Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer (2024) s01e03 Episode Script
Mordlust
1
[techno music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[man moaning]
In these types of cases, we often
find ourselves asking the question, "Why?"
[music and cheering continue]
[Anka] Why? The question, "Why?"
[Miroslaw] Why would you go out
and kill someone?
[Christian] After basically
getting away with murder,
why did he target someone else?
- [Miroslaw] Why?
- [Anka] Why?
[dance music playing]
[woman] How come this one man
all of a sudden had the urge to kill,
while millions of others don't?
It just doesn't make sense.
Another question we can ask ourselves is,
"What could you possibly gain
from this crime?"
[ominous music playing]
[woman] The answer lies with the criminal.
[mysterious music playing]
[music ends]
[ominous music playing]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] At first,
I sat at the bar and had a beer.
Two guys were behind the bar,
but only one was serving.
The other was having a side conversation.
I wore sneakers and dark blue jeans,
and a dark blue jacket
made from synthetic fibers.
[suspenseful music continues]
[perpetrator] Both the bar up at the front
and the back area were fairly busy.
There were maybe around 15 to 20 people
in the back room.
And then I went to the back.
And had a look around.
[heart beating]
[suspenseful music continues]
[music and heartbeats end]
POLICE
At this point, it was likely that
Nicky M. from Grosse Freiheit
was considered as victim number two.
Miroslaw was three,
and Alexander was victim number one.
STATE PROSECUTOR
So, now we could call him a serial killer
because he had gone after three victims.
We then realized
we had another lead to look into.
Alexander M. had died in his apartment,
so, we tried to find out
who was the last person he was with.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Regina] Alexander must have
let him into the apartment.
This
murderer.
That was something I thought about.
ALEXANDER'S GRANDMOTHER
How did he get in?
He and the perpetrator
must have been pretty close
to let him into his apartment.
[ominous music playing]
[perpetrator] I saw in the chat
that Alexander had set up a new profile
on the dating site.
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
So, I messaged him.
We exchanged texts
on April 24th or maybe the 25th, 2012.
- SHALL WE MEET UP? THURSDAY?
- OKAY.
[ominous music playing]
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[ominous music playing]
- [ominous music continues]
- [heart beating]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] He didn't know
about the knockout drops.
He shuddered
and I thought he'd spit it back out.
But he didn't.
He stood in the kitchen
and drank two glasses of water.
He said he didn't feel well.
He was a bit disoriented.
He then went to bed
and I stole his belongings.
"I put on the jacket
that was hanging in the closet,
and then had another look
around the bedroom."
"He was lying there, eyes closed.
I was about to leave the apartment,
then I saw on a bookshelf,
just to the right of the front door,
keys, an iPhone, and Alex's wallet."
"Then I threw the wallet and iPhone
into a backpack,
which was also by the front door,
lying on the ground."
[ominous music playing]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] I remembered that I
cracked open the window in Alex's bedroom,
to let in some fresh air.
It might have been at that time
I covered him with a blanket.
He didn't know what was in that drink.
But I didn't give it to him
so I could get rid of him.
[ominous music playing]
[perpetrator] That's not who I am.
Alex so kind.
[music ends]
[Christian] It's possible he realized,
"Oh wow, hey, this worked perfectly."
"What's going to stop me?
And why should I stop?"
"After all, it's working."
[suspenseful music playing]
[woman] "What have I done?
What comes after this?"
Oftentimes, criminals
fear their own development.
After around the third murder,
they start to consider
if this is becoming a bad habit
FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIS
and that each killing might increase
the chance of killing again.
Where will this lead?
The criminal knows this.
[suspenseful, distorted music playing]
[suspenseful music swells]
- [music fades]
- [siren wailing]
[Katrin] And then
another homicide occurred.
This time, the victim
was a man named Peter.
11 DAYS
AFTER THE MURDER IN THE DARKROOM
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] I met him
in an internet chat.
But in the chat, he went by Mario.
PETER'S APARTMEN
[perpetrator] While chatting,
we randomly said,
"Come on, let's meet up."
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[suspenseful music continues]
[perpetrator] My glass bottle
of knockout drops
was on the glass table in the living room.
We sat on the couch, just talking.
It was just the usual small talk.
[ominous music playing]
[high-pitched tone resonating]
[perpetrator] Afterwards,
I stole the debit card out of his wallet.
On my way home, I tried using it.
I was aware that it wouldn't work.
I didn't have the PIN.
[distorted music playing]
[music swells]
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
Peter was also found
in his apartment alone,
exactly like Alexander, lying on
his stomach, tucked under the sheets.
When we received the results,
we learned that in this case too,
GHB had been detected in his blood,
in a very high dosage.
CORONER
For many, many decades,
we hadn't had a series of
mass murders like this
that used, uh poison.
His handling of the substance
seemed well-rehearsed.
With this modus operandi,
you could commit this sort of crime
for a long time without getting caught.
