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Klaus Gossmann
Haunted Spy: Created by translating the page "Mittagsmörder"
'''Klaus Gossmann '''(born 1940 in [[Frankfurt an der Oder]]), nicknamed "The Midday Murderer", is a [[Germany|German]] [[serial killer]] who killed 5 people. He received his nickname because he committed his robberies and murders mostly at noon. He was released from prison in 2015 at the age of 50, being up until that point [[Bavaria]]'s longest-serving prisoner.<ref>[https://ift.tt/2Ard3Wz After 50 years: Nuremburg "Midday Murderer" is released], [[Nürnberger Nachrichten]] online, February 17,</ref>
== Life ==
Gossmann was born in 1940, the son of an officer who was killed by [[United States|American]] troops in February 1945. He grew up with his brother until 1945 in [[Międzyrzecz|Meseritz]] in eastern [[Brandenburg]] and from 1949 in [[Hersbruck]]. After five years in elementary school, Gossmann moved to the Obberrealschule Hersbruck in 1951. There he had to repeat a class and failed his [[matriculation]] exam. He moved to a secondary school in Ingolstadt and graduated there in July 1962. In fall of the same year he began studying economics at the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, but he discontinued his education.
In the summer of 1964 he volunteered as a candidate officer and moved in October. After training with various pioneer units in [[Koblenz]] and [[Munich]], he repeatedly sought his dismissal. When this failed, he [[Desertion|deserted]] in April 1965 and henceforth lived under false names in and around Nuremburg.
== Crimes ==
Gossmann shot two women and five men during his robberies in Nuremburg between 1960 and 1965. Striking was the fact that the perpetrator made use of the firearm immediately and his actions always occured at noon.
The first murder occured on April 22, 1960 in the Tuchergartenstraße in Nuremburg, when Gossmann raided an elderly woman's apartament. When she called for help, a subtenant and her fiancé hurried to her, who were then both shot dead by the burglar. Gossmann fled without loot and left the householder alive. This alarmed the police, and the woman gave them a good description of the perpetrator. Despite an alarm of all Nuremburg police stations and the surrounding areas, the fugitive could not be caught. The officials followed up hundreds of clues from the population and sighted with the householder about 2000 photos from the criminal files. In addition, fingerprints were compared, connectections to similar robberies sought and dozens of comparisons carried out. Finally, a FN Herstal caliber 7.65mm was identified as the murder weapon.
After about a year without success, the investigators launched one of the largest manhunt operations in the history of the [[West Germany|Federal Republic]]. All men born in 1939 or 1940, who had lived in Nuremburg at the time of the crime, were examined, a total of 50,336 people. The officers also questioned 1,174 men from the dating agency where the surviving homeowner worked.
On September 10, 1962, the next murder took place. Gossmann shot the store manager of the Sparkasse in Ochenbruck and escaped with over 3,000 [[Deutsche Mark]] in loot, this time using a [[Walther PPK]] pistol. Witnesses could follow his escape route to the station. As early as November 30, Gossmann attacked the Sparkasse branch office in [[Neuhaus an der Pegnitz]] and shot dead a retiree, who did not seem aware of the robbery and had reached into his breast pocket to get a pair of glasses. As a weapon this time a Walther P38 was used.
While the officials were still busy with the investigation of previous crimes, the owner of a gun shop and his mother were shot on March 29, 1936. The projectiles, pods and individual firing features identifeid the same Walther pistols used in the deadly shootings in Ochenbruck and Neuhaus. The male murder victim was under investigation for possible illegal arms deals.
On June 1, 1965, Gossmann committed his last crime in a Nuremburg department store. After trying to steal a customer's purse, several passers-by pursued him. Policemen arrested Gossmann after a shoot-out in which he killed one man and severely injured two others.
== Trial and imprisonment ==
At the time of his arrest, Gossmann had three pistols, a blackjack and firecrackers with him. He initially denied the crimes, but one of his pistols and two others, which were in a tenanted apartament in Nuremburg, could be identified as murder weapons. These had been looted during thefts in 1959, 1960 and 1962. When confronted, a witness of the Ochenbruck raid recognized him.
