In the smoky bars of 1970s Hamburg’s red-light district, a quiet night watchman named Fritz Honka preyed on vulnerable women. Over five years, he murdered at least four, dismembered their bodies, and lived among the remains hidden in his cramped attic apartment—until a devastating fire exposed his gruesome secret.

Host Alexander Lawson uncovers the tragic lives of the victims, Honka’s troubled past, the shocking discovery, and the trial that revealed a killer hiding in plain sight. A chilling tale of isolation, alcoholism, and the invisibility of marginalized women.

⚠️ Listener discretion advised: Contains graphic descriptions of murder, dismemberment, and sexual violence.

True crime | Serial killer | Hamburg Germany | Fritz Honka | St. Pauli | Cold cases turned horror

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In this chilling episode of A True Crime Podcast, host Alexander Lawson uncovers the terrifying reign of terror by Wolfgang Schmidt, the towering German serial killer known as the “Pink Giant” and “Beast of Beelitz.” Between 1989 and 1991 in Brandenburg, Schmidt murdered five women and a three-month-old infant in a series of sexually motivated attacks involving lingerie, strangulation, and necrophilia.

From rural garden ambushes to forest horrors, his crimes plunged communities into fear just after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Discover the investigation, dramatic arrest, trial, and Schmidt’s later life in psychiatric care.

Listener discretion is strongly advised – this episode contains graphic details of violence and sexual assault.

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In this gripping episode of A True Crime Podcast, host Alexander Lawson uncovers the horrifying story of Niels Högel, a German nurse who murdered at least 85 patients — and possibly over 200 — by deliberately inducing cardiac arrests so he could play the hero by resuscitating them. From the hospitals in Oldenburg and Delmenhorst to a landmark trial that exposed shocking systemic failures, this is a tale of betrayal, ego, and unimaginable evil in the very place where lives were meant to be saved.

Alexander dives deep into Högel’s methods, the years-long investigation involving exhumations across countries, his confessions, and the devastating impact on victims’ families. One of postwar Germany’s darkest cases.

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In the spring of 1959, a quiet young man triggered by a single movie night unleashed a reign of terror across southwestern Germany. Host Alexander Lawson explores the shocking crimes of Heinrich Pommerenke — the “Beast of the Black Forest” — who raped and murdered four women in just months, committing dozens more assaults while evading capture.

From throat-slashings and train-track horrors to a dramatic arrest over a forgotten bag, this episode unpacks his troubled past, the manhunt that gripped the nation, his record-breaking sentence, and decades behind bars until his death in 2008.

A true story of fear, brutality, and justice in post-war Germany. Listener discretion advised — contains graphic content.

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In this chilling episode of A True Crime Podcast, host Alexander Lawson uncovers the horrifying crimes of Joachim Georg Kroll, the unassuming Duisburg man known as the Ruhr Cannibal. For over two decades, Kroll preyed on women and girls across Germany’s Ruhr region, committing acts of rape, murder, mutilation, and cannibalism that shocked the nation.

From his first killing in 1955 to his shocking 1976 arrest—triggered by a clogged toilet filled with a victim’s remains—explore how this seemingly harmless neighbor evaded capture for years, the tragic wrongful convictions that followed his crimes, and the disturbing details revealed in his marathon trial.

A story of hidden monstrosity, investigative failures, and unimaginable evil. Listener discretion is advised.

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In the chaotic ruins of post-WWII Germany, Willi Kimmritz became one of the most feared predators around Berlin. Known as “The Horror of the Brandenburg Forest,” he lured desperate women on foraging trips (“Hamstertouren”) into isolated woods, where he raped, robbed, and murdered them. Over two years, he confessed to dozens of attacks and at least four killings, exploiting the fractured Allied occupation zones while police launched the massive manhunt Aktion Roland.

Host Alexander Lawson explores Kimmritz’s criminal past, his brutal crimes, the chance arrest that finally stopped him, and his 1950 execution by guillotine. A chilling true story of desperation, lawlessness, and one man’s monstrous opportunism.

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In this chilling episode of A True Crime Podcast, host Alexander Lawson uncovers the horrifying true story of Christine and Léa Papin — two devoted French maids who, in 1933, savagely murdered their employer’s wife and daughter in Le Mans. What began as a dispute over a broken iron escalated into one of the most gruesome crimes in French history: eyes gouged out with bare hands, bodies bludgeoned and hacked beyond recognition.

Explore the sisters’ traumatic past, their unnaturally close bond, the shocking crime scene, the lightning-fast trial, and the enduring psychological mysteries that continue to fascinate experts. Was it folie à deux, repressed rage, or something far darker?

Listener discretion is advised — this episode contains graphic details of violence.

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In the early hours of July 3, 1975, fearless French investigating judge François Renaud—known as “the Sheriff” for his relentless war on Lyon’s underworld—was gunned down execution-style outside his home. The first magistrate assassinated in France since World War II, his murder shocked the nation and exposed the dark underbelly of 1970s Lyon, nicknamed “Chicago-sur-Rhône.”

Host Alexander Lawson unpacks the brazen ambush by masked killers, the suspected ties to the notorious Gang des Lyonnais, and explosive allegations of political corruption involving the SAC and stolen heist money. Despite decades of investigation, multiple judges, and named suspects, no one has ever been convicted. The case remains one of France’s most haunting unsolved true crime mysteries.

What really silenced the Sheriff? Listen now for the full story, theories, and why the truth may still be buried.

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In the 1980s, a crew of childhood friends from Paris’s Belleville neighborhood became legends as the Gang des Postiches. Disguised in wigs, fake beards, and bourgeois outfits, they stormed banks in broad daylight, cracking open hundreds of wealthy clients’ safe deposit boxes with hammers and chisels. With a haul worth tens of millions, they outwitted police for years—until one final heist ended in deadly gunfire.

Host Alexander Lawson explores their audacious crimes, clever disguises, public fascination as modern-day Robin Hoods, and dramatic downfall in this gripping true crime episode. From tax-audit jokes to hidden loot caches and helicopter escapes, discover one of France’s most stylish criminal sagas.

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In this gripping episode of A True Crime Podcast, host Alexander Lawson explores one of France’s most haunting cold cases—the 1984 abduction and murder of four-year-old Grégory Villemin.

Bound and drowned in the Vologne River, Grégory’s death triggered a storm of anonymous “Corbeau” letters, bitter family rivalries, botched police work, false accusations against his own mother, and a vigilante killing. From poison-pen threats born of jealousy to decades of investigative failures and modern forensic efforts that still haven’t delivered justice, this case continues to captivate and frustrate an entire nation.

Join Alexander as he unpacks the tragedy, the twists, and the enduring mystery that remains unsolved more than 40 years later.

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#TrueCrime #UnsolvedMystery #GregoryVillemin #FrenchColdCase #AffaireGregory