It's the case of a lifetime.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Monika] The pressure rose immensely
because we feared that he'd strike again.
These crimes need to be solved quickly.
And I asked myself,
how many more victims
are there going to be,
and how many cases
haven't even been accounted for?
COMA KILLER
FRIEDRICHSHAIN'S POISON KILLER
I remember writing an email
to the criminal investigator
that was assigned to my case, which read
SURVIVOR
"I read this article. Is it connected?"
That was the moment he realized
I might need psychological help,
and then told me, "At the precinct,
we have this police psychologist,
why don't you make use of her support?"
The perpetrator's on the loose,
and I'm starting to realize that this case
is getting bigger and bigger.
Just the sheer amount of luck
I had that night
That finally dawned on me,
because there were other victims and, uh
people were dying.
KO-DROP KILLER
HOW MANY MORE VICTIMS ARE THERE?
[Miroslaw] Nobody knows who's doing it.
Who is he? What will he do next?
[suspenseful music playing]
[Dr. Nahlah] As a killer,
I have the advantage of knowing
that the victim won't be alive
the next day.
Because I know that soon,
I'll pour knockout drops in their beer.
It's almost like you're playing God.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Christian] If I determine
this guy is narcissistic,
and probably displays
psychopathic behavior,
it's not like these facts
will be written on his face.
Even if he's been treated for this
in the past,
a doctor would never reveal the truth.
So, how do you find him?
[suspenseful music continues]
[Andreas] One thing I ask
the relatives of the victims
is whether they knew about
the victims' plans that night?
Was he going to meet someone?
That's important to us,
because if we retrace
the victims' footsteps,
the criminal usually walks the same path.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Doreen] The criminal is still out there.
And that affects you.
ALEXANDER'S FRIEND
It was all so difficult to grasp,
I didn't understand.
And Alexander's cell phone
was never found.
All we had was the data
retrieved from his phone.
Who was his last contact?
Who did he meet up with?
Because it was clear he knew this person.
[Andreas] At that point,
we had the full, itemized list
of cell phone calls and text messages
from Alexander's phone.
It's often the case that whoever they
contacted recently on their phones
holds valuable information.
SENIOR HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR
There were outgoing text messages
to a mobile phone number.
- THURSDAY?
- OKAY.
And our colleagues were able to establish
that this number was registered
to a certain Dirk.
[ominous, distorted music playing]
[Andreas] This could be
an important witness.
But you can't just pick up the phone
and call him.
First you have to run
a standard background check
and figure out who this guy is.
[rewinding]
453 MILES
[music swells]
[music fades]
[woman] I'm Dirk's aunt.
I'm ten years older than him.
DIRK'S AUN
I was basically raised alongside him.
Grew up with him.
It was sort of like
having a younger brother.
This was because as a kid,
he was always at my parents' house.
[children yelling]
Dirk is friendly, nice, and courteous.
That's basically the Dirk
that I was familiar with.
Dirk was only 13
when my father passed away.
And one day, I was visiting at home.
When I got there, I saw Dirk
sitting alone in my parents' bedroom,
and his body was covered up by a blanket
on my father's side of the bed.
Yeah.
But I didn't ask any questions.
Like, "Why are you sleeping
in the same bed as my mother?"
And I think she was forcing my nephew
to sleep with her,
or perhaps requesting him
to wear my father's pajamas to bed.
So, he basically did everything
for my mother,
and my mother was able to use him
in any way she liked.
[ominous music playing]
[Birgit] Dirk had become
a substitute for my father.
She took whatever she wanted from him.
[ominous music playing]
[woman] The first time I met Dirk
was on a night shift.
I liked him pretty much
from the moment we met.
It was known that
Dirk was very much homosexual.
FORMER COLLEAGUE OF DIRK
[Silke] He was very open
about his sexual orientation.
He was able to win people over
with his personality,
but you always felt that Dirk was uh
slightly forcing himself to fit in,
or wanting to belong, to be liked.
And I think somebody that has
strong self-esteem wouldn't have the idea
to change their appearance
with a plastic surgery operation.
[soft suspenseful music playing]
[Silke] Dirk lived at his grandma's,
where he had a separate apartment unit.
He always gave the impression of having
a very normal upbringing as a child.
A good family home.
He had a good relationship
with his parents and his family.
He was really close to them.
But he never really talked about it.
[ominous music playing]
[church bells tolling]
And Dirk was also involved in the church.
He stood in front of the congregation
and read from the Bible.
There are many people who don't come out.
Back then, it was even harder.
Because it was condemned
by the Church's laws.
My mother must have caught him in the act.
And discovered that he was gay.
You wouldn't want to imagine this woman,
on that day.
Yeah.
I recall her later
using the word, "disgust."
She found Dirk disgusting.
[ominous music playing]
[Birgit] Living with her was impossible.
So, he moved to Berlin.
[suspenseful music playing]
[heart beating]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] I didn't want to be gay.
