EP49: Pink Panty Predator
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All right, welcome back to another episode of the Psychopedia Podcast. I am your co-host, Hank Sinatra, here with my micro host, Investigator Slater. And we are ready to give you a killer episode. No pun intended. Pun very much intended. It was actually not intended. Really? I swear to God. We're here joined by Cash on his pink blanket. He is chilling, just had a pup cup or a puppuccino, whatever the fuck.

They both work. Well, if you ask for a puppuccino at Starbucks, they go, you mean a pup cup? Or if you ask for a pup cup, they say, do you mean puppuccino? Yeah. So there are no standards at Starbucks. We were just talking about this. We were just discussing. Make sure if you love us to rate, review, subscribe, share, demand your family and friends listen to this podcast so we can just keep growing and reaching more people to

Keep populating this ever-growing community of absolute lunatics who love true crime and laughing about it. We are crazy, aren't we? Yeah. It feels so good, though. I like nothing more than to say some crazy shit and to see how people respond.

But they're us, so you know how they're going to respond. That's the best, right? Oh, yeah. No, that's why I said many episodes ago, this podcast is the most I am myself anywhere in my life. That's probably my personal favorite thing that you have ever said on any of these episodes. Yeah. Seriously. You've said a lot of profound, you know, meaningful things along the way here. We're, what, almost 50 episodes deep? Well, that was just real. But I loved it. Yeah. I loved it. Speaking of community, if you love us and love this podcast and you're just not getting quite...

quite enough of your fix, you can go somewhere else to get it. And that place you can go is patreon.com slash psychopedia pod, where not only can you engage in a global group chat that runs 24 seven that we're chiming in constantly on, you get episodes of unhinged every week. You

where we just uploaded the first episode that I presented. It was about Richard Russell, a.k.a. Bebo, a.k.a. Sky King. And people loved it. I just actually wanted to piggyback off that because I have an announcement to make. Oh, boy. You see how it feels? It doesn't feel good. What could it be? It's heavy. I haven't told you this yet, but I'm going to be retiring from my role on Psychopedia Podcast.

because there seems to be no longer a need for my services. Yeah. Because it turns out you can bring the gravity and the levity. So... Tank Sinatra, a.k.a. Bebo, a.k.a. Podcast King. Ha!

Guys, Tank crushed his first case on Patreon. So much so, the response was so beautiful and so supportive, which I encouraged. I wanted people to give me that feedback. It was a little much, though. So I'm teasing when I say I'm retiring. Don't worry, I'm not. And I don't mean a little much in a bad way. I just mean it was way more than I even thought it was going to be. You guys are great about everything. That was even more than I thought possible. Me too. And I know in the episode, I was like, guys, let's give Tank the encouragement. Yeah.

I didn't even have to say that. It was going to come at you anyway. Yeah. But it made me realize, like, I think I'm not needed. Maybe. Oh, you're very much needed. Very much needed. Mostly because you just don't want to do that. I could never do what you do. You did. You did.

I did it a different way. That's true. And you know what? It was refreshing and a really nice change of pace. Yeah, it was refreshing to have a case that was totally discombobulated and void of any facts or information. It really wasn't. I know. There was some information in there for sure. It really wasn't. And just to let people who are not on Patreon understand, so Tank delivered an episode. He researched. He executed the case entirely himself. He was the investigator Slater of that episode. And I was sort of like the Tank Sinatra, even though I didn't get any comments about how good I was as the Tank Sinatra.

Yeah, so patreon.com slash psychopedia pod where you can hear me be Investigate Us Later, but also you can see Investigate Us Later be me in the Unhinged episodes where we revisit a case every week and I just run her through the ringer. And I feel bad for her, but also I don't because it's fun. Are you kidding? I can take it. Yeah, sure.

