The Hinterkaifeck Farm Murders

On March 31, 1922, six people were brutally murdered at the isolated Hinterkaifeck farmstead in Bavaria, Germany. The killer used a mattock to kill the entire family and their maid. But what makes the case truly disturbing is what happened after: the killer stayed at the farm for days, eating food, feeding the animals, and lighting fires in the stove. When the bodies were discovered, investigators found footprints in the snow leading to the farm - but none leading away.

The Farm

Hinterkaifeck

The location:

• A small farm about 70 km north of Munich
• Extremely isolated
• Surrounded by forest
• Accessible only by a single path
• Home to the Gruber family

The Victims

Six people died:

• Andreas Gruber (63) - patriarch
• Cäzilia Gruber (72) - his wife
• Viktoria Gabriel (35) - their widowed daughter
• Cäzilia Gabriel (7) - Viktoria’s daughter
• Josef Gabriel (2) - Viktoria’s son
• Maria Baumgartner (44) - the maid (arrived the day of the murders)

The Dark History

The farm had a troubled past:

• Rumors of incest between Andreas and Viktoria
• Little Josef was likely Andreas’s son
• Viktoria’s husband had died mysteriously in WWI
• The family was disliked by neighbors
• Strange events had occurred before the murders

Before the Murders

Strange Occurrences

In the days before:

• Andreas found footprints in the snow leading from the forest to the farm
• There were no footprints leading away
• He found a Munich newspaper no one had bought
• Keys went missing
• Strange sounds came from the attic
• The previous maid had quit, claiming the farm was haunted

Andreas’s Concern

He told neighbors:

• About the footprints
• That he feared someone was watching them
• He investigated but found nothing
• He didn’t go to police
• The murders happened shortly after

The Murders

March 31, 1922

The likely sequence:

• The killer was probably already hiding at the farm
• That evening, the family was lured to the barn
• One by one, or in groups
• They were killed with a mattock (a farming tool)
• The maid was killed in her bedroom
• The infant was killed in his cradle

The Barn

Four victims were found there:

• Andreas
• Cäzilia Gruber
• Viktoria
• Young Cäzilia
• Stacked together
• Covered with hay

The House

Two victims inside:

• Maria Baumgartner in her bedroom
• Baby Josef in his cradle
• Killed separately
• The house showed signs of violence

The Weapon

A mattock:

• A pickaxe-like tool
• Common on farms
• Used to kill all six
• Never found
• The killer took it or hid it

After the Murders

The Killer Stays

The most disturbing element:

• The killer remained at the farm for days
• Evidence suggests 3-4 days
• They ate food from the kitchen
• They fed the livestock
• They lit fires in the stove
• They moved freely about the property

Why?

No one knows why:

• Were they waiting for something?
• Searching for something?
• Unable to leave?
• Did they enjoy being there?
• The psychology is baffling

The Footprints

When the farm was investigated:

• Footprints led TO the farm through the snow
• None led AWAY
• As if the killer had simply… vanished
• Or remained on the property
• Or covered their tracks perfectly

The Discovery

April 4, 1922

After days of no contact:

• Neighbors became concerned
• Young Cäzilia hadn’t attended school
• No one had seen the family
• A group went to investigate

What They Found

The search party discovered:

• The barn door was locked
• Inside were four bodies
• In the house, two more
• Signs of someone living there after the deaths
• A horrific scene

The Investigation

Police found:

• The mattock injuries
• The timeline (several days)
• The evidence of the killer’s stay
• But no suspect
• No murder weapon
• No clear motive

The Investigation

Suspects

Over the years, suspects included:

• Former farmhands
• Neighbors with grudges
• Viktoria’s late husband (possibly not dead?)
• Andreas himself (murder-suicide was considered but ruled out)
• Various local criminals

Problems

The case was hampered by:

• Isolation and delayed discovery
• Many people trampled the scene
• Bodies were beheaded for analysis (skulls later lost)
• Poor forensic technology
• No clear motive

Never Solved

Despite investigations:

• In 1922
• Reopened in 1931
• Reopened in 1951
• Reopened in 1970s
• The case remains unsolved

Theories

Robbery Gone Wrong

The Theory

• A robber targeted the isolated farm
• Killed the family
• Stayed to search for valuables
• Eventually fled

Problems

• Nothing significant was stolen
• Money was left behind
• The killer’s extended stay is bizarre for a robber

Personal Vendetta

The Theory

• Someone with a grudge against Andreas
• Possibly related to the incest rumors
• Or a business dispute
• Revenge killing

Support

• Andreas was widely disliked
• The family had made enemies
• The murder was personal (stayed afterward)

Domestic Violence

The Theory

• A family member snapped
• Killed the others
• Then killed themselves or fled

Problems

• All family members were victims
• No evidence of suicide
• Who would be left?

The Missing Son-in-Law

The Theory

• Karl Gabriel (Viktoria’s husband)
• Was reported dead in WWI
• But his body was never confirmed
• He returned for revenge (learned of incest?)

Support

• He had motive
• He knew the farm
• His death was never proven

Something Supernatural

The Theory

• The previous maid said the farm was haunted
• The footprints with no exit
• The strange events before
• Something unnatural

Problems

• The murders were very physical
• Mattock wounds are human
• Food was eaten by a person

The Footprints Mystery

The Key Question

The footprints suggest:

• Someone approached through snow
• Entered the property
• But never left (visible tracks)

Possible Explanations

• The killer was already hiding at the farm
• The killer left by a different route
• Snow covered departing tracks
• The killer remained on property (possibly died?)
• The footprints were misinterpreted

The Lingering Horror

The image persists:

• A killer walking to the farm
• Committing horrific murders
• Then simply… staying
• Eating their food
• Feeding their animals
• As if nothing happened

Legacy

German True Crime

Hinterkaifeck:

• Is Germany’s most famous unsolved murder
• Has inspired books, films, documentaries
• Remains actively discussed
• The farm was demolished in 1923
• A memorial shrine stands at the site

Ongoing Interest

The case attracts:

• Amateur investigators
• Professional analysts
• Forensic scientists
• Continued attempts to solve it

Why It Haunts Us

The case is disturbing because:

• The killer stayed with the bodies
• The footprints that don’t leave
• The isolated, trapped family
• The complete lack of answers
• Over 100 years without resolution

The Question

Someone walked to an isolated farm through the snow.

They killed six people with a farming tool. An elderly couple. A woman. Two children. A maid who had just arrived.

Then they stayed.

They fed the animals. They ate from the kitchen. They slept in the house. With the bodies of their victims nearby.

For days.

And when they finally left, they left no footprints.

Who were they? Why did they kill? Why did they stay?

One hundred years later, we don’t know.

The farm is gone. The family is long buried. The investigation files are archives of failure.

But the questions remain.

Those footprints in the snow, leading only one direction.

That killer, living among the dead for days.

The horror of Hinterkaifeck isn’t just the murders.

It’s everything that came after.

And everything we’ll never know.

One of history’s most disturbing unsolved crimes.

Still waiting for an answer that may never come.