Ernst-Dieter Beck
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Ernst-Dieter Beck | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1940 Gohfeld, Germany |
| Died | 29 April 2018 (aged 77) Fröndenberg Prison Hospital, Fröndenberg, Germany |
| Conviction | Murder (3 counts) |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3 |
Span of crimes | 1961–1968 |
| Country | West Germany |
Date apprehended | 1 March 1968 |
Ernst-Dieter Beck (2 October 1940 – 29 April 2018) was a German serial killer. He was the first person accused of murder in German legal history on whom a chromosome test was applied.[1]
Beck, who had repeatedly been convicted for theft, fraud, forgery, assault and sexual assault, murdered 23-year-old Ingrid K. on 8 April 1961. She had gone to a bachelor party, disappearing on the way home, and was later found strangled in a mill near Rehme. The case caused great interest because all 84 guests had to be interrogated very thoroughly by the police. The authorities also investigated over 1000 tracks, without finding the culprit. Several people were suspected, including the victim's father, who was never able to shake off the false accusation because he died before Beck's arrest.
On 25 May 1965, Beck murdered 29-year-old office worker Ursula F. She had met Beck in a dance hall and called him for a dance. After several visits to restaurants, Beck was invited by F. to her mother's apartment in Herford, inhabited at the time only by F.. There, he strangled her and left the apartment unseen. Since F. had planned a trip to the Netherlands at the time, she was not considered missing and was found by neighbours after ten days.
On 28 February 1968, Beck murdered 21-year-old store clerk Anneliese H. She was found the next day by a driver in a creek near Herford.