Cannibal serial killer caught after neighbours smelled ‘guts’ flushed down loo

German cannibal serial killer Joachim Kroll confessed to murdering 13 women and one man, mutilating their bodies and eating slices of their flesh.

After his mother’s death in 1955, Kroll set off on a 20-year killing spree that earned him the names “Ruhr Cannibal”, “Ruhr Hunter” and “Duisburg Man-Eater”.

But Kroll was only caught in 1976 when his neighbours complained about the unholy smell of rotting flesh coming from their drains.

READ MORE: 'My serial killer dad writes to me from prison – he said I looked fat at my wedding'

Detective Max Riese, a tough 20-year veteran of the Duisburg police fainted when he eventually discovered Kroll’s lair on the fourth floor of a block of apartments in Laar, West Germany.

Kroll had fooled his neighbours for years. The children in his neighbourhood nicknamed him “Uncle Joachim,” because he was so kind and generous, and they loved spending time in his tiny apartment, filled with toys and dolls.

But in secret “Uncle Joachim” would use his dolls to practice strangling little girls. He also had a secret collection of inflatable sex dolls, which he also used to rehearse his horrific sex crimes.

  • Twisted pair of killers cut up 'friend' and stuffed dismembered corpse into suitcase

Kroll’s first murder – that of Irmgard Strehl – was initially classified as a gang rape by German police because of the sheer quantity of semen found in the 19-year-old’s vagina.

The young girl’s disembowelled body was found in a barn in Lüdinghausen.

It was the first of an escalating series of murders. The fact that there were a number of other killers operating in the area at the time helped the monster to evade capture.

It wasn’t until July 1976, that Kroll was finally arrested.

  • Cannibal 'Raincoat Killer' with twisted sex worker obsession ate victims 'to clear mind'

As police investigating the murder of a four-year-old girl named Marion Ketter were conducting house-to-house inquiries, one local approached a policeman and told him the waste-pipe in his apartment building had blocked up. When he had asked his neighbour Kroll whether he knew what had been blocking the pipe, he had simply replied "guts".

It was then that Max Riese entered Kroll's apartment and found the dismembered body of Marion Ketter.

  • Chilling words brutal killer said to his wife as police arrested him for 30-year mystery

Some parts were in the refrigerator, one of her hands was being boiled on the stove and the girl’s intestines were blocking the drains.

Kroll told arresting officers that he often sliced portions of flesh from his victims to cook and eat them, in order to “to save on his grocery bills”.

He added that his murderous desires started when, as a teenager, he saw pigs being slaughtered, and had been aroused by the sight of blood.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

In April 1982, after a 151-day trial, he was convicted on eight counts of murder and handed a life sentence.

In July 1991, in Rheinbach prison, the monster suffered fatal heart attack. He was 58.

READ MORE:

  • Serial killer survivors who defied brutal attacks – including man who sent Dahmer down
  • Inside prison plot to murder Netflix killer Jeffrey Dahmer after cannibal 'crossed line'
  • 'Tool Box' killers joined forces to hunt young girls in creepy van named 'Murder Mac'
  • Most common zodiac signs of serial killers — from Jeffrey Dahmer to Ted Bundy

Source: Read Full Article

Previous post Black Friday TV deals 2022: Top discounts to snap up in November | The Sun
Next post I’ve travelled the world and I have one hack that makes packing for a holiday so much easier | The Sun