I'm pretty okay with things now. In the beginning, I was very uncomfortable, but I've arrived, I feel like, and I'm comfortable and I embrace not being in control for an hour a week. You are very good at being me. Also, just real quick, we have merch now and we never talk about it. I know. And it's because finding it is a little annoying. It's in the highlighted story on our Instagram page,

Or you can go to psychopediapod.com. That's true. They've put a little icon to Shopify that you can just click and it takes you right to the store. Perfect. So either you can Google something or you can go to psychopediapod.com. Just go to psychopediapod.com anyway and enter your email because we're going to be on the road soon. Yeah. So I think that's it from me. Without further ado, which I think is the thing I'm going to be using from now on and forever because that's what you said last time.

When I did the episode, and I liked how it sounded. You did? Yeah. I got a compliment from you? Yeah. Thank you. You get compliments all the time. Not enough. I mean, you're insatiable. I'm just insecure. But yeah, without further ado, Z, why don't you let us in on what you've been working on for the past week? Okay. Before I start, have you eaten in like the last hour or two? Oh, fuck. Whatever. I forgot to tell you not to. That's my bad. Right.

Really? Yeah. So anything that comes up is on me. Literally and figuratively. Okay, good. All right. Now I kind of don't want to do the episode, but I don't have a choice because... On October 24th, 1989, in a small German village called Dietz, a towering six foot three individual named Wolfgang Schmidt shimmied his large frame through the narrow confines of a small side window while breaking into a house. He was shimmying? He was doing this. That's a shimmy. Like Shaq in the meme?

I don't know memes. My meme people know. Okay.

Beneath the guise of a seemingly composed burglar was a mind in disarray, teetering on the edge of madness, propelled by an insatiable craving for sexual satisfaction. With a disturbing resolve, Schmidt navigated his way to the bedroom of what appeared to be a randomly chosen house, driven by an intense compulsion to touch, smell, and wear what waited for him in the master bedroom. And that was women's underwear.

Wow, that's a little freaky. Fucking, what's his name again? Wolfgang Schmidt. Wolfgang. Approaching the top drawer of the dresser in this home that he broke into, Schmidt's large hands trembled with anticipation as he slowly opened it to reveal the forbidden treasures concealed within.

Don't say panties. Wow. Wow.

primal excitement soared and his pulse quickened as he envisioned slipping his large body into every sensual pair of panties and every provocative piece of lingerie. It was an intoxicating fantasy that electrified his senses and sent a wave of passion coursing through his throbbing veins. That was an excellent pause. See what I did there? Yeah.

unbeknownst to the shadowy intruder in the midst of committing a sexual offense known as a fetish burglary, a 51-year-old woman named Adeltraut Nixdorf. So German. So German. I love it. Adeltraut Nixdorf? Yes. Wow. Fantastic name. Who

who was the rightful owner of both the intimate garments and the home Schmidt unlawfully entered, returned home early from her work shift. Edeltraut immediately got to work planting tulips in her garden just beyond the walls of her home, initially unaware of the intruder on the other side. Until, that is, she heard an ominous noise coming from her bedroom.

Clutching a cold metal rake in her trembling hands, Adeltraut bravely pointed this makeshift weapon toward the noise coming from within her home. She stood ready in a defensive position, knowing in her gut that the person behind that noise inside would soon come to greet her on the outside. And sadly, she was right. Because now, standing before her was a six-foot-three man wearing women's underwear and clothing and a look of terrifying resolve.

In spite of her valiant effort to stand up to the intruder who now stood before her, Edeltraut did not last long in the fight that ensued. Schmidt dragged 51-year-old Edeltraut back inside her home where he proceeded to bludgeon her head with a hammer while mounting her. According to a German news report, he, and this is a quote, hit her head so that the brain ruptured and the bones of the skull cracked.

After placing the hammer down on the ground, Schmidt went on to strangle the innocent woman to death before hiding her corpse in a wrapped blanket so he could quote-unquote satisfy himself with her later. The hammer in the head wasn't enough for this person? Evidently not. Then he made his way back into the bedroom to try on her underwear.

It took days for the police to find Adeltraut's decomposing body lying on the cold floor of her living room. During this time, her husband was miles away and oblivious to the horror that had unfairly and brutally struck his beloved wife. Overwhelmed by the trauma of his wife's murder, Adeltraut's husband tragically succumbed to despair and poisoned himself with pesticide about a month later. Her husband? Yeah.

