“Tell me. After my head has been chopped off, will I still be able to hear, at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from the stump of my neck? That would be a pleasure to end all pleasures.” – The last words of Peter Kurten AKA The Vampire of Dusseldorf

Peter Kurten, also known as The Vampire of Dusseldorf, had lived a poverty-stricken childhood that involved constant physical abuse by his sadistic, alcoholic father. He and his siblings were also forced to watch the brutal rapes of their mother by their father.

When Kurten was nine years old, he formed an unhealthy relationship with a dog-catcher who was living in the same apartment building. Kurten was introduced to the practice of bestiality. Soon, Kurten was performing perverse acts with sheep and goats while stabbing them to death. He also confessed to drowning two of this schoolmates while playing on a raft – At the point of time, their deaths were ruled as an accident.

By the age of 16, Kurten had begun committing petty crimes and had ran away from home to escape the violent hands of his father. It was not long after that when his father got jailed for 3 years for committing incest with Kurten’s 13 year old sister.

During one of his stints in prison, Kurten was placed in solitary confinement where he developed a perverse fantasy, which allowed him to achieve an orgasm while imagining himself performing brutal sex acts. He enjoyed these fantasies so much that he would commit infractions in order to be placed in solitary, which gave him a private space to fantasize.

On May 25, 1913, Kurten started his first killing.

May 25, 1913 - Christine Klein, 10: Choked unconscious, penetrated with fingers, slitting of throat.
February 9, 1929 - Rosa Ohliger, 9: Stabbed 13 times until he became sexually excited & climaxed. He revisited the site multiple times to relieve the excitement he felt during the attack, and during one of these visits, he poured gasoline and set fire to the dead body to get rid of the evidence.
February 14, 1929 - Scheer, 45: Stabbed 20 times.
August 23, 1929 - Gertrude Hamacher, 5 & Louise Lenzen, 14: Strangled, slitting of throat, decapitation.
September 1929 - Ida Reuter: Raped and beaten to death
October 12, 1929 - Elizabeth Dorrier: Raped and beaten to death
November 7, 1929 - Gertrude Albermann, 5: Strangled and stabbed 35 times – Sent local newspaper a map to the exact position

The German press that were religiously following the murders, dubbed him as “The Vampire of Dusseldorf” as they learned that the police thought the murderer might be drinking his victim’s blood upon close investigation.

A mentally-disabled man named Stausberg was arrested for similar crimes. While in custody, he confessed to the Vampire's killings and was admitted to an insane asylum. The police, convinced that they had the right man, closed the case leaving Kurten free to select more victims.

Kurten confessed to his wife that he was Vampire of Dusseldorf and insisted that she go to the police and turn him in so she could collect the substantial reward. He had remained fond of his wife and wanted her to be financially secure after he was gone.

On May 30, 1930, Mrs Kurten reluctantly went to the police and led them to a local church where Kurten peacefully surrendered.

During his confession, Peter Kurten admitted to 79 acts of crime and derived great pleasure as he described each one in great detail.

Peter Kurten was charged with 9 murders and 7 attempted murders and went on trial April 13, 1931. Throughout the trial Kurten showed no remorse for his victims.

On July 2, 1931, Peter Kurten was executed by guillotine in the prison courtyard at Klingelputz Prison in Cologne, Germany.