I was also afraid of becoming an outsider.
So, I stopped going to places
where I could fall in love with men.
My plan was to simply
suppress my sexuality.
- [techno music playing]
- [men chatter]
[perpetrator] Of course,
that wouldn't last very long.
[dance music continues]
[dance music fades]
[cell phone vibrating]
- [ominous music playing]
- [vibrating continues]
[Katrin] Homicide called the last person
who had been in contact with Alexander M.
before his murder.
And, um
They got him on the phone
and arranged to question him in person
as a witness the following day.
My colleague came to me
after the interview.
When he saw him in person
for the first time,
he instantly thought that this could be
the person from the surveillance video.
He actually mentioned this to him,
and it turned out that Dirk
was aware of the footage,
and he told him, "Yes, that's me."
[ominous music playing]
[music intensifies]
[music ends]
So, then there was this huge realization
that we finally had the right guy
sitting right in front of us.
[ominous music playing]
[Monika] "You are here as a suspect,
therefore, you have the right
to make a statement,
or not make a statement."
"You may consult with a lawyer,
and ask them any questions you want
before this interview begins."
"Do you understand these instructions?"
Answer, "Yes."
He seemed just
normal, unhidden.
[ominous music playing]
[Monika] He was very calm.
He spoke very calmly,
but also very eloquently.
He also seemed pretty well-educated.
He kept making eye contact
and was staring at us intently
with these big brown eyes
and answered everything
in a very calm, collected manner.
So, I kept thinking to myself,
"Are you really the perpetrator?"
Some people have
a highly-developed manipulative tendency,
meaning they're simply
very good at influencing others.
They can pick up on exactly what
the other person wants or needs,
and what they can give in return
to gain their trust.
But behind all of this,
they're playing their own game.
"What were you trying to achieve
with the knockout drops?"
"Sexual stimulation."
"For whom?" "For me."
"And possibly create a situation
in which the other person
becomes momentarily unconsc
How should I say?
Momentarily disoriented."
[suspenseful music playing]
"Why did you take the credit card
but not the cash?"
"I wanted to use the stolen credit card
to buy a single train ticket
to Saarbrücken,
but it didn't work."
The ticket machine kept saying,
'unable to process transaction, '
or, 'operation cancelled.'"
"I was dissatisfied, because this feeling,
this emotion of doing something
with someone's property,
did nothing for me."
[suspenseful music continues]
[Katrin] We conducted seven interviews,
and I have to say that
each time he told us something different.
Every time, it was a different story.
And he would
only admit to things
that we had already proven.
"Everything I said is correct,
except that I had two bottles with me."
"I withdraw my statement
from two days ago."
"I was misunderstood then, or rather,
I didn't explain myself properly."
"I didn't know the exact dosage."
"My only motive was to get a hold of
the credit card and use it."
"I don't kill people for this."
[suspenseful music continues]
[Monika] At this point, I don't trust him.
He was an experienced nurse.
He knew exactly
about the toxic effects
of even the tiniest dosages.
And you have to know that
this isn't the case for someone
who hasn't received
such extensive training all those years.
I didn't believe him when he said
he didn't want to kill them, that's
I didn't believe that at all.
He wanted to.
[suspenseful music playing]
[camera clicks]
POLICE
[Andreas] Then, my team went in
and searched Dirk's apartment.
And what we found, he acknowledged
in statement during his interrogation.
There was a miniature bottle
of "Kleiner Feigling" schnapps
that he had left there.
I think he wanted it to be found,
so this entire thing
could be brought to an end.
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[woman] It appears that the police
have captured a serial killer.
The perpetrator is being held on remand
and has confessed to all cases accused.
[Birgit] What happened to Dirk
It makes me sick.
It's disgusting. Disgusting.
This is not the person I grew up with,
and I have no idea
what could have happened to him
to cause him to act like this,
what could've triggered this behavior.
[melancholic music playing]
[Katrin] After presenting the warrant
and arresting the perpetrator,
some of the details
had certainly been confirmed,
but we were still missing
pieces of a bigger picture.
We had to search deeper into
the perpetrator's personality,
his background,
what kind of life did he have.
It was vital to gather more information.
[suspenseful music playing]
"My grandmother died in September 2006
and left me money."
He answered, "It was about 80,000 euros."
"Did your sister also receive money?"
"No, just me."
When my mother died, there was
a lot of strange stuff happening. Yeah.
First of all, Dirk was present
for my mother's death. No?
My mother was lying down in her bed,
saying she wasn't feeling well. Yeah?
Then one day, Dirk finds her dead in bed.
Then a doctor was called,
but it wasn't the family doctor.
Right? Not her own one.
Uh, next, the coroner was contacted.
That's the order of what happened.
And then, my brothers were called.
I didn't even know until the next day.
She was already in the ground.
[suspenseful music playing]
In regards to my mother,
personally, I think he killed her.