The devastating murder of Adel Trautnick-Storff was the first of six horrendous homicides committed by Wolfgang Schmidt, who went on to become one of the most gruesome and depraved serial killers in German criminal history. Known as the Pink Giant and the Beast of Belitz, this merciless killer exhibited some of the most grotesque behaviors I have ever encountered in my research.

So let that sink in for a minute. Pink giant yum. With a straight face, I just said that. Well, now I have to keep a straight face and that's not always easy with you in the room. So with all of that said, let's get into it.

Wolfgang Schmidt was born on October 5th, 1966 in Brandenburg, East Germany, and had a troubled upbringing that is believed to have played a significant role in his development as a seriously fucked up killer. So he's 23 when he's doing that thing. Very good.

Of note was his toxic relationship with his mother, which for sure had a tremendous impact on his psychological trajectory. Throughout Wolfgang's childhood, his mother was described as overbearing and both physically and emotionally abusive.

This troubled maternal connection not only impacted his early years, but also played a significant role in molding his behavior and personality as he grew into adulthood. The complexities of their toxic mother-son relationship extended across various aspects of his life and shaped, for the worse, who he grew up to become. Schmidt's insecure attachment to his mother led him to grapple with ongoing issues of self-esteem, trust, identity, and the formation of healthy relationships.

The abuse and domination that he experienced at home distorted his perceptions of power, control, empathy, and sexuality, which were later reflected in his extremely deviant criminal behavior. Yeah. I'll tell you one thing I know. A boy's bond with his mother is crucial to his psychological and emotional well-being. You are correct. Well, I want to know. I let them say it because you just simply could not. He's like, I could not get that sentence out.

She did. It was three or four times. And I was like, I think I'm going to say this because it's true. It took you two times. So it wasn't immediate for you either. Let's leave some secrets for behind closed doors. Okay. But yeah, it's very true. Yes. This primary relationship establishes the boys early concepts of attachment, trust and emotional interaction. So a positive maternal connection promotes security and self-esteem, the skills that are necessary for healthy relationships, emotional regulation and empathy. Okay.

Conversely, a negative or dysfunctional maternal bond can lead to emotional regulation issues, aggression, unstable relationships, and authority challenges. I've said it once. I'll say it again. I'm so glad I had a good mother growing up. Yeah. I would be...

With how I am now anyway, if I had a bad relationship with an emotionally and physically abusive mother who belittled me and was overbearing, I'd be wearing women's underwear and killing people with high heels for sure. Wait till you hear what he goes on to do. Well, I was thinking of Jerry Brudos. Oh, okay. Oh, the high heels. Very good. Yeah. Yeah. Because like, obviously there's no problem with men who want to wear women's underwear. The problem is when they go on to kill. Yeah.

Yeah, the killing is definitely the problem. That part's the problem. Yeah, that's not great. But just being a boy mom, I have such issues with myself. Like I'm constantly scrutinizing myself. It's this fine line, right? Because I want to prep them for the real world and I want them to be like strong adults and I want them to be confident and like decisive. And I want them to have repercussions when they do things that aren't right because that's the real world. You're going to have consequences and whatever. But on the other hand, whenever I start to like

get a little bit strict with them, then I freak out that I'm, like, gonna smash their self-esteem and give them downstream effects. I'll tell you one thing I know. Every single mom who thinks she's a bad mom is a good mom. Aww. That's a nice way to put it. I mean, if you don't care... You care enough, right. And you don't think about it, and you're like, I'm the fucking best. These kids are great and lucky to have me and whatever. Like, that's probably not a great mom. I can't say for sure if that's a bad mom, but I've never seen...

an actual bad mom who thought she was a bad mom. Interesting. Caring is a big part of it. Good point. There are several infamous serial killers who had mommy issues. Ed Kemper, Henry Lee Lucas, and of course, as you mentioned, Jerry Brudos. They all had troubled relationships with their mothers, which significantly contributed to their criminal trajectories. So Schmidt also grew up in East Germany during a period of political and social unrest that would have added another layer of complexity to his development.

