Reading this piece of history now makes me wonder as Jack the Ripper’s second victim was killed the next day, whether it had angered Jack as we all know how serial killers like to be the first and act superior to the rest of the world.

Traveling back in time to 1806, we travel to a small village named Regensdorf where we meet a laborer named Andreas Bichel. It’s always the ones that hide in plain sight that we have to worry about as it was said that Andreas was a quiet, industrious man and he had a wife to whom he was viewed to be warmly attached too.

Andreas also earned some extra finances by fortune-telling and life went on happily till 1808 when a female named Katherina Liedel vanished.  Katherina’s sister Walburga had told police that Katherina had gone to Andreas to have her fortune told as she had been told that he had a mirror where if they looked into it, they could see their future. 

Police questioned Andreas Bichel, and he cooperated by saying that yes, she had seen him but after her fortune was told – she left with a man he did not know. Due to Andreas Bichel’s reputation in the town, he was let go and went along his way back home to his wife in their little cottage.

Shortly, after police released Andreas, they started to go back through previous missing person cases and came across Barbara Reisinger who had vanished two years earlier and again, It was reported the last place that she was seen was Andreas as she too wanted her fortune told with his magical glass mirror.

Andreas and his wife were arrested soon after as it turned out that Andreas’s wife had sold clothing that belonged to Barbara and her friends recognized it. Police issued a warrant and searched the Bichel’s cottage and found clothing that belonged to Katherina. The suspicion that the girls had met a grisly end though was there but police were stumped as there was no evidence of any murders taking place in the house.

It did not take long to get the evidence that they needed as outside they heard a dog bark at a pile of wood and rubbish. When this was removed, two bodies were found mutilated and disemboweled with their hearts missing. Despite this glaring evidence, Andreas Bichel remained stubborn and acted innocent.

Abolished shortly after this case in Bavaria, the magistrate seeing as they weren’t getting anywhere at the courthouse, took Andreas back to his house and questioned him in the presence of the mutilated bodies. It was said in Bavaria that if they wanted to get the truth out of killers, putting them with their physical victims was a surefire way.  It proved the case for Andreas Bichel our Bavarian Ripper as after spending three days in the presence of his victims, he confessed.

Andreas admitted that when they went to have their fortune told he tied their hands behind their backs and placed a blindfold over their eyes. He then had them face the mirror and attacked from behind, he stabbed Barbara Reisinger in the neck and then Katherina Leidel suffered a blow to the head from a hammer.  He then cut their bodies open and bathed his body and hands in their blood which was said to keep the spirits on his side and the door open to the other side which he needed for his fortune-telling skills.

Upon his confession, it was revealed that he had also killed three other unnamed women and that he had also consumed some of their flesh in his meals.  On June 9^th, 1809, Andreas Bichel was executed via beheading for the murders.

On the upside too this case is a big deal when it comes to cadaver dogs. Thanks to those furry heroes and their incredible sniffing skills, Barbara and Katherina were found. Just imagine if the police had not used dogs – who knows how many more women Andreas Bichel might have harmed? These pups set the precedent, showing just how invaluable they can be in criminal investigations which we now being used often to find dead bodies and catch killers.