Peter Hößl

Peter Hößl (10 July 1940 – April 2022) was a German serial killer who murdered at least four people in Munich district between 1956 and 1982.

Hößl was first convicted in 1958 as a juvenile for the murder of a pre-teen boy, but freed after a year of youth detention. In 1962, he received a life sentence for killing two men in separate incidents, remaining in custody for 19 years before he was released on parole. Hößl was again convicted of murdering a second boy in 1983, after which he remained incarcerated until his death in 2022.

Biography

Early life Hößl was born to wealthy parents in Munich, as the son of a millionaire furniture businessman. After finishing mandatory schooling, Hößl undertook a business education, as he was expected to take over the company as an adult. He stole several thousand Deutsche Mark from his father's finances to buy a rifle, which he secretly took out for shooting in empty fields. Psychologists at Hößl's final murder trial stated that his fascination with firearms had a "strong sexual component".

First murder On 24 November 1956, Hößl, aged 16, fatally shot 11-year-old student Franz Stöbich on Vogelweideplatz in Bogenhausen. Stöbich was shot five times from a close distance using a long rifle and covered with leaves and rocks. Initially, Norbert Wanger, a teenage weapons collector and friend of Stöbich, was arrested. During interrogation, Wanger claimed that he shot Stöbich by accident when aiming at a rock in front of him, then killed him to "not have him live as a cripple", repeating the confession three times, but recanting shortly after each. The statement did not align with the fact that Stöbich was shot from behind and it was later revealed that Wanger had been manipulated by police. He was coerced to repeat a version coached by officers, who claimed it would result in a more lenient sentence for him.

In a letter written to his cousin Michael in East Germany shortly after his release, Hößl admitted to sneaking up on Stöbich and shooting the boy in the back, using his gun case as a makeshift suppressor. He boasted how it was "the perfect murder", further adding, "I'll be damned if it remains my last". It has been alleged that Hößl's father was aware of the letter's contents, but he nevertheless continued to financially support Hößl and provided him with living accommodations. Hößl returned to his business education and was employed by a friend of his father. He again embezzled funds to buy guns from illicit gun dealers.

Second murders On 23 May 1959, Hößl drove to Perlacher Forst, where he wandered around for several hours before finding 59-year-old retiree Johann Huber lounging on an air mattress while reading. Hößl shot the man in the chest from a close distance, being briefly scared off when Huber lunged at him before Hößl killed Huber with a gunshot to the head. He hid Huber's body in a cardboard box and left it along with the gun in the nearby treelines. Police found both shortly after, but had no leads in the murder. The same year, Hößl bought a rifle and hid it in Perlach forest, but it was found by a hiker and handed to police.

On 25 June 1960, while walking around the wooded outskirts of Munich, Hößl killed 19-year-old labourer Gerhard Habel as the latter was riding his bicycle. Hößl had jumped into Habel's path and incapacitated him with two gunshots from a pistol, killing him with another two gunshots as he was on the ground before fleeing the scene.

Final murder On 26 August 1982, Hößl ambushed 15-year-old Peter Sigl while the boy was collecting maize for his pet birds outside of Ismaning. Sigl was shot multiple times with a 7,65 mm caliber gun, after which Hößl hid the victim's bicycle. Police immediately suspected that a patient from nearby Haar killed Sigl, since the murder appeared random, with no signs of sexual assault or robbery. Patient records led investigators to Peter Hößl, due to the same modus operandi, but during questioning, Hößl denied any involvement. He first claimed to have remained in Munich during the killing to renovate his future mother-in-law's house, but claimed to have misremembered the facts after police confronted him with evidence to the contrary.

In August 1983, Hößl was sentenced to life imprisonment at , where he died in April 2022.