Between 1923 and 1935 at least twelve boys were killed in the same way in northern Germany:the victims all seemed to have passed away peacefully, and there were no signs of violence. All were wearing sailor suits and were spotted in a pine shelter. Twelve bodies were found, but police suspected that the serial killer may have murdered around a hundred boys.
Adolf Seefeldt was known as "Uncle Ticktock"
The perpetrator had met the boys on his travels:when Adolf Seefeldt was not in prison, he was working as a watchmaker in northern Germany. "Uncle Ticktack" - that was his nickname. Seefeldt was born in Potsdam on March 6, 1870 and grew up in a difficult and unstable family situation:his father was an alcoholic and his mother had numerous love affairs. At the age of twelve, the boy was abused by two men.
Seefeldt was jailed for the first time at the age of 25 for sexually molesting a boy. Since he behaved conspicuously there, he was referred to a psychiatric ward shortly afterwards. Throughout his life he was jailed or "madhouse" time and again for sexual harassment.
Unexplained cause of death
The serial killer was arrested in 1935 - as a result of the investigations by the Criminal Councilor Hans Lobbes, who had been assigned to the case. The Seefeldt case is considered to be his most spectacular case. The hearing before the Schwerin jury began in January 1936, and the trial lasted 32 days. However, the police could not prove Seefeldt actually murdered. Evidence, however, spoke in favor of him as the perpetrator. The bodies of the victims were completely intact and showed no signs of abuse. Seefeldt denied the murders of the children for a long time. Only in later interrogations did he state that he had poisoned his victims. He mixed the poison after pressure from the police - but it would have killed a mouse at most, but not a person. On May 23, 1936, Adolf Seefeldt was executed in Schwerin with a guillotine. The exact cause of the children's deaths has not yet been clarified.