Confronted with this evidence, he confessed, revealing his indifference to the victims. Among other things, he said this to authorities: ''"He came rushing at me like a savage (...) Since I absolutely wanted to ward off his attack, I therefore fired a third time on the man"'' (first murder in Nuremburg), ''"When I came to the bank and pulled the pistol out, then all they had to do was pick up their cash. If they did not do that, it was their own fault if I had to shoot them."'' (for the bank robberies) ''"I was afraid that I would be captured, and yet had to shoot in self-defense"''. (last murder in Nuremburg)
The secret of the Midday crimes was also solved - Gossmann was not an early riser and needed the morning for his preparations.
On July 27, 1967, Gossmann was sentenced to life imprisonment for fivefold murder and three particularly serious cases of robbery. The first double murder was not negotiated because he had committed it before his 21st birthday.<ref>''Lifelong penitentiary for the "Midday murderer"'' in [[Schwäbische Zeitung]] of July 28,</ref>
At the beginning of 2010, the district court of [[Regensburg]] ordered to release Gossmann on a long-term parole. However, this decision was overturned by the Higher Regional Court of Nuremburg, as there was still danger that Gossmann would commit serious crimes. The [[Verfassungsbeschwerde]] agaist this was successful in 2012. After the Federal Constitutional Court's decision, he was now prepared for life outside of prison and on February 26, 2015, Gossmann was released from the Straubing Prison on probation after spending 50 years in prison.<ref name="faz-13453569"></ref>
== Literature ==
* Stephan Harbort: ''The Midday Murderer''. Audiobook series ''Phenomenon of a serial killer.'' Pablos Media, [[Cologne]] 2007, ISBN 3-938852-57-7.
* [[Gerhard Mauz]]: ''[https://ift.tt/2mZ4qt6 What happened, for heaven's sake??]'' In: ''[[Der Spiegel]].'' No. 30, July 17,1967, p. 51 f.
* Petra Nacke, Elmar Tannert: ''The Midday Murderer.'' Ars Vivendi Verlag, [[Cadolzburg]] 2012, ISBN 978-3-86913-109-2.
* Felix Hutt: ''7 murders, 50 years imprisonment, 1 life after that: The "Midday Murderer" Klaus Gossmann – The true story of a serial sinner.'' Heyne, [[Munich]] 2017, ISBN 978-3-453-20149-1.
* Tobias Haberl: [https://ift.tt/2Ax8z0C ''Seven deaths and one life.''] In: ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]], ''October 21, 2017, online at 12app.ch on October 31, 2017.
== References ==
<references />
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:20th-century crimes]]
[[Category:People from Hersbruck]]
[[Category:German serial killers]]
== Life ==
Gossmann was born in 1940, the son of an officer who was killed by [[United States|American]] troops in February 1945. He grew up with his brother until 1945 in [[Międzyrzecz|Meseritz]] in eastern [[Brandenburg]] and from 1949 in [[Hersbruck]]. After five years in elementary school, Gossmann moved to the Obberrealschule Hersbruck in 1951. There he had to repeat a class and failed his [[matriculation]] exam. He moved to a secondary school in Ingolstadt and graduated there in July 1962. In fall of the same year he began studying economics at the Technische Hochschule Nürnberg, but he discontinued his education.
In the summer of 1964 he volunteered as a candidate officer and moved in October. After training with various pioneer units in [[Koblenz]] and [[Munich]], he repeatedly sought his dismissal. When this failed, he [[Desertion|deserted]] in April 1965 and henceforth lived under false names in and around Nuremburg.
== Crimes ==
Gossmann shot two women and five men during his robberies in Nuremburg between 1960 and 1965. Striking was the fact that the perpetrator made use of the firearm immediately and his actions always occured at noon.
The first murder occured on April 22, 1960 in the Tuchergartenstraße in Nuremburg, when Gossmann raided an elderly woman's apartament. When she called for help, a subtenant and her fiancé hurried to her, who were then both shot dead by the burglar. Gossmann fled without loot and left the householder alive. This alarmed the police, and the woman gave them a good description of the perpetrator. Despite an alarm of all Nuremburg police stations and the surrounding areas, the fugitive could not be caught. The officials followed up hundreds of clues from the population and sighted with the householder about 2000 photos from the criminal files. In addition, fingerprints were compared, connectections to similar robberies sought and dozens of comparisons carried out. Finally, a FN Herstal caliber 7.65mm was identified as the murder weapon.
