31 March 1922

Bavarian farmstead, approximately 70 km (43 mi) north of Munich, Germany.

Six victims:

• Andreas Gruber (63),
• Cäzilia Gruber (72), his wife,
• Viktoria Gabriel (35), their widowed daughter,
• Cäzilia (7) and Josef (2), Viktoria's children,
• Maria Baumgartner (44), the maid.

One of the most haunting mysteries in history, the Hinterkaifeck murders are shrouded in unanswered questions. Six people were brutally killed with a mattock, a tool typically used for farming. Strangely, the killer allegedly stayed in the house for three days after the murders, eating the victims' food and even caring for their animals. No one was ever arrested, and the case grew colder with time. Was the murderer a jealous neighbor, a family member, or a drifter hiding in the shadows? The story lingers, like a ghostly whisper from the past.

But the strange events began long before the murders.

Before the tragedy, the family reported hearing footsteps in the attic and finding footprints in the snow leading to the barn — but none leaving. The family’s previous maid had quit because she kept hearing strange noises from the attic. The new maid, Maria Baumgartner, had just arrived that day and reportedly felt uneasy about the farm, as if something wasn’t right.

Andreas Gruber found a newspaper from Munich in the house, though no one in the family had purchased it. The family also noticed objects around the house that seemed “out of place.”

A set of keys had gone missing a week before the murders.

Oddly, the gold Andreas kept in the house was not stolen.

The day before the murders, Viktoria had run away from home after a heated argument with her father, Andreas. He later found her and brought her back to the farm.

And here is where the story gets even darker...

In 1915, a complaint was filed against Andreas Gruber and his daughter, Viktoria, for incestuous relations. Around that time, Viktoria gave birth to her daughter, Cäzilia, and rumors swirled that Andreas was the child’s real father. Both Andreas and Viktoria served time in prison for their relationship. Viktoria’s son, Josef, could not have been fathered by her late husband, Karl Gabriel, as he had already been killed in World War I. Allegedly, Lorenz Schlittenbauer, the family’s neighbor, was Josef’s father.

The murders themselves were brutal. Five of the victims died from multiple blows to the head with a mattock, though the severity of their injuries varied. Four of the victims were lured one by one into the barn, where they were killed. Viktoria’s neck bore marks of strangulation in addition to her head injuries. Young Cäzilia suffered the most devastating injuries to her skull, face, and neck, and tragically died 2-3 hours later. Baby Josef was found in his crib inside the house with a shattered skull. Maria, the maid, was killed in her room with a single, swift blow to the head. Andreas’ injuries were different—his carotid artery was torn open, and the right side of his face was smashed, but his skull was otherwise uninjured.

The mattock, a tool used for slaughtering pigs, would have required significant strength and practice to wield effectively. This suggests that the murderer was familiar with the weapon.

Over the years, several independent investigations — including one by a group of German forensic students — identified the same person as the prime suspect. However, out of respect for the families, they did not publicly name this individual. At the time, the main suspect was the neighbor, Lorenz Schlittenbauer, though some evidence also suggests that Andreas himself may have been involved and was later killed by Lorenz.

To this day, the Hinterkaifeck murders remain an unsolved enigma, a chilling reminder that some mysteries are destined to stay in the dark.