In the tranquil small town of Friedrichsdorf near Bad Homburg in the Taunus mountains, people still vividly remember the shocking events that turned Christmas 2005 into a nightmare. It was a crime that continues to make headlines today, not only because of its brutality, but also because of the bizarre circumstances surrounding it. The story revolves around sex, hatred, and an old heating system—and ended with the gruesome murder of 66-year-old pensioner Erhard Graenzer. Erhard Graenzer, a retired craftsman, lived alone in his detached house when he entered into a fateful relationship. His lover, a 40-year-old woman, had previously worked as a prostitute. Despite her turbulent past, Graenzer fell hopelessly in love with her. The relationship went so far that he considered leaving his entire fortune to her 11-year-old son. When the woman announced that she was separating from her husband, Graenzer not only opened the doors of his house to her, but also his heart, by providing her with an apartment on the first floor of his house. However, this constellation led to an unpredictable drama. On Christmas Eve, the situation came to a head when the woman decided to bring another acquaintance to the apartment. Graenzer, who was plagued by jealousy, promptly threw her out of the house. This action sparked unbridled anger in her. In a blind rage, she drove to her still-husband and together they hatched a murderous plan to get Graenzer out of the way. Five days later, they were determined to put their plan into action. The woman secretly smuggled her husband into Graenzer’s house, where he hid in the bedroom. She then called the pensioner to her house under the pretext of a heating problem. When he bent over the heating system unsuspectingly, the man jumped out of his hiding place and struck with terrifying force – hitting Graenzer’s head up to 20 times with a baseball bat. But that wasn’t enough: to make sure their victim had no chance of survival, they both stabbed Graenzer repeatedly in the chest and neck with a kitchen knife. The sight that followed was not for the faint-hearted. The body was dragged into the basement, where the woman used an axe and an electric handsaw to cut up Graenzer’s body and pack it into plastic bags. Since her still-husband did not want to help her dispose of the body, she called an acquaintance in desperation to come and assist her. The acquaintance acted quickly and immediately alerted the police. Thanks to his swift action, the perpetrators were soon arrested and brought to justice. The house where this inconceivable crime took place stood empty for many years, as no one was willing to buy it. Since the crime, it had been considered a house of horror that no one wanted to live in. After a long search and unsuccessful attempts to sell it, it was decided to demolish the building. Thus, the scene of the gruesome events disappeared, while the memories of it remain indelibly burned into the collective memory of the town. Fortunately, such crimes are very rare in idyllic Taunus, which is why the case of Erhard Graenzer is still a topic of conversation today. It serves as a reminder of how love can turn into obsession and what destructive forces can lie hidden in human nature. The story illustrates how dangerous interpersonal relationships can become when driven by uncontrolled passion and resentment. Friedrichsdorf will never forget Christmas 2006—a dark shadow that inextricably links the town to one of the most brutal murders in the region.
Dark Christmas: The brutal murder of a pensioner in the Taunus mountains
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