas appliance and then gave him a tip from a hiding place , he developed his idea of ​​the gastrick .

Between August 31, 1970 and February 12, 1972, he posed as an employee of the gas works in single elderly people who wanted to check the devices. As soon as he knew where the money was hiding, he distracted his victim, for example by asking for a glass of water. If he was caught in the act that followed, he knocked his victim down and fled. His accomplice Johann Scharaditsch, whom he had met in a liqueur room, helped him in some robberies.

Surviving victims only said that a plump, nice man had asked for entry with the words: “The gas man is here!” . In addition, he was always well dressed, had apparently valid ID and had specialist knowledge. Only when they were paid, when the victims revealed their hiding places, did he knock them down with the edge of his hand and steal the money. Except for a single fingerprint , which could not be assigned to any person from the police files, the perpetrator left no traces. However, when the neighbor of one of the victims, a graphic artist, had the draftsman from the security office make a very precise phantom picture of the perpetrator, the search became more specific. A waiter at the Hotel Reiser recognized the man as Harald Sassak based on the phantom image and led the officers to the perpetrator, who was drinking a glass of wine. While he was still in the hotel, one of his victims identified him and Sassak was arrested. On the way to the security office, he confessed to the deeds.

The trial of Harald Sassak began on January 22, 1974, and reading of the indictment took over an hour. Harald Sassak confessed to the crimes but claimed not to have acted with intent to kill. The coroner announced that 79-year-old Richard Langer and 86-year-old Josefa Fierlinger died as a direct result of the use of force. The 69-year-old Aloisia Meschnark died of kidney failure 17 days after her admission to the hospital, the 66-year-old Rosa Schwarz after seven days of softening of the brain, the 86-year-old Maria Aberle and the 85-year-old Eleonore Hauer after ten and 38 days respectively from pneumonia . According to the expert opinion, there was a connection between the death of women and the use of violence. Gabriele Hammer, who died 54 days after being attacked by Sassak, could no longer find any evidence of the use of force.

On February 7, 1974, Harald Sassak was sentenced to life imprisonment in nine cases of robbery and murder of Josefa Fierlinger, predatory manslaughter of Richard Langer, Aloisia Meschnark, Rosa Schwarz, Maria Aberle and Eleonore Hauer, as well as robbery and robbery . His accomplice Johann Scharaditsch was found guilty of theft, robbery in two cases, and robbery in two cases and sentenced to 18 years in prison.

Harald Sassak died on August 21, 2013 as a result of a lengthy illness in a care home in Lower Austria, after he had been released from prison shortly before after more than 39 years in prison.

literature

  • Andreas Zeppelzauer, Regina Zeppelzauer: Murder. The most spectacular murder cases in Austria; Psychograms, pictures and reports . Verlag für Collectors, Graz 2005, ISBN 3-85365-215-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b "Gaskassier" Sassak died in Weitra . Lower Austrian News of August 28, 2013
personal data
SURNAME Sassak, Harald
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gas cashier
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH 1948
DATE OF DEATH August 21st, 2013
Place of death Weitra