East Germany, under communist rule, was a society marked by constant surveillance, a lack of personal freedoms, and a pervasive sense of control by the state. Living in such an environment likely influenced Schmitt's views on authority, personal autonomy, and social norms. The oppressive nature of the regime might have fostered feelings of powerlessness and resentment, which could have been internalized during his youth.

So these stressful societal conditions combined with his dysfunctional, unstable, unhealthy family environment created a perfect shitstorm. Chaos everywhere. And from a very early age, Schmitz began displaying signs of his own internal storm brewing. From an early age? Yes. Pop quiz? No. Okay. But I did kind of give you that vibe. You were putting a specific vibe out there for sure. I know.

According to his own account, when he was just six or seven years old, Schmidt found his mother's underwear in the closet, an event that had an immediate and profound and irreversible effect on him. Jerry Brudos. Every cell of his being woke up. Every neuron fired off. Every sense heightened in a rush of unprecedented awareness and intense emotional response. That sounds very much like what alcoholics feel when they drink for the first time. Really? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. I mean, that makes sense because we're going to go on to hear that really what he had was like an addiction. Oh, 100%. When you are uncomfortable in any sense of the word as a child, every kid is uncomfortable. Being a kid is very difficult. We always say, oh, I wish I was a kid again. Do you though? I don't. Do you remember what it was like? I do. It's very difficult. But when you first find that one thing that you feel like, oh, this is the key to my existence now. If I can just

do this or feel this way for the rest of my life, I'll be fine. Such a dangerous feeling. Yes, for sure. No matter what it is. I was going to actually ask you. So I remember when we got a dog when I was a child and

And my whole life had meaning suddenly. And I have never lost that feeling. And the rare moments when I haven't had a dog, like when our previous pit bull passed away, rest in peace, Luca, for the four years or five years until we got Cash, I think I was sleepwalking. I swear to God. Yeah. I had a great life in those five years. I had my children, my husband, like whatever. But no dog. Dave tells me all the time, he's like, this dog unlocked in you, the person I married, like...

Like when we got married, we had our dog. I think I am seriously a different person when I have dogs. Well, I think it's fair to say and no secret that you're addicted to dogs. That's my point. Yeah, for sure. So are there some addictions that are not bad? Like that's not a harmful addiction. Are there some addictions that are not bad? Sure, of course. Things that you do that feed you and fulfill you and make you feel useful and significant? Yeah, 100%. I mean, crack's not a good one.

But you don't say helping people is a good one. You know, yeah, that's the two opposite ends of the spectrum. But the problem with drugs is that it, the immediate feedback is so extreme and the spike is so instantaneous that that's what gets you interested in it because you can be lazy about it. You don't have to work hard for it. All you have to do is have a pipe, have a lighter, have crack. That's all you have to do. And then obviously as you get more addicted in your life,

even that becomes a monumental task. You have to steal or commit crimes or whatever. Yeah, that's why like recovery is interesting because you have all this energy and you have to put it into specific directions and you have to choose which directions. Usually the alcohol chose me the first time. I didn't choose that. I didn't choose to feel elated. Right. Comfortable in my own skin for the first time. Once that was gone, I had to figure out what fulfills me on a lesser level

that will help me get by and still feel like, okay, there is some joy and pleasure left in life. Right. You know, and sometimes it's four or five, six things to replace one thing. Right. That takes work. Yeah. Recovery, right? I get it now a little bit more.

My dad works in B2B marketing. He came by my school for career day and said he was a big ROAS man. Then he told everyone how much he loved calculating his return on ad spend. My friend's still laughing me to this day. Not everyone gets B2B, but with LinkedIn, you'll be able to reach people who do. Get $100 credit on your next ad campaign. Go to linkedin.com slash results to claim your credit. That's linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply.