And that my
nephew had given her
some sort of drug that made her
uh
Yeah.
Whether he put it in her food
or her drink, I don't know.
[dramatic sting]
[Monika] The grandmother was dug up.
There were unusual substances
detected in her bloodstream,
uh, such as medication,
which our suspect had access to
when working as a nurse at the hospital.
[ominous music playing]
One of the medications
was used frequently at the ward,
which was administered to prep operations.
It relieves anxiety,
makes you tired, and puts you to sleep.
And this very medication was also detected
in his grandmother's bloodstream.
[distorted music playing]
If someone told me
I was friends with a serial killer,
I would've said,
"That's crazy, I'd be able to tell."
Did I actually know this man,
or was he someone totally different
than I thought he was?
[suspenseful music swells]
[music ends]
The local police decided they didn't need
to continue the investigation any further,
and told us,
"Well, we have three homicides in Berlin
that he's directly involved with."
"That's enough for a conviction
and to put him away, for good."
FIRST DAY OF TRIAL
22 FEB 2013
[dramatic music playing]
[Katrin] I've worked
thousands of cases in my career,
and only a handful
have left me this impacted.
If I'm being honest with you,
since this case,
I'm still afraid of this man.
[ominous music playing]
[Miroslaw] When I entered the courtroom,
I took my seat with the co-plaintiffs.
That was the first time
I saw any of these people,
who were presumably parents,
standing in place for the other victims.
As I sat there in the courtroom
NICKY'S SISTER
I looked over at my parents,
then the other relatives
I thought, "Wow.
This is bigger than I thought.״
And there he was.
Standing in his glass box.
He stepped out.
I looked at him.
I thought
"You're lucky."
"I can't lay a hand on you."
[suspenseful music playing]
Once the press had left,
he took down the folder,
and that was the moment
when I saw him again for the first time.
I tried to remember every detail,
in order to present
just how crazy this man was to the court.
I wanted to help grant this man
the longest sentence possible.
[Doreen] I remember
at some point I made eye contact.
And all I was thinking was,
"Don't look away. Do not look away."
[exhales]
He turned away, and I thought,
[exhales] "That's right."
I stood my ground.
[ominous music playing]
These sort of people
that I've encountered in my profession,
are seen as
some kind of monster.
They're really just normal human beings,
and more often than not,
you can sympathize
with their troubled histories.
But this particular case was different.
Solved, yes, but still a mystery.
[suspenseful music playing]
LIFE SENTENCE FOR TRIPLE-MURDERER
PARDON RULED OU
The District Court delivered its verdict
of life imprisonment for triple murder.
[suspenseful music continues]
[Regina] A motive was never confirmed.
That makes it even more
difficult to understand.
To think that,
he did all this just for fun.
So, why did he do it?
Why does someone go out
and give liquid ecstasy to random people?
To sit there and watch them die?
To rob them? Was it about the money?
It just doesn't make any sense.
[Dr. Nahlah] We can't say
there was only one motive.
But if we just look
at one of the most obvious reasons,
being
the thrill of the hunt.
It's a thrill to take someone's life.
[rewinding]
[Dr. Nahlah] It's about wanting to kill.
[dramatic sting]
"I know what I did is forbidden.
It was wrong."
"And what I did, I would condemn
anyone else for doing the same."
"But in a sick way, I liked it."
"It gave me a certain feeling."
[keys rattle]
[Dr. Nahlah] For a human being,
there is no greater knowledge
than the knowledge that someone
is going to die,
and that person, that victim,
doesn't have any idea
that they are about to die.
The killer has the complete upper hand.
It's the ultimate power trip.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Dr. Nahlah] When it's in your nature
to be able to kill someone
and to just watch someone die,
it brings some pleasure.
[ominous music playing]
[Doreen] I thought on occasion
about visiting him in prison,
to ask him why he did it.
Or just to tell him
about all the pain he caused us,
what he did to the parents, how many
people suffered because of him.
Not just the victims, but all the people
who were a part of their lives.
[suspenseful music playing]
9 MONTHS AFTER THE VERDIC
DIRK COMMITS SUICIDE
[Doreen] When I heard
he killed himself, I thought,
"He finally did something good,
and he can't cause any more harm,
to anyone."
But, my next thought was,
"Hmm."
"We won't find the truth,
the whole story."
"Never."
This man
[sighs] Yeah
He wasn't human.
He didn't even apologize to my
to anyone.
Nothing.
[soft music playing]
[Anka] Naturally, you live with the pain.
It's not easy to get used to.
To move on without them.
It's believed that
the energy of the deceased
can transfer itself into one's family.
Dad he's softer now.
I feel Nicky's love inside him.
Mom suddenly was good at technology.
HEAVEN HAS BEEN ENRICHED BY A STAR
And for me, he made me think for myself.
I didn't have that before.
[Anka kisses]
[Anka] He made me strong.
