THE VAMPIRE OF NUREMBERG
The Nuremberg Regional Court has sentenced Sven Reichart, a 35-year-old man, for the murder, including necrophilia, of Amina Khouri, a 23-year-old female asylum seeker.
Reichart, originally from Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, was declared a menace to the public due to a severe personality disorder and ordered to be placed in a psychiatric facility, a court spokesman said on Wednesday.
This was not my first interview with a vampire: I’d appraised Sven on his remand. He had been uncommunicative on that occasion—it wasn’t clear if this was because of his conviction, or his changed circumstances. No doubt the drugs they were pumping into him were a factor.
Today, however, I hoped for some progress.
“So, Sven, are you ready to talk about it now?” He sat across from me, hands cuffed to the table. Grey prison overalls, hair cropped short. Clearly, he needed sleep.
He raised his eyes from his inspection of the restraints. “Yes.”
They had been giving him antipsychotics. Olanzapine. I had refused to start the treament until they had taken him off the drugs. One month on, he seemed much more lucid.
“We should talk about what happened that day, it will help you to get well.”
I refreshed my mind from the police report.
Zirndorf bei Nürnberg, 27.5.2021. After a call from a member of the public, an officer had been dispatched to the blind arm of the Bibert river at Volkhardstraße.
“Take your time.”
He sat gazing at me, frowning.
We were in a small interview room. The lower half of the walls a gloss primrose, matt above the one meter mark. For easy cleaning? A pungent smell of disinfectant permeated the space.
I leant back in my chair and continued reading, giving him a chance to gather his thoughts.
The responding officer, Wachtmeister 1642 Becker, arrived at the scene at 19:50. A body had been sighted near the river by a citizen, who had dialled 112 and reported it. The officer made his way along the path to where a crowd had gathered. Close to the banks of the river lay a young woman dressed in a tracksuit. The officer established she was not breathing. There being signs of foul play, the KriPo was called in to investigate.
Finally, he let out a breath. “I had finished work.”
I glanced at the top page. “At Brandstätters?”
“That’s right, the Playmobil factory in Zirndorf. I was driving home, through town to get to the Südwesttangente, the highway back to Feucht, where I lived.”
“How did you end up by the river that evening?”
“I was tired, it had been a long shift, working overtime. I was on the Haunted Castle line—that one is always so busy.“ He rubbed his eyes. ”I pulled over for a nap, and I think I slept, but the next thing I remember, I was walking along the bank.”
“And where did you see Miss Khouri?”
“She was just lying by the river. This feeling washed over me, I—”
I interrupted him. “She was already laying down?”
“Yes, taking a rest I supposed.” He shifted in his seat to avoid a streak of sunlight from the high window.
I checked the report again.
The victim had been returning to her accommodation (the AnKER facility on Rothenberger Str.) after attending German lessons at the Volkshochschule. Her bicycle was found abandoned some two hundred meters away, behind the Paul Metz Hall. There were signs she had been dragged to the river.
Why was her bike behind the hall? Who dragged her to the river? Something did not fit.
I looked up. “What happened next?”
“Well, I knelt beside her. She had such a beautiful neck, so soft and appetising.” His eyes sparkled. “I tried to bite in to it, but it was tougher than I’d thought. With that first taste of blood, though, my hunger faded.”
“What did you do then?”
Sven stared at the wall for a minute before responding. Outside, a lawnmower chattered past. I read on.
Kriminalinspektorin Richter arrived at the scene to interview the witnesses. At 20:15, officers discovered the suspect sitting in a green and black 1998 Opel Manta, with a Chemnitz registration*, parked at the end of Volkhardstraße. They attempted to question him, but he was unresponsive. On opening the door, they saw blood on his clothing and called an ambulance. The blood later proved to be a match for the victim, and he was taken into custody at the hospital.
“I was exhausted, so I went back to the car to sleep. I remember little more. There they found me.”
I placed the file on the table. “Have you experienced anything like this before?”
“Maybe. A craving for blood, I knew that feeling. As if there was someone in my head, but it was not me.”
I had to get to the heart of his problem, so I didn’t mince my words.
“Why did you strangle Amina Khouri?”
He stared me in the eye. “Strangle her? What are you talking about? I bit her. Bit her to death.”
“The coroner determined that she died of asphyxiation consistent with strangulation. There were ligature marks around her neck.”
“No. No, that I would never do. I was hungry only. I wanted nourishment.”
Leaving that aside for now, I tried to get him to tell me more about the circumstances.
“The police said her rucksack was missing. Did you take it?”
“I stole nothing. I just needed to eat.”
“Maybe you threw it in the river?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’ve said already, I am not a thief. Did they not ask the other guy?”
“Other guy?”
“A big man, wearing a white Bayern Munich jersey.”
I flicked through the report again. The inspector had been diligent enough to list the interviewee’s names and appearances, clothing. One matched the description.
“He was by her side, but left as I arrived.”
I was making progress. Sven did not fit the profile of the many killers, sexual predators, and psychopaths that I have treated. He needed help, for sure, but if I was to provide that, I had to know the truth, to understand his condition.
I gathered my papers and stood. “Thank you, Sven. I think we have done enough for today. Please get some rest and I will see you again next week. I’ll call the orderly now.”
He blinked and nodded. “Yes, and thank you, Doctor Kellersohn.”
By the time I’d finished my other business in the clinic, it was already dark, with the scent of fresh-cut grass in the spring air. Rather than return home, I drove back to my office. There, I typed up my notes and drafted a letter concerning the case. I sealed it and addressed it to Detective Inspector Richter of the Kriminalpolizei.
POLICE TO TAKE SECOND BITE OF VAMPIRE CASE
In a development in the Vampire of Nuremberg case, the police have announced that, in light of new evidence, the case is to be reexamined.
Reichart, currently held in the Psychiatric clinic in Ansbach, will not be released, although the State Attorney’s office will be reviewing his case.
© 2024 R.O. Phillips
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