LinkedIn, the place to be, to be. So much like Jerry Brudos after discovering a sexy pair of high heels in a junkyard, young Wolfgang Schmidt remained oblivious to the profound and devastating consequences of his new obsession. Hold on, I'm sorry. I'm just picturing you at a meeting being like, hi, I'm Brooke. I'm a dog addict. I haven't pet a dog in four days.

And I feel scared, but I feel hopeful for the first time in a long time. When we see a dog walking, especially a pit bull, there's no choice. I'm running out my door to see the dog. You're powerless over pit bulls. I know. Your life is unmanageable. It can be. The first step.

In that moment when Schmidt stood in his mother's closet hovering over her underwear drawer, he was transformed. I can totally see that. That day marked the beginning of him secretly wearing his mother's bras, underwear, and petticoats, feeling, perhaps for the first time in his young life, genuinely happy. From the age of six, right? Six, seven, he said, yeah. Which is, like, sad to think, obviously. I always joke that, like, when the first time I drank, I finally figured out how I was going to live life and all my problems were solved. I was 13. Yeah.

Which is still very young. The point is I had no problems. You know what I mean? So to be six and to be that uncomfortable in that much pain, to feel that much relief by looking at something that most people look at and it's just totally, it's just like underwear. Right. That's sad for me to hear that that six-year-old boy was in that much pain. We once again were allowed to feel sorry and sad and empathetic towards him at this stage. Yeah. Yeah.

Within a year or two, Schmidt's genuine happiness turned into genuine sexual arousal. Wow. By eight, nine years old, Schmidt started to regularly masturbate while wearing his mother's intimate garments, intentionally ejaculating into the very same items that previously graced her sexual organs but now clung to his. Eberhard Schorsch, who was a notable figure in the field of sexology, sexual deviance, and psychiatry, said the following,

If primary identification with the mother continues, the awakening of genital phallic sexual tendencies actualizes the fear of having to break away from the mother. Okay, please do that. I'm going to break that down. Say that one more time and then break it down. If primary identification with the mother continues, the awakening of genital phallic sexual tendencies actualizes

actualizes the fear of having to break away from the mother. Gotcha. So this implies that Schmidt subconsciously interpreted the physiological changes of puberty, such as having erections and moving towards adulthood, as further widening the gap between himself and a mother with whom he was already profoundly disconnected.

But he wanted to be connected. He did. Yeah, yeah. But he wasn't. And then another thing is making him feel like maybe I'm not going to be even more. There's another boundary. Yeah. I'm just going to masturbate into her panties and that'll fix it. Exactly. Yeah. You said panties. I know. It hurt. Pop quiz. Oh, boy. What else did Wolfgang start doing while wearing his mother's undies and lingerie? Yeah.

1972, 73, 74. Okay. A, torture animals while wearing them. That's timeless, but horrible. B, urinate and defecate into them. C, self-harm while wearing them. C. No. Okay.

B? I'm afraid so. Oh, man. I'm afraid so. He would put the panties on backwards, urinate and defecate into them, and then turn them around so that the excrement would smear all over his genitals. Oh, my God. And that is a sentence I never wish to repeat. That's why you asked if I ate. Yeah. Okay. Schmidt would also sometimes defecate into the bras as well before putting them on and then masturbating to climax.

Okay. Got it. Speechless. I'm just thinking like that's what paraphilia is that? Well, the name of that paraphilia involving sexual arousal and pleasure from feces is coprophilia. And other names for coprophilia include scat play, scat kink, or shit kink. I'm a scat man. Jesus.

Oh my gosh. Do you know about skibbity-b-toilet? Skibbity-toilet? Yes. The recognition. Skibbity-toilet is my son's life right now. It's every young boy's life. Makes me feel a little better hearing that because it's horrific. No, and for all parents out there of young kids, just tell...

tell your friends what your kids are doing so you can feel less alone and have a great laugh about it. Unless your child is defecating into bras and putting them on his self. Otherwise in that case called the psychiatrist, but like most things that happen in kids' lives are universal. So if my kid's into skibbity toilet, your kid's into skibbity toilet. And boy is my kid into skibbity toilet. Yes. Okay. Okay.

