Peter Goebbels

Timeline

• 6 July 1985 — A teenage boy observed a man and woman grappling in an alley in the Lichterfelde neighborhood of West Berlin.
• 6 July 1985 — Pedestrians discovered the body of Marion Bormann, 17, raped and strangled near the scene of the remembered altercation.
• 26 August 1984 — Helga Kousdoerfer, age 22, was strangled and raped in the Lichterfelde area.
• 24 March (another Sunday) — Liselotte Mohn, 19, suffered an identical fate.
• 1 June (Saturday) — Karola Eisenstein, age 20, was raped and strangled.
• mid-July 1984 (Wednesday for the rape with the identification card drop) — A 20-year-old woman from the Lichterfelde neighborhood was attacked; the rapist fled when pedestrians appeared.
• Wednesday in July 1984 — Authorities linked the pattern to the closure of Goebbels’s plant for retooling machinery.
• after conviction — Goebbels drew a year's suspended sentence.
• while pressure was kept on investigators — He was included in a lineup where the teenage witness in the Bormann case selected Peter as the girl's assailant.
• after the lineup — Goebbels broke down and confessed.

Background

Peter Goebbels was a weekend rapist who strangled his victims to eliminate witnesses and who took violent sex as a diversion from the daily grind of working in a factory.

The offence

A teenage boy observed a man and woman grappling in an alley in the Lichterfelde neighborhood of West Berlin on Saturday, 6 July 1985. Pedestrians later discovered the body of Marion Bormann, 17, raped and strangled near the scene of the remembered altercation.

Authorities later connected three additional attacks that fit the killer's profile:

• Helga Kousdoerfer, 22, was strangled and raped in the Lichterfelde district on Sunday night, 26 August 1984.
• Liselotte Mohn, 19, suffered an identical fate seven months later on March 24 (another Sunday).
• Karola Eisenstein, 20, was raped and strangled on Saturday, 1 June.

In another case from mid-July 1984 in the Lichterfelde neighborhood, a 20-year-old woman was attacked and her rapist startled into flight when pedestrians appeared. Peter Goebbels, 23, was linked to this attack after he dropped his identification card at the scene.

Investigation

Homicide detectives compiled records of attacks that seemed to fit the killer's profile. The authorities examined the Bormann case and three more cases from the Lichterfelde district.

A teenage witness in the Bormann case approached police and offered a fair description of the suspect. Detectives examined a discrepancy in timing: the rape in the mid-July 1984 case had taken place on a Wednesday, while the homicide series suggested a killer who struck on weekends. Authorities determined the link by checking Goebbels’s work schedule: while suspect Goebbels worked a normal five-day week on the assembly line, his plant was closed down for the retooling of machinery one Wednesday in July 1984.

Arrest

Peter Goebbels was included in a lineup where the teenage witness in the Bormann case selected Peter as the girl's assailant.

Trial

Goebbels was convicted of the rape in connection with the case where he had dropped his identification card at the scene. After conviction, he drew a year's suspended sentence from the court.

During the broader investigation into the homicide cases, Berlin authorities kept pressure on him, including through the lineup identification.

Sentencing

After the lineup, Goebbels broke down and confessed. He denied all involvement in the other crimes while claiming he was "sick," in need of "help."

A term of life in prison was prescribed as treatment for his "illness."

Outcome

Berlin authorities continued seeking evidence to link Goebbels with three other identical homicides.

Other details

Goebbels confessed while denying involvement in the other crimes, and he claimed he was "sick," in need of "help."