After about a year without success, the investigators launched one of the largest manhunt operations in the history of the [[West Germany|Federal Republic]]. All men born in 1939 or 1940, who had lived in Nuremburg at the time of the crime, were examined, a total of 50,336 people. The officers also questioned 1,174 men from the dating agency where the surviving homeowner worked.
On September 10, 1962, the next murder took place. Gossmann shot the store manager of the Sparkasse in Ochenbruck and escaped with over 3,000 [[Deutsche Mark]] in loot, this time using a [[Walther PPK]] pistol. Witnesses could follow his escape route to the station. As early as November 30, Gossmann attacked the Sparkasse branch office in [[Neuhaus an der Pegnitz]] and shot dead a retiree, who did not seem aware of the robbery and had reached into his breast pocket to get a pair of glasses. As a weapon this time a Walther P38 was used.
While the officials were still busy with the investigation of previous crimes, the owner of a gun shop and his mother were shot on March 29, 1936. The projectiles, pods and individual firing features identifeid the same Walther pistols used in the deadly shootings in Ochenbruck and Neuhaus. The male murder victim was under investigation for possible illegal arms deals.
On June 1, 1965, Gossmann committed his last crime in a Nuremburg department store. After trying to steal a customer's purse, several passers-by pursued him. Policemen arrested Gossmann after a shoot-out in which he killed one man and severely injured two others.
== Trial and imprisonment ==
At the time of his arrest, Gossmann had three pistols, a blackjack and firecrackers with him. He initially denied the crimes, but one of his pistols and two others, which were in a tenanted apartament in Nuremburg, could be identified as murder weapons. These had been looted during thefts in 1959, 1960 and 1962. When confronted, a witness of the Ochenbruck raid recognized him.
Confronted with this evidence, he confessed, revealing his indifference to the victims. Among other things, he said this to authorities: ''"He came rushing at me like a savage (...) Since I absolutely wanted to ward off his attack, I therefore fired a third time on the man"'' (first murder in Nuremburg), ''"When I came to the bank and pulled the pistol out, then all they had to do was pick up their cash. If they did not do that, it was their own fault if I had to shoot them."'' (for the bank robberies) ''"I was afraid that I would be captured, and yet had to shoot in self-defense"''. (last murder in Nuremburg)
The secret of the Midday crimes was also solved - Gossmann was not an early riser and needed the morning for his preparations.
On July 27, 1967, Gossmann was sentenced to life imprisonment for fivefold murder and three particularly serious cases of robbery. The first double murder was not negotiated because he had committed it before his 21st birthday.<ref>''Lifelong penitentiary for the "Midday murderer"'' in [[Schwäbische Zeitung]] of July 28,</ref>
At the beginning of 2010, the district court of [[Regensburg]] ordered to release Gossmann on a long-term parole. However, this decision was overturned by the Higher Regional Court of Nuremburg, as there was still danger that Gossmann would commit serious crimes. The [[Verfassungsbeschwerde]] agaist this was successful in 2012. After the Federal Constitutional Court's decision, he was now prepared for life outside of prison and on February 26, 2015, Gossmann was released from the Straubing Prison on probation after spending 50 years in prison.<ref name="faz-13453569"></ref>
== Literature ==
* Stephan Harbort: ''The Midday Murderer''. Audiobook series ''Phenomenon of a serial killer.'' Pablos Media, [[Cologne]] 2007, ISBN 3-938852-57-7.
* [[Gerhard Mauz]]: ''[https://ift.tt/2mZ4qt6 What happened, for heaven's sake??]'' In: ''[[Der Spiegel]].'' No. 30, July 17,1967, p. 51 f.
* Petra Nacke, Elmar Tannert: ''The Midday Murderer.'' Ars Vivendi Verlag, [[Cadolzburg]] 2012, ISBN 978-3-86913-109-2.
* Felix Hutt: ''7 murders, 50 years imprisonment, 1 life after that: The "Midday Murderer" Klaus Gossmann – The true story of a serial sinner.'' Heyne, [[Munich]] 2017, ISBN 978-3-453-20149-1.
* Tobias Haberl: [https://ift.tt/2Ax8z0C ''Seven deaths and one life.''] In: ''[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]], ''October 21, 2017, online at 12app.ch on October 31, 2017.
== References ==
<references />
[[Category:1940 births]]
[[Category:20th-century crimes]]
[[Category:People from Hersbruck]]
[[Category:German serial killers]]
July 31, 2018 at 04:54PM
