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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowmanville, Wednesday, September 21,1994 11 The alcoholic haze in Hamburg's worst slum was disrupted when a woman's head was found in a backyard Max Crime Flashback I t didn't seem to mattér how often the tenants in the two bottom flats complained. The night watchman and handyman, Fritz Honka, at 74 Zeiss St. in Hamburg, Germany, didn't take their complaints seriously, even though he admitted the old house smelled to high heaven. Klaus Kienzle, who lived in the first floor flat had, at Fritz's suggestion, checked the pipes leading into his bathroom. bathroom. No clogs or leaks were found. John Fordal, a 46-year-old sailor, who was so drunk most of the time his sense of smell left much to be desired, often complained of the nauseating odor as well. Fritz himself lived in the third- floor flat, which was little more than an attic hovel. Occasionally he sprinkled deodorant throughout the building. Now I must reveal that 74 Zeiss St. would never be featured in Better Homes and Gardens. The dilapidated structure was located in Hamburg's worst slum. It goes without saying that the occupants of 74 Zeiss were not among the upper rung of German society. society. The lives of many inhabitants of the area revolved around the popular Golden Glove, a low-life saloon where prostitutes, thieves and pimps, con-, firmed alcoholics all, hung out until the management closed up in the wee hours each morning. The alcoholic haze of the area's residents residents was disrupted somewhat on Nov. 1,1972, when a woman's head was found in a nearby yard. Police conducted à search of the district. They located two arms and two legs, but no torso. Even though the body parts had been lying in the yard for some months, technicians were able to lift fingerprints, which were instrumental in identifying the unfortunate woman as Susi Braeuer, a 42-year-old licensed prostitute with a police record. Evidently Susi had had a penchant for rolling drunks, which had necessitated her arrest on more than one occasion. The investigation into Susi's murder involved the questioning of many of her clients, all of whom nothing but compliments compliments for her in the sex department. They swore they only wanted to love Susi, not kill her. The murder went unsolved. Meanwhile, as the months turned into years, that annoying odor continued to linger over 74 Zeiss St. Fritz did what he could. He sprayed the attic with more deodorant. The handyman had good reason reason to keep the odor in check. From time to time virile Fritz, who relished sex of the rougher variety, enticed assorted women to live with him in his attic flat. Eventually, they all moved out, complaining of the vile smell. No one except her husband paid much attention when Anna Beuschel went missing. Every day like clockwork, Anna showed up at the Golden Glove to get sloshed and to ply her chosen profession. profession. Toothless Anna, well in her 50s, was married to Thomas Beuschel, who was in his 30s and actually held down a legitimate job. No one knew what Thomas saw in the alcoholic prostitute, but he apparently loved Anna and provided provided her with enough money to stay intoxicated when her business dried up. Each evening on his way home from work, he checked at the Golden Glove to see if Anna was all right. On the evening evening of Aug. 4,1974, Anna wasn't there. In fact, she was never seen alive again. Thomas reported her missing to police. On Christmas Eve 1974, prostitute Rita Roblick, a regular patron of the Golden Glove, didn't show up at her usual table. Hamburg's finest believed there might be a connection between Rita's disappearance and that of Anna Beuschel. Who knows, maybe the four- year-old Susi Braeuer case was connected connected in some way. All three women were prostitutes who frequented the Golden Glove. The next lady of the night to go missing missing was something of a local celebrity. Ruth Schult was a member of the 50- something gang whose claim to fame involved a penchant for practising her varied varied talents in public. This behavior was frowned on by authorities, licensed prostitute or not. For years it was Ruth's habit to have her hasty midday meal on the same park bench each day. Intoxicated or sober, she never missed her ritual of having something to eat on that park bench. On Jan. 10,1975, when she failed to show up as usual, one of the local merchants, fearing that she might be ill, informed the police. Because she fit the pattern of the other missing women and hung out at the Golden Glove, her disappearance received immediate attention. On June 17, 1975, in the wee hours of the morning, John Fordal tipped over a candle in a drunken stupor. The fire raged upward into the attic and onto the roof. Fordal was fortunate to escape the blaze. It took well over an hour for firemen firemen to bring the flames under control. Once the fire was extinguished, they entered Fritz's apartment, fearing that the night watchman may have been trapped inside. Such was not the case. Fritz had been at an all-night drinking party and had missed the fun. Conscientious fireman Walter Aust sifted through the debris in Fritz's apartment. He made his way behind a cardboard partition which appeared to have escaped the brunt of the fire. Walter peered down and gazed in horror at the mummified torso of what had once been a woman. Later he learned, as did the rest of Germany, that he had found the missing torso of Susi Braeuer. There was more. In that confined storage storage space, firemen unearthed the bodies of Anna Beuschel, Rita Roblick and Ruth Schult in various stages of decomposition. decomposition. As authorities pondered their gruesome gruesome find, the occupant of the death flat showed up to discover police, firemen and medical personnel scrambling about his humble abode. He knew very well why they were there. Fritz was taken into custody. Faced with the undeniable fact that four bodies had been found only a few feet from his bed, he confessed to strangling the women. He told the police that he liked his sex on the rough side. When the women protested, he strangled them. Fritz had decided to dissect his first victim victim Susi Braeuer, but found it a difficult difficult task, working as he did with elementary elementary tools in the confined space of his kitchen. After disposing of her head, arms and legs in the field, he placed her torso in the storage space. The next three women were simply put in the storage space behind the cardboard partition. partition. Fritz always feared he would be exposed because of the repugnant odor. He never dreamed his murderous ways would be revealed due to a drunken sailor sailor knocking over a lit candle. Fritz Honka stood trial for the murders murders of the four women. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. imprisonment. Autographed copies of Max's latest book, Multiple Murderers, are now available through Canada Wide, a division of the Toronto Sun. Orders on VISA, MasterCard or American Express may be placed by calling (416) 947-2191, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-S p.m., or by mail at 333 King St. E., Toronto, Ont., MSA 3X5. for