[dramatic music playing]
[dramatic music continues]
[music ends]
[techno music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[man moaning]
In these types of cases, we often
find ourselves asking the question, "Why?"
[music and cheering continue]
[Anka] Why? The question, "Why?"
[Miroslaw] Why would you go out
and kill someone?
[Christian] After basically
getting away with murder,
why did he target someone else?
- [Miroslaw] Why?
- [Anka] Why?
[dance music playing]
[woman] How come this one man
all of a sudden had the urge to kill,
while millions of others don't?
It just doesn't make sense.
Another question we can ask ourselves is,
"What could you possibly gain
from this crime?"
[ominous music playing]
[woman] The answer lies with the criminal.
[mysterious music playing]
[music ends]
[ominous music playing]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] At first,
I sat at the bar and had a beer.
Two guys were behind the bar,
but only one was serving.
The other was having a side conversation.
I wore sneakers and dark blue jeans,
and a dark blue jacket
made from synthetic fibers.
[suspenseful music continues]
[perpetrator] Both the bar up at the front
and the back area were fairly busy.
There were maybe around 15 to 20 people
in the back room.
And then I went to the back.
And had a look around.
[heart beating]
[suspenseful music continues]
[music and heartbeats end]
POLICE
At this point, it was likely that
Nicky M. from Grosse Freiheit
was considered as victim number two.
Miroslaw was three,
and Alexander was victim number one.
STATE PROSECUTOR
So, now we could call him a serial killer
because he had gone after three victims.
We then realized
we had another lead to look into.
Alexander M. had died in his apartment,
so, we tried to find out
who was the last person he was with.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Regina] Alexander must have
let him into the apartment.
This
murderer.
That was something I thought about.
ALEXANDER'S GRANDMOTHER
How did he get in?
He and the perpetrator
must have been pretty close
to let him into his apartment.
[ominous music playing]
[perpetrator] I saw in the chat
that Alexander had set up a new profile
on the dating site.
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
So, I messaged him.
We exchanged texts
on April 24th or maybe the 25th, 2012.
- SHALL WE MEET UP? THURSDAY?
- OKAY.
[ominous music playing]
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[ominous music playing]
- [ominous music continues]
- [heart beating]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] He didn't know
about the knockout drops.
He shuddered
and I thought he'd spit it back out.
But he didn't.
He stood in the kitchen
and drank two glasses of water.
He said he didn't feel well.
He was a bit disoriented.
He then went to bed
and I stole his belongings.
"I put on the jacket
that was hanging in the closet,
and then had another look
around the bedroom."
"He was lying there, eyes closed.
I was about to leave the apartment,
then I saw on a bookshelf,
just to the right of the front door,
keys, an iPhone, and Alex's wallet."
"Then I threw the wallet and iPhone
into a backpack,
which was also by the front door,
lying on the ground."
[ominous music playing]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] I remembered that I
cracked open the window in Alex's bedroom,
to let in some fresh air.
It might have been at that time
I covered him with a blanket.
He didn't know what was in that drink.
But I didn't give it to him
so I could get rid of him.
[ominous music playing]
[perpetrator] That's not who I am.
Alex so kind.
[music ends]
[Christian] It's possible he realized,
"Oh wow, hey, this worked perfectly."
"What's going to stop me?
And why should I stop?"
"After all, it's working."
[suspenseful music playing]
[woman] "What have I done?
What comes after this?"
Oftentimes, criminals
fear their own development.
After around the third murder,
they start to consider
if this is becoming a bad habit
FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIS
and that each killing might increase
the chance of killing again.
Where will this lead?
The criminal knows this.
[suspenseful, distorted music playing]
[suspenseful music swells]
- [music fades]
- [siren wailing]
[Katrin] And then
another homicide occurred.
This time, the victim
was a man named Peter.
11 DAYS
AFTER THE MURDER IN THE DARKROOM
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] I met him
in an internet chat.
But in the chat, he went by Mario.
PETER'S APARTMEN
[perpetrator] While chatting,
we randomly said,
"Come on, let's meet up."
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[suspenseful music continues]
[perpetrator] My glass bottle
of knockout drops
was on the glass table in the living room.
We sat on the couch, just talking.
It was just the usual small talk.
[ominous music playing]
[high-pitched tone resonating]
[perpetrator] Afterwards,
I stole the debit card out of his wallet.
On my way home, I tried using it.
I was aware that it wouldn't work.
I didn't have the PIN.
[distorted music playing]
[music swells]
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
Peter was also found
in his apartment alone,
exactly like Alexander, lying on
his stomach, tucked under the sheets.
When we received the results,
we learned that in this case too,
GHB had been detected in his blood,
in a very high dosage.
CORONER
For many, many decades,
we hadn't had a series of
mass murders like this
that used, uh poison.
His handling of the substance
seemed well-rehearsed.
With this modus operandi,
you could commit this sort of crime
for a long time without getting caught.
It's the case of a lifetime.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Monika] The pressure rose immensely
because we feared that he'd strike again.
