Beate Schmidt
Beate Schmidt (born Wolfgang Schmidt October 5, 1966) is a German serial killer. From October 1989 to April 1991, Schmidt murdered five women and an infant. Schmidt is a trans woman.
Beate Schmidt | |
---|---|
Born | Wolfgang Schmidt October 5, 1966 |
Other names | Pink Giant The Beast of Beelitz Beelitz-Murderer |
Conviction(s) | Murder |
Criminal penalty | 15 years in prison and detention in a psychiatric hospital |
Details | |
Victims | 6 |
Span of crimes | October 24, 1989–April 5, 1991[1] |
Country | Germany |
Date apprehended | August 1, 1991 |
Early life
Schmidt was born Wolfgang Schmidt on October 5, 1966 in Lehnin, Brandenburg, Germany.
Serial killer
Schmidt murdered five women and a three month old baby:
- Edeltraut Nixdorf, 51, killed on October 24, 1989.[1]
- Christa Naujoks, 45, raped and strangled to death on May 24, 1990.[1]
- Inge Fischer, 34, raped and stabbed to death on March 13, 1991 in Beelitz.[1]
- Tamara Petrowskaja, 44, strangled to death on March 22, 1991. Schmidt struck her son against a tree stump.[1][2]
- Talita Bremer, 66, strangled to death on April 5, 1991 and corpse was raped.[1]
The nickname the "Pink Giant" came from both the killer's size and alleged penchant for pink lingerie.[3] The area where some of the crimes took place led to a second and third moniker, the "Beast of Beelitz" and "Beelitz-Murderer".[3][4]
On August 1, 1991 Schmidt was arrested: two men had found Schmidt masturbating while wearing a bra under a jacket. Schmidt was sentenced to 15 years in prison and detention in a psychiatric hospital[4] in Brandenburg an der Havel.[5]
21st century
An application for a name change to Beate Schmidt was met by the court in 2001.[5] Since 2009 Schmidt has undergone a hormone treatment for gender reassignment.[5] In 2010, Schmidt was investigated for raping and causing another transgender inmate to attempt suicide.[6]
References
- Friedrichsen, Gisela (November 1992). "Ein Ausholen zum Gegenschlag" [A knock-out to the counter-strike]. Der Spiegel (in German) (45).
- Becker, Claudia (July 16, 2013). "Der Serienkiller darf sich ein bisschen frei bewegen" [The serial killer may move a bit freely]. Die Welt (in German). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- Catherine Lupton (1 January 2012). The Phantom Sanatorium: Beelitz Heilstatten. Solar Books. ISBN 978-0-9832480-4-0.
- Chalk, Titus; Henze, Jacob & Malmgren, Sigrid (May 5, 2011). "The haunted sanatorium of Beelitz". Exberliner. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- Claus-Dieter Steyer: Beate S. statt „Rosa Riese“: Verurteilter Serienmörder durfte Namen ändern. Tagesspiegel, 7. August 2009. (in German)
- "Hat der Rosa Riese wieder zugeschlagen?" [Has the pink giant struck again?] (in German). B.Z. September 9, 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2014.