Joachim

*Warning – the content below may be too graphic for some people, it may contain descriptions of crime scenes, victims of heinous crimes, and crime scene photos. Reader discretion is advised.*

Sadly the terms Serial Killer, Cannibal, and Necrophilia, are terms most people past childhood know. And these terms can be used alone, or together to describe one person. Many people may come to mind, but the one person I wanted to discuss with you today is, Joachim Kroll.

Joachim was born in April of 1933, the youngest of eight children, not much is known about his other family members; however Joachim was known as weak child, and didn’t have formal education past the third grade level. It is reported that his IQ was at 76. After quitting school, Joachim worked as a farmhand and developed a taste for murder.

The murder he witnessed was animals being slaughtered, not only did this feed his murderous fantasies, but it also awakened him sexually. Joachim had attempted to have a relationship with a woman, however he felt awkward and uncomfortable Fearing he was a failure with women, he didn’t pursue a normal relationship ever again.

In 1955, Joachim’s mother passed away, it was believed his father had passed away as a POW during World War II. His siblings all went their own ways and didn’t remain in contact with Joachim.

As he was now on his own, Joachim began to give into his desires. He committed his first murder in February 1955. He strangled his first victim, Irmgard, then raped her corpse, and then cut her abdomen open. After returning home, Joachim would then have intercourse with a rubber sex doll, specifically purchased for this purpose. This post kill ritual wasn’t complete without choking a small child’s toy doll, while playing with his own doll.

Joachim claimed to not have killed again until 1959. Despite having a low IQ, Joachim displayed signs of higher intelligence; self awareness, methodical, traveling to other cities to commit his crimes; and not being “serial” by modern standards. He didn’t hunt for a certain age group, his victims ranged from 4 years old to 61 years old. He mainly killed women and girls, but did murder one man. Some victims had flesh removed for later consumption, and others did not. Due to the fact that Joachim kept a fairly low profile, and the fact of other murderers working in West Germany at the time, prevented authorities from discovering him sooner.

In 1976, Joachim was living in an apartment building that had a shared bathroom for the tenants. One tenant asked Joachim if he knew what was blocking the bathroom toilet, his reply was simply; “Guts.”

Thinking this was a joke, the neighbor laughed, but immediately stopped when he discovered tiny human organs in the toilet. He immediately called the police.

When the police arrived they searched Joachim’s apartment and discovered human remains in his refrigerator, on the stove cooking, and in the plumbing. Joachim was immediately arrested and confessed to 13 murders and cannibalism.

His trial lasted 151 days, and Joachim had cooperated with police under the impression that he would be given a cure for his homicidal urges. However no cure was given and he was sentenced to life in prison.

Joachim Kroll died at 58 years old in 1991, from a heart attack. He had served less than 10 years in prison.

This is quite unusual in the fact that Joachim had been able to kill undetected for over 20 years, and only was discovered when trying to destroy the remains of his last victim. It’s tragic and unfortunate that the only reason his last victim was murdered was that Joachim had been a neighborhood favorite with the kids as a fun person, having candy and sweets, and letting the kids play with toys and fun games with them. He would babysit often and was trusted by the parents with their kids. 4 year old Marion Kettner was only looking to play dolls and have some candy, when she died at the hands of Joachim. If creepy neighbor had a poster child it would be Joachim Kroll.

I hope this information encourages you to learn more about the case and if you have any insight or thoughts about it, please let me know. I’m eager to learn about more unusual cases that I can share with you all as well.

Please be ever alert, make good choices, stay safe