These crimes need to be solved quickly.
And I asked myself,
how many more victims
are there going to be,
and how many cases
haven't even been accounted for?
COMA KILLER
FRIEDRICHSHAIN'S POISON KILLER
I remember writing an email
to the criminal investigator
that was assigned to my case, which read
SURVIVOR
"I read this article. Is it connected?"
That was the moment he realized
I might need psychological help,
and then told me, "At the precinct,
we have this police psychologist,
why don't you make use of her support?"
The perpetrator's on the loose,
and I'm starting to realize that this case
is getting bigger and bigger.
Just the sheer amount of luck
I had that night
That finally dawned on me,
because there were other victims and, uh
people were dying.
KO-DROP KILLER
HOW MANY MORE VICTIMS ARE THERE?
[Miroslaw] Nobody knows who's doing it.
Who is he? What will he do next?
[suspenseful music playing]
[Dr. Nahlah] As a killer,
I have the advantage of knowing
that the victim won't be alive
the next day.
Because I know that soon,
I'll pour knockout drops in their beer.
It's almost like you're playing God.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Christian] If I determine
this guy is narcissistic,
and probably displays
psychopathic behavior,
it's not like these facts
will be written on his face.
Even if he's been treated for this
in the past,
a doctor would never reveal the truth.
So, how do you find him?
[suspenseful music continues]
[Andreas] One thing I ask
the relatives of the victims
is whether they knew about
the victims' plans that night?
Was he going to meet someone?
That's important to us,
because if we retrace
the victims' footsteps,
the criminal usually walks the same path.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Doreen] The criminal is still out there.
And that affects you.
ALEXANDER'S FRIEND
It was all so difficult to grasp,
I didn't understand.
And Alexander's cell phone
was never found.
All we had was the data
retrieved from his phone.
Who was his last contact?
Who did he meet up with?
Because it was clear he knew this person.
[Andreas] At that point,
we had the full, itemized list
of cell phone calls and text messages
from Alexander's phone.
It's often the case that whoever they
contacted recently on their phones
holds valuable information.
SENIOR HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR
There were outgoing text messages
to a mobile phone number.
- THURSDAY?
- OKAY.
And our colleagues were able to establish
that this number was registered
to a certain Dirk.
[ominous, distorted music playing]
[Andreas] This could be
an important witness.
But you can't just pick up the phone
and call him.
First you have to run
a standard background check
and figure out who this guy is.
[rewinding]
453 MILES
[music swells]
[music fades]
[woman] I'm Dirk's aunt.
I'm ten years older than him.
DIRK'S AUN
I was basically raised alongside him.
Grew up with him.
It was sort of like
having a younger brother.
This was because as a kid,
he was always at my parents' house.
[children yelling]
Dirk is friendly, nice, and courteous.
That's basically the Dirk
that I was familiar with.
Dirk was only 13
when my father passed away.
And one day, I was visiting at home.
When I got there, I saw Dirk
sitting alone in my parents' bedroom,
and his body was covered up by a blanket
on my father's side of the bed.
Yeah.
But I didn't ask any questions.
Like, "Why are you sleeping
in the same bed as my mother?"
And I think she was forcing my nephew
to sleep with her,
or perhaps requesting him
to wear my father's pajamas to bed.
So, he basically did everything
for my mother,
and my mother was able to use him
in any way she liked.
[ominous music playing]
[Birgit] Dirk had become
a substitute for my father.
She took whatever she wanted from him.
[ominous music playing]
[woman] The first time I met Dirk
was on a night shift.
I liked him pretty much
from the moment we met.
It was known that
Dirk was very much homosexual.
FORMER COLLEAGUE OF DIRK
[Silke] He was very open
about his sexual orientation.
He was able to win people over
with his personality,
but you always felt that Dirk was uh
slightly forcing himself to fit in,
or wanting to belong, to be liked.
And I think somebody that has
strong self-esteem wouldn't have the idea
to change their appearance
with a plastic surgery operation.
[soft suspenseful music playing]
[Silke] Dirk lived at his grandma's,
where he had a separate apartment unit.
He always gave the impression of having
a very normal upbringing as a child.
A good family home.
He had a good relationship
with his parents and his family.
He was really close to them.
But he never really talked about it.
[ominous music playing]
[church bells tolling]
And Dirk was also involved in the church.
He stood in front of the congregation
and read from the Bible.
There are many people who don't come out.
Back then, it was even harder.
Because it was condemned
by the Church's laws.
My mother must have caught him in the act.
And discovered that he was gay.
You wouldn't want to imagine this woman,
on that day.
Yeah.
I recall her later
using the word, "disgust."
She found Dirk disgusting.
[ominous music playing]
[Birgit] Living with her was impossible.
So, he moved to Berlin.
[suspenseful music playing]
[heart beating]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[perpetrator] I didn't want to be gay.
