Read Online A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin by Scott Andrew Selby - Free Book Online
Authors: Scott Andrew Selby
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homicide.
With it being a homicide, the Orpo referred the case to the Berlin Kripo’s homicide squad at about a quarter past three that afternoon. And so the Kripo promptly took over responsibility for this case from the Orpo, who had the case for only a few hours. If it had been a suicide or an accident, the Orpo would have handled this matter on its own. There was a clear hierarchy between these two groups, with the Kripo above the Orpo in status, power, and responsibility.
Criminal Commissioner Zach now headed the investigation. At this point, it was a routine murder case. Just as in contemporary America, detectives wore plain clothes, not uniforms. One of the main differences between their dress and that of contemporary detectives was that they generally wore hats outdoors, as that was the custom of the time.
As they did not have uniforms, these detectives needed a way to quickly reveal their authority to take over a crime scene such as Mrs. Ditter’s house. For this purpose, they had warrant discs. An expert wrote that these “were die struck, exactly like a coin, and were of very high quality. The police agency identification number assigned to each officer was hand-punched into the space provided on the reverse side of the disc.” 2 The side with the number said, “ Staatliche Kriminalpolizei ” for State Criminal Police and the front side had the German imperial eagle clutching a swastika encircled by a wreath.
The disc itself had a hole punched in it so it could be kept on a chain, secured to the detective’s belt like a skateboarder’s wallet. While the police had identification cards, they were not supposed to be used in circumstances such as these, when flashing one’s warrant disc was the way to gain entry to a house. A warrant disc functioned in much the same way as a police shield or badge does today.
In investigating this case, the Kripo detectives observed, “Immediately nearby the deceased—namely, under her right hand on the ground—there was a kitchen-knife with the blade under a dirty cloth. Whether this knife was the one used in the murder is not yet clear. Fingerprints have not yet been found on the knife.” 3
They sent the knife to be tested for fingerprints and to determine whether it was the murder weapon. The Forensic Institute of the Security Police at the Office of the Reich Criminal Investigations Department examined this kitchen knife carefully, with all the latest scientific tests.
After a thorough investigation, they determined, “Human blood was not able to be detected on the kitchen knife. Additionally, no other meat or fat remnants were found on the knife. Beyond that, it can be explained with certainty that this knife cannot be considered as the murder weapon. This fact is especially evidenced by the detail that the fine layer of mold on the handle and blade was intact, which could not have been the case if this knife had been used in the last few days. Further, there was a dark crumb, about four millimeters long, stuck firmly to the point of the knife, which had nothing to do with blood, but was rather made up of plant-root, sand, and seeds. A little clump at the back handle end was also only made up of sandy soil and small bits of plants. Red areas on the back of the knife turned out to be rust; here, also small specimens of little feathers were found which are not from chicken or duck.” 4
The murder weapon was not found on the scene at all. It was a knife that Ogorzow had brought to the scene of the crime and taken with him when he left. So there was no weapon for the police to examine.
Dr. Dolgner, based nearby in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, examined the body before it was moved. He declared Mrs. Ditter officially dead. His preliminary examination revealed the cause of death to be a stab wound on her left carotid artery.
The Kripo arranged for Mrs. Ditter’s body to be delivered to Dr. Waldemar Weimann so that he could conduct an autopsy.
Dr. Weimann dictated a
With it being a homicide, the Orpo referred the case to the Berlin Kripo’s homicide squad at about a quarter past three that afternoon. And so the Kripo promptly took over responsibility for this case from the Orpo, who had the case for only a few hours. If it had been a suicide or an accident, the Orpo would have handled this matter on its own. There was a clear hierarchy between these two groups, with the Kripo above the Orpo in status, power, and responsibility.
Criminal Commissioner Zach now headed the investigation. At this point, it was a routine murder case. Just as in contemporary America, detectives wore plain clothes, not uniforms. One of the main differences between their dress and that of contemporary detectives was that they generally wore hats outdoors, as that was the custom of the time.
As they did not have uniforms, these detectives needed a way to quickly reveal their authority to take over a crime scene such as Mrs. Ditter’s house. For this purpose, they had warrant discs. An expert wrote that these “were die struck, exactly like a coin, and were of very high quality. The police agency identification number assigned to each officer was hand-punched into the space provided on the reverse side of the disc.” 2 The side with the number said, “ Staatliche Kriminalpolizei ” for State Criminal Police and the front side had the German imperial eagle clutching a swastika encircled by a wreath.
The disc itself had a hole punched in it so it could be kept on a chain, secured to the detective’s belt like a skateboarder’s wallet. While the police had identification cards, they were not supposed to be used in circumstances such as these, when flashing one’s warrant disc was the way to gain entry to a house. A warrant disc functioned in much the same way as a police shield or badge does today.
In investigating this case, the Kripo detectives observed, “Immediately nearby the deceased—namely, under her right hand on the ground—there was a kitchen-knife with the blade under a dirty cloth. Whether this knife was the one used in the murder is not yet clear. Fingerprints have not yet been found on the knife.” 3
They sent the knife to be tested for fingerprints and to determine whether it was the murder weapon. The Forensic Institute of the Security Police at the Office of the Reich Criminal Investigations Department examined this kitchen knife carefully, with all the latest scientific tests.
After a thorough investigation, they determined, “Human blood was not able to be detected on the kitchen knife. Additionally, no other meat or fat remnants were found on the knife. Beyond that, it can be explained with certainty that this knife cannot be considered as the murder weapon. This fact is especially evidenced by the detail that the fine layer of mold on the handle and blade was intact, which could not have been the case if this knife had been used in the last few days. Further, there was a dark crumb, about four millimeters long, stuck firmly to the point of the knife, which had nothing to do with blood, but was rather made up of plant-root, sand, and seeds. A little clump at the back handle end was also only made up of sandy soil and small bits of plants. Red areas on the back of the knife turned out to be rust; here, also small specimens of little feathers were found which are not from chicken or duck.” 4
The murder weapon was not found on the scene at all. It was a knife that Ogorzow had brought to the scene of the crime and taken with him when he left. So there was no weapon for the police to examine.
Dr. Dolgner, based nearby in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde, examined the body before it was moved. He declared Mrs. Ditter officially dead. His preliminary examination revealed the cause of death to be a stab wound on her left carotid artery.
The Kripo arranged for Mrs. Ditter’s body to be delivered to Dr. Waldemar Weimann so that he could conduct an autopsy.
Dr. Weimann dictated a
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