The Hinterkaifeck Murders

In late March or early April 1922, six people were murdered on the isolated farm of Hinterkaifeck in Bavaria, Germany. The victims—two adults, two children, and a maid—were killed with a mattock. The killer then remained at the farm for several days, eating food, feeding the livestock, and going about farm business. The case has never been solved and remains one of history’s most disturbing unsolved murders.

The Victims

The farm was home to Andreas Gruber (63), his wife Cäzilia (72), their widowed daughter Viktoria Gabriel (35), and Viktoria’s children Cäzilia (7) and Josef (2). Maria Baumgartner, a newly hired maid, arrived at the farm on the day of the murders.

The Gruber family was known locally for eccentricity and scandal. Rumors persisted that Andreas had an incestuous relationship with his daughter Viktoria, and that her son Josef was the product of this relationship.

Strange Events Before the Murders

In the days before the murders, Andreas Gruber told neighbors about strange occurrences. He had found footprints in the snow leading from the forest to the farm, but no footprints leading away. He heard footsteps in the attic. The farm’s keys went missing and could not be found.

Despite these unsettling events, Gruber did not contact authorities.

The Murders

The bodies were discovered on April 4, 1922, when neighbors became concerned that no one had been seen at the farm for several days and the children had not appeared at school.

The bodies of Andreas, Cäzilia (the elder), Viktoria, and young Cäzilia were found in the barn, covered with hay. They had been lured there one by one and killed with a mattock. Young Josef was found dead in his crib. Maria Baumgartner was found in her bedroom, killed on her first day at the farm.

The Killer Stayed

Most disturbing was the evidence that the murderer had remained at the farm for several days after the killings. Someone had fed the livestock. Someone had eaten food in the kitchen. Smoke had been seen rising from the chimney after the estimated time of death.

The killer had lived among the bodies, going about the routine of farm life, before eventually departing unseen.

Investigation

Over 100 suspects were investigated, but no one was ever charged. The case attracted enormous attention in Germany and was periodically reopened over the following decades.

Suspects included:

• Karl Gabriel, Viktoria’s husband, who was presumed killed in World War I but whose body was never identified—some theorized he returned to find his wife had a child by her own father.
• Lorenz Schlittenbauer, a neighbor who had been romantically involved with Viktoria and was one of the first to discover the bodies.
• A transient worker who had previously been employed at the farm.

In 2007, police students analyzed the case with modern techniques and concluded Schlittenbauer was the most likely suspect, though proof was impossible.

The Farm

Hinterkaifeck no longer exists. The buildings were demolished in 1923, and the site is now farmland. Only a memorial marks where the farm stood.

The case has inspired numerous books, films, and documentaries. It represents the archetypal isolated farmhouse murder—brutal, inexplicable, and forever unsolved.

Assessment

The Hinterkaifeck murders combine multiple disturbing elements: the isolated location, the family secrets, the strange events preceding the crime, the methodical execution, and especially the killer’s decision to remain at the farm for days among the bodies.

A century later, we are no closer to knowing who killed the Gruber family and their maid, or why the murderer stayed to tend their animals. The footprints in the snow led to the farm but never away, and the mystery has never been resolved.