Beate Schmidt

Beate Schmidt (born Wolfgang Schmidt on 5 October 1966) is a German serial killer. From October 1989 to April 1991, Schmidt, a transgender woman, murdered five women and an infant.

Beate Schmidt
Born
Wolfgang Schmidt

(1966-10-05) 5 October 1966
Lehnin, Bezirk Potsdam, East Germany
Other namesPink Giant
The Beast of Beelitz
Beelitz-Murderer
Conviction(s)Murder
Criminal penalty15 years in prison and detention in a psychiatric hospital
Details
Victims6
Span of crimes
24 October 1989 – 5 April 1991[1]
CountryGermany
Date apprehended
1 August 1991

Early life

Schmidt was born Wolfgang Schmidt on 5 October 1966 in Lehnin, Brandenburg.

Murders

Schmidt murdered five women and a three month old baby:

  • Edeltraut Nixdorf, 51, killed on 24 October 1989.[1]
  • Christa Naujoks, 45, raped and strangled to death on 24 May 1990.[1]
  • Inge Fischer, 34, raped and stabbed to death on 13 March 1991 in Beelitz.[1]
  • Tamara Petrowskaja, 44, strangled to death on 22 March 1991. Schmidt struck her son against a tree stump.[1][2]
  • Talita Bremer, 66, strangled to death on 5 April 1991 and her corpse was raped.[1]

The nickname the Pink Giant came from both the killer's size and alleged penchant for pink lingerie.[3] The area where some of the crimes took place led to a second and third moniker, the "Beast of Beelitz" and "Beelitz-Murderer".[3][4]

On 1 August 1991 Schmidt was arrested after two men found Schmidt masturbating while wearing a bra under a jacket. Schmidt was sentenced to 15 years in prison and detention in a psychiatric hospital[4] in Brandenburg an der Havel.[5]

21st century

An application for a name change to Beate Schmidt was met by the court in 2001.[5] Since 2009 Schmidt has undergone a hormone treatment for gender reassignment.[5] In 2010, Schmidt was investigated for raping and causing another transgender inmate to attempt suicide.[6]

See also

References
  1. Friedrichsen, Gisela (November 1992). "Ein Ausholen zum Gegenschlag" [A knock-out to the counter-strike]. Der Spiegel (in German) (45).
  2. Becker, Claudia (16 July 2013). "Der Serienkiller darf sich ein bisschen frei bewegen" [The serial killer may move a bit freely]. Die Welt (in German). Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  3. Catherine Lupton (1 January 2012). The Phantom Sanatorium: Beelitz Heilstatten. Solar Books. ISBN 978-0-9832480-4-0.
  4. Chalk, Titus; Henze, Jacob & Malmgren, Sigrid (5 May 2011). "The haunted sanatorium of Beelitz". Exberliner. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
  5. Claus-Dieter Steyer: Beate S. statt „Rosa Riese“: Verurteilter Serienmörder durfte Namen ändern. Tagesspiegel, 7. August 2009. (in German)
  6. "Hat der Rosa Riese wieder zugeschlagen?" [Has the pink giant struck again?] (in German). B.Z. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
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