David Edward Maust

David Edward Maust (April 5, 1954 – January 20, 2006) was an American serial killer who targeted predominantly male teenagers. His murders occurred in Germany and the United States. In 1984, he was sentenced to 35 years in prison; he was released under probation in June 1999. Once released and off of probation he continued murdering, leading to his final arrest and sentencing to three life terms without the possibility of parole.

In January 2006, about a month after his last sentencing, Maust killed himself by hanging in his jail cell. Jail workers found a suicide note in his cell in which he confessed to five killings, and apologized to the victims' families. Maust was 51 years old.

Early life David Edward Maust was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania, in 1954. His parents were George and Eva Maust. The surname Maust is of Amish origins. His father divorced and left his mother when Maust was 7. Maust's father was orphaned at the age of 12, and was raised in foster homes. According to records his mother was mentally ill and diagnosed as psychotic.

Maust was confined in a mental institution at the age of nine at the request of his mother. Originally found unfit to stand trial, he was held in mental health facilities. Ultimately, after those hospitalizations and roughly ten years in jail awaiting trial, Maust pleaded guilty in 1994 and was sentenced to 35 years. However, he received credit for the 12 years he was held and time off for good behavior; thus he served 17 years altogether and was released in 1999.

A fact sheet sent to the Illinois Department of Corrections by the Cook County state's attorney's office after this conviction said, "This inmate is most likely the most dangerous inmate you will house." Maust wrote a five-page letter to the Illinois Department of Corrections requesting to not be released from prison. "He did not meet the criteria to be placed in any other kind of facility," said Dee Dee Short, a Department of Corrections spokeswoman.

In 2001, Maust hit an acquaintance six times in the back of the head with a metal pipe in another attempted murder, but he was not prosecuted because the acquaintance, although he reported the incident to police, did not want to pursue prosecution.

On December 12, 2003, Maust was arrested for the strangling death of James Raganyi, 16. Both Raganyi and Dennis were reported missing on September 10, 2003. In November 2005, he pleaded guilty for the three murders and was sentenced to three life terms.

Aftermath In January 2006, about a month after his last sentencing, Maust killed himself by hanging in his jail cell. Jail workers found a suicide note in his cell in which he confessed to five killings, and apologized to the victim's families. Maust was 51 years old.

"Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-7 provides that sex or violent offenders must register with local law enforcement authority. Indiana Code Section 11-8-8-5(18) defines a "sex or violent offender" to include a person convicted of murder."

The Indiana Code Section 11-8-8 was enacted in July 2006, as of this date there are four types of offenders:

There are two registry terms of enrollment; 10 years and life.

In popular media In 2009, an official biography entitled Blood Stained: When No One Comes Looking was released by Dory Maust. Dory, who is married to a distant relative of Maust's, was contacted by Maust's brother Jeffrey and asked to write a book about him. She decided against this, instead choosing to independently work on a biography with Maust's attorney Tom Vanes.