A scenario reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film “Rear Window” occurred on June 6, 1925. On that day, housekeeper Josefine Kaiser looked through her window into the apartment opposite, where 61-year-old widow Barbara Mitura usually cooked at lunchtime. But there was no sign of her. Only a large package stood on the kitchen table, which was suddenly taken away by a young blonde woman whom Josefine Kaiser had never seen before. A little later, the young woman left the building with a suitcase and disappeared into an apartment building on Steingasse. Josefine Kaiser found all this strange, so she made her way to the widow Mitura’s apartment. But when she got there, the apartment door was wide open. She cautiously entered the apartment and discovered blood splatters in the kitchen that led her to a storage room. When she opened the door, she found the widow’s blood-covered body. Completely distraught, she sought help from a neighbor and told him about the young blonde woman. The neighbor rushed to the apartment building on Steingasse and discovered the young woman behind a pile of manure in the courtyard. He took her to the Landstraße police station. There, the young woman was identified as 23-year-old Josefine Heider, who was homeless and unemployed. She had grown up with foster parents in Burgenland and had moved to Vienna at the age of 17, where she financed her life with odd jobs and through male acquaintances. In June, Josefine Heider, who was pregnant, had met and fallen in love with Josef Schuch from Oberlaa. To ensure that nothing stood in the way of their marriage, she had faked false ownership of $50 in order to bring her dowry. Josefine Heider desperately wanted a regular middle-class life with a faithful husband. To achieve this, she was willing to accept the murder of the widow Mitura. Knowing that her sons were out of the house during the day, she visited the widow before lunch and killed her with a hoe. She then packed two bags with a watch, cutlery, crockery, and food. She left these with neighbors. With the last item of loot, a suitcase, she left the apartment. Josefine Heider was arrested and gave birth to a child while in custody. She then recanted her confession and accused her foster mother and a friend of committing the robbery and murder of the widow Mitura. However, the jury found Josefine Heider guilty of the crime and sentenced her to 18 years in prison. This put an end to her dream of a happy marriage.
The Window to the Courtyard
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