A SERIAL killer known as the "The Dusseldorf Vampire" mercilessly slaughtered nine victims and tried to drink their blood. Peter Kurten began his killing spree at the age of nine after a disturbing childhood that saw him mutilate animals for sexual pleasure.
![[Peter Kurten was dubbed 'The Dusseldorf Vampire' after sucking the blood of victims through their wounds]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/1883-1931-two-photographs-dusseldorf-947253499.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Kurten tortured his victims, mostly children, over two decades, stabbing them with scissors, or bludgeoning them with a hammer to achieve a heightened sexual state. He would then drink blood from their wounds sparking fear and panic among locals that a real-life vampire was on the loose.
![[A picture shows Peter Kurten's dissected head which is now displayed in a museum in Wisconsin]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/www-facebook-com-thenautilus1-posts-947250595.jpg?strip=all&w=460)
The killer took pleasure in his depraved acts - visiting their graves to carry out sex acts. Even talking to police at the scene of the crime wasn’t a step too far for Kurten, under the guise of a concerned citizen. Between 1913 and 1929 he murdered nine people, had attempted to murder seven more and had a total of nearly 100 crimes when he was eventually caught in 1930.
![[The scissors which the serial killer used to stab his victims to death]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/NINTCHDBPICT000947246048.jpg?strip=all&w=241)
After realising German cops were closing in and that a reward had been issued, he told his oblivious wife to turn him in and claim the money. He expressed no remorse for his killing spree - instead blaming his abusive childhood and his time in prison for other petty crimes.
![[Christine Klein, 9, was Kurten's first victim as he found her sleeping in her bed during a robbery at a pub]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/christine-klein-victim-peter-kuerten-947265950.jpg?strip=all&w=600)
Speaking in court, Kurten said: “I had to kill. I did not kill either people I hated, or people I loved. I killed whoever crossed my path at the moment my urge for murder took hold of me. He added: “Never have I felt any misgivings in my soul.”. During his trial, it took the jury just 90 minutes to reach a guilty verdict and he was handed nine death sentences and ordered to be executed by guillotine.
![[Kurten was sentenced to death by guillotine after killing nine and attempting to kill several others]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/www-facebook-com-thenautilus1-posts-947250655.jpg?strip=all&w=555)
