Peter Kürten — The Monster of Düsseldorf

Peter Kürten, known as "The Monster of Düsseldorf" and "The Vampire of Düsseldorf," terrorized the city of Düsseldorf, Germany in 1929 and 1930 with a series of murders and sexual assaults that plunged the city into mass fear. He attacked men, women, and children using a variety of weapons — scissors, knives, a hammer, and his own hands — and confessed to a sexual arousal from blood. His crimes inspired widespread panic and one of the largest manhunts in German history to that point. Kürten's criminal history began in childhood with acts of animal torture and petty crime and continued through a series of prison terms for assault and fraud. His 1929 and 1930 attacks in Düsseldorf were the culmination of a lifetime of escalating violence. He made nine confirmed kills and multiple serious attacks, and later confessed to additional crimes dating back decades including murders that investigators had never linked to him. He was identified through his wife, whom he finally confessed to after being caught, and was arrested in May 1930. At trial he displayed a chilling self-awareness, describing in precise clinical detail the pleasure he derived from each killing. He was convicted of nine murders and seven attempted murders. His psychological assessments became foundational documents in the emerging field of criminal psychiatry. Kürten was executed by guillotine on July 2, 1931. His case had a direct cultural impact — the Fritz Lang film "M," widely considered one of the greatest films ever made, was inspired by the public panic surrounding the Düsseldorf murders and the hunt for their perpetrator. His preserved skull was displayed at a criminology museum in Wisconsin for decades. He remains one of the most studied killers in the history of forensic psychiatry.