Heinrich Pommerencke

Background

Heinrich Pommerencke grew up in the German village of Bentwich and lived as a loner. He claimed that his first sexual encounter occurred at the age of ten, and he said, "When I was a boy I never had a friend in the world."

By the time he reached fifteen, he began hanging outside local dance halls and propositioning young girls as they left. When they objected, he would follow them to secluded areas and attack them, raping and beating them.

He pursued crimes in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, and he assaulted two English women in Austria.

The offence

Pommerencke committed rapes and assaults, along with robberies.

He attacked and raped student Dagmar Klinek as she slept in an empty railway carriage. When she began to resist, he pushed her out of the moving train. He then pulled the emergency stop cord and leapt off to run back and continue the assault. He raped her, and he stabbed her repeatedly in the back, killing her.

One account of his crimes said he was driven to murder after watching the movie "Ten Commandments". He later told police: "I saw women dancing around the golden calf and I thought they were a fickle lot. I knew I would have to kill."

After leaving the theatre after seeing "Ten Commandments", he purchased a razor and walked around until he spotted a young woman. He followed her until they were on a secluded street, and he attacked. A taxi drove by, and Pommerencke took off into the night.

He then found another girl, knocked her down, dragged her to a nearby park, and raped and killed her by slitting her throat.

Over the next few months, Pommerencke killed or attempted to kill over a dozen women, and authorities scrambled to catch "the beast".

He also committed assaults involving stabbing and beating, and he attacked victims in railway and outdoor settings.

Investigation

A tailor in Hornberg noticed that there was a sawed off shotgun in a suitcase after Pommerencke picked up a new suit he had ordered and left an old suit and bag behind. The tailor contacted the police out of fear that the young drifter may return and rob him.

Police linked the gun to a string of robberies in the area. They also suspected he was more than just a common thief.

When police took him into the station, they first had him confess to robberies linked to the weapon. Police then tricked him into thinking that they found and matched blood from his old suit to one of the "Black Forest" murders. After being told this, Pommerencke confessed to ten rape-murders, as well as numerous robberies and other felony charges.

Police were able to connect the gun to other crimes and treated him as responsible for a broader series of offences.

Arrest

In 1960, Pommerencke was passing through the town of Hornberg. When he returned to pick up the suit he had ordered, he decided to wear the new cloths and left the old suit behind, along with a suitcase.

The tailor noticed the sawed off shotgun in the case and contacted police. Police were able to arrest Pommerencke shortly thereafter.

Trial

At his trial, Pommerencke was 23 years of age.

He was convicted of four of the murders.

He was also convicted of twelve attempted murders.

He was convicted of twenty one rapes.

Sentencing

On October 22, 1960, he was sentenced to a minimum of six life terms and 140 years in prison.

A state prosecutor said: "Human language is inadequate to describe the horror and misery that Pommerencke had brought to so many people."

Outcome

He remained imprisoned.

He died in prison December 27, 2008.

Other details

Pommerencke was described as "The Beast in the Black Forest" and also as the nickname "The Beast in the Black Forest".

Timeline

• 1953 — Pommerencke fled for Switzerland because of the rape charge pending against him and was imprisoned there for another rape charge.
• June 1, 1959 — Pommerencke assaulted 21-year-old Dagmar Klinek on a German train, pushed her off, leapt after her, and stabbed her to death as she lay beside the tracks.
• October 22, 1960 — Pommerencke was sentenced to a minimum of six life terms and 140 years in prison.
• December 27, 2008 — Pommerencke died in prison.