I was also afraid of becoming an outsider.
So, I stopped going to places
where I could fall in love with men.
My plan was to simply
suppress my sexuality.
- [techno music playing]
- [men chatter]
[perpetrator] Of course,
that wouldn't last very long.
[dance music continues]
[dance music fades]
[cell phone vibrating]
- [ominous music playing]
- [vibrating continues]
[Katrin] Homicide called the last person
who had been in contact with Alexander M.
before his murder.
And, um
They got him on the phone
and arranged to question him in person
as a witness the following day.
My colleague came to me
after the interview.
When he saw him in person
for the first time,
he instantly thought that this could be
the person from the surveillance video.
He actually mentioned this to him,
and it turned out that Dirk
was aware of the footage,
and he told him, "Yes, that's me."
[ominous music playing]
[music intensifies]
[music ends]
So, then there was this huge realization
that we finally had the right guy
sitting right in front of us.
[ominous music playing]
[Monika] "You are here as a suspect,
therefore, you have the right
to make a statement,
or not make a statement."
"You may consult with a lawyer,
and ask them any questions you want
before this interview begins."
"Do you understand these instructions?"
Answer, "Yes."
He seemed just
normal, unhidden.
[ominous music playing]
[Monika] He was very calm.
He spoke very calmly,
but also very eloquently.
He also seemed pretty well-educated.
He kept making eye contact
and was staring at us intently
with these big brown eyes
and answered everything
in a very calm, collected manner.
So, I kept thinking to myself,
"Are you really the perpetrator?"
Some people have
a highly-developed manipulative tendency,
meaning they're simply
very good at influencing others.
They can pick up on exactly what
the other person wants or needs,
and what they can give in return
to gain their trust.
But behind all of this,
they're playing their own game.
"What were you trying to achieve
with the knockout drops?"
"Sexual stimulation."
"For whom?" "For me."
"And possibly create a situation
in which the other person
becomes momentarily unconsc
How should I say?
Momentarily disoriented."
[suspenseful music playing]
"Why did you take the credit card
but not the cash?"
"I wanted to use the stolen credit card
to buy a single train ticket
to Saarbrücken,
but it didn't work."
The ticket machine kept saying,
'unable to process transaction, '
or, 'operation cancelled.'"
"I was dissatisfied, because this feeling,
this emotion of doing something
with someone's property,
did nothing for me."
[suspenseful music continues]
[Katrin] We conducted seven interviews,
and I have to say that
each time he told us something different.
Every time, it was a different story.
And he would
only admit to things
that we had already proven.
"Everything I said is correct,
except that I had two bottles with me."
"I withdraw my statement
from two days ago."
"I was misunderstood then, or rather,
I didn't explain myself properly."
"I didn't know the exact dosage."
"My only motive was to get a hold of
the credit card and use it."
"I don't kill people for this."
[suspenseful music continues]
[Monika] At this point, I don't trust him.
He was an experienced nurse.
He knew exactly
about the toxic effects
of even the tiniest dosages.
And you have to know that
this isn't the case for someone
who hasn't received
such extensive training all those years.
I didn't believe him when he said
he didn't want to kill them, that's
I didn't believe that at all.
He wanted to.
[suspenseful music playing]
[camera clicks]
POLICE
[Andreas] Then, my team went in
and searched Dirk's apartment.
And what we found, he acknowledged
in statement during his interrogation.
There was a miniature bottle
of "Kleiner Feigling" schnapps
that he had left there.
I think he wanted it to be found,
so this entire thing
could be brought to an end.
[suspenseful music intensifies]
[woman] It appears that the police
have captured a serial killer.
The perpetrator is being held on remand
and has confessed to all cases accused.
[Birgit] What happened to Dirk
It makes me sick.
It's disgusting. Disgusting.
This is not the person I grew up with,
and I have no idea
what could have happened to him
to cause him to act like this,
what could've triggered this behavior.
[melancholic music playing]
[Katrin] After presenting the warrant
and arresting the perpetrator,
some of the details
had certainly been confirmed,
but we were still missing
pieces of a bigger picture.
We had to search deeper into
the perpetrator's personality,
his background,
what kind of life did he have.
It was vital to gather more information.
[suspenseful music playing]
"My grandmother died in September 2006
and left me money."
He answered, "It was about 80,000 euros."
"Did your sister also receive money?"
"No, just me."
When my mother died, there was
a lot of strange stuff happening. Yeah.
First of all, Dirk was present
for my mother's death. No?
My mother was lying down in her bed,
saying she wasn't feeling well. Yeah?
Then one day, Dirk finds her dead in bed.
Then a doctor was called,
but it wasn't the family doctor.
Right? Not her own one.
Uh, next, the coroner was contacted.
That's the order of what happened.
And then, my brothers were called.
I didn't even know until the next day.
She was already in the ground.
[suspenseful music playing]
In regards to my mother,
personally, I think he killed her.
