Role Serial Killer Other names Father Danke Motive Cannibalism | Victims At least 42 Name Karl Denke | |
 | ||
Born 11 February 1860 ( 1860-02-11 ) Oberkunzendorf, Munsterberg, Silesia, Kingdom of Prussia (now Ziebice, Poland) Span of killings 21 February 1903–20 April 1924 Country Germany (area now part of Poland) Died December 22, 1924, Ziebice, Poland Similar People Fritz Haarmann, Carl Grosmann, Peter Kurten, Albert Fish | ||
Cause of death Suicide by hanging Date apprehended December 22, 1924 | ||
Karl Denke (12 February 1860 – 22 December 1924) was a Prussian serial killer and cannibal.
Contents
Biografie serial killer karl denke www hallofcrime com
Biography
Denke was born in Münsterberg, Silesia in the Kingdom of Prussia (now Ziębice, Poland), but little else is known about his early life. Denke ran away from home at the age of 12, and in adulthood he worked as an organ player at the local church, and was well-liked in his community. Denke quit his membership in the church in 1906.
On December 20, 1924, Denke was arrested after attacking a man at his house with an axe. Police searched Denke's home and found human flesh stored in huge jars of curing salt. A ledger contained the details of at least 42 people whom Denke had murdered and cannibalized between 1914 and 1918. It is thought he even sold the flesh of his victims at the Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) market as pork.
Two days after his arrest, Denke hanged himself in his cell.