And that my
nephew had given her
some sort of drug that made her
uh
Yeah.
Whether he put it in her food
or her drink, I don't know.
[dramatic sting]
[Monika] The grandmother was dug up.
There were unusual substances
detected in her bloodstream,
uh, such as medication,
which our suspect had access to
when working as a nurse at the hospital.
[ominous music playing]
One of the medications
was used frequently at the ward,
which was administered to prep operations.
It relieves anxiety,
makes you tired, and puts you to sleep.
And this very medication was also detected
in his grandmother's bloodstream.
[distorted music playing]
If someone told me
I was friends with a serial killer,
I would've said,
"That's crazy, I'd be able to tell."
Did I actually know this man,
or was he someone totally different
than I thought he was?
[suspenseful music swells]
[music ends]
The local police decided they didn't need
to continue the investigation any further,
and told us,
"Well, we have three homicides in Berlin
that he's directly involved with."
"That's enough for a conviction
and to put him away, for good."
FIRST DAY OF TRIAL
22 FEB 2013
[dramatic music playing]
[Katrin] I've worked
thousands of cases in my career,
and only a handful
have left me this impacted.
If I'm being honest with you,
since this case,
I'm still afraid of this man.
[ominous music playing]
[Miroslaw] When I entered the courtroom,
I took my seat with the co-plaintiffs.
That was the first time
I saw any of these people,
who were presumably parents,
standing in place for the other victims.
As I sat there in the courtroom
NICKY'S SISTER
I looked over at my parents,
then the other relatives
I thought, "Wow.
This is bigger than I thought.״
And there he was.
Standing in his glass box.
He stepped out.
I looked at him.
I thought
"You're lucky."
"I can't lay a hand on you."
[suspenseful music playing]
Once the press had left,
he took down the folder,
and that was the moment
when I saw him again for the first time.
I tried to remember every detail,
in order to present
just how crazy this man was to the court.
I wanted to help grant this man
the longest sentence possible.
[Doreen] I remember
at some point I made eye contact.
And all I was thinking was,
"Don't look away. Do not look away."
[exhales]
He turned away, and I thought,
[exhales] "That's right."
I stood my ground.
[ominous music playing]
These sort of people
that I've encountered in my profession,
are seen as
some kind of monster.
They're really just normal human beings,
and more often than not,
you can sympathize
with their troubled histories.
But this particular case was different.
Solved, yes, but still a mystery.
[suspenseful music playing]
LIFE SENTENCE FOR TRIPLE-MURDERER
PARDON RULED OU
The District Court delivered its verdict
of life imprisonment for triple murder.
[suspenseful music continues]
[Regina] A motive was never confirmed.
That makes it even more
difficult to understand.
To think that,
he did all this just for fun.
So, why did he do it?
Why does someone go out
and give liquid ecstasy to random people?
To sit there and watch them die?
To rob them? Was it about the money?
It just doesn't make any sense.
[Dr. Nahlah] We can't say
there was only one motive.
But if we just look
at one of the most obvious reasons,
being
the thrill of the hunt.
It's a thrill to take someone's life.
[rewinding]
[Dr. Nahlah] It's about wanting to kill.
[dramatic sting]
"I know what I did is forbidden.
It was wrong."
"And what I did, I would condemn
anyone else for doing the same."
"But in a sick way, I liked it."
"It gave me a certain feeling."
[keys rattle]
[Dr. Nahlah] For a human being,
there is no greater knowledge
than the knowledge that someone
is going to die,
and that person, that victim,
doesn't have any idea
that they are about to die.
The killer has the complete upper hand.
It's the ultimate power trip.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Dr. Nahlah] When it's in your nature
to be able to kill someone
and to just watch someone die,
it brings some pleasure.
[ominous music playing]
[Doreen] I thought on occasion
about visiting him in prison,
to ask him why he did it.
Or just to tell him
about all the pain he caused us,
what he did to the parents, how many
people suffered because of him.
Not just the victims, but all the people
who were a part of their lives.
[suspenseful music playing]
9 MONTHS AFTER THE VERDIC
DIRK COMMITS SUICIDE
[Doreen] When I heard
he killed himself, I thought,
"He finally did something good,
and he can't cause any more harm,
to anyone."
But, my next thought was,
"Hmm."
"We won't find the truth,
the whole story."
"Never."
This man
[sighs] Yeah
He wasn't human.
He didn't even apologize to my
to anyone.
Nothing.
[soft music playing]
[Anka] Naturally, you live with the pain.
It's not easy to get used to.
To move on without them.
It's believed that
the energy of the deceased
can transfer itself into one's family.
Dad he's softer now.
I feel Nicky's love inside him.
Mom suddenly was good at technology.
HEAVEN HAS BEEN ENRICHED BY A STAR
And for me, he made me think for myself.
I didn't have that before.
[Anka kisses]
[Anka] He made me strong.
[dramatic music playing]
[dramatic music continues]
[music ends]