So on a deeper level, here's what's going on with Schmidt. This is what was going on when he would shit into his mother's undies. Schmidt play. Schmidt kink. That's going to be a Patreon name for sure. Guys, run. Don't walk to claim that name.

Remember the earlier point about Schmidt's experience of physiological changes such as erections exacerbating the emotional distance between him and his mother? In this light, his behavior of defecating into her panties can be viewed as a disturbing attempt to bridge the gap with a mother who was markedly detached and disengaged from him. It

It's likely that his mother's attention was primarily focused on him during infancy, if ever, specifically in the context of changing his diaper. So soiling her underwear was perhaps a misguided, foul attempt to recreate or rekindle those rare moments of maternal care with a woman who perhaps only ever performed her maternal duty when cleaning up his duty. Which again, very good, by the way. So sorry. Almost. Almost.

blew past it, but didn't. It was a good line. It was a good line, which is so incredibly sad to hear that some young boy feels like he can't get the attention of his mother unless he does this thing that I'd hate to say something. Anything is not normal, but I don't know anybody who's ever done that. Well, he's obviously an outlier. Okay. There's plenty of children of boys who grow up with mothers who are not, you know, kind and loving and who are the opposite.

and neglectful, and they don't wind up doing what he did. So again, nature and nurture, I think, with characters like this. Yeah, but it's just like such a cry for help. Yes. And we're going on to hear in like the next minute that these cries for help went ignored. And that's basically what just caused him to blow the lid off this. And just elevate. I mean, I hate to think, but maybe you're going to say this at some point, but

I hate to think that in some way him killing these women was even a further attempt to try and get anybody's attention. Right. In this world. Right. Well, let's go on. Let's find out. So according to Ed Pardshaw, who I mentioned earlier, was that sexologist and psychiatrist. He said the following.

Taking possession of and putting on one's mother's clothing not only means the satisfaction of desires for physical closeness and warmth. Yeah. Heartbreaking. Yeah. But at the same time, an archaic identification and fusion with the mother, i.e. one momentary symbolic restoration of the symbiotic mother-child unity.

And by defecating, the boy was transported back to babyhood. But at the same time, he was defending himself against his controlling mother by defecating.

So according to this analysis, Schmidt's actions represented a means of regaining control while simultaneously drawing his otherwise distant mother closer to him. And also rebelling. Yes, exactly right. Regardless of the underlying motivation, be it a desire for control, rebelling, a yearning for connection, or perhaps a combination of all of that. Yeah. Defecating in his mother's underwear was the only time in which he would not feel her rejection.

man. Which, to be fair, I can go back until the creation of the universe. I'm sure her mother or her father treated her very similar to how she's treating her son. I feel like that's probably an accurate statement. There's always a reason. I told you that many times I've mentioned it on this podcast, that book, It Didn't Start With You. Yes. Generational trauma? Physically, they can prove it's three generations deep, but I'm sure psychologically, emotionally, environmentally, it goes back who

who knows how many hundreds or thousands of years these psyches have been passed down. Different things, obviously. Yeah. Different times, different technologies, different living environments, but same kind of motivation and treatment. So after ejaculating into and soiling the undergarments, Schmidt would hide them in the garden or barn...

Oh, I'm going to throw up. Oh.

there was shouting and swearing. He faced punishments and was confined to a room, prohibited from playing with the other children in the village, from going swimming or watching TV. Soon after that incident, his mother then caught Schmidt standing in the barn, naked from the waist down, covered in shit and trying to quickly conceal her underwear. Oh my God. Following these incidents, Schmidt recollects his mother telling friends and relatives that her son was a pig and

Who's still wet and soiled his pants. That's, yeah, that's horrible. Beyond. Beyond. I mean, again, at this point, I feel for this little eight, nine-year-old boy. Forgetting he's killing. I know. We're not going to feel for him later, not even for a little bit. No. But right now we do. Yeah. Or I do. I won't speak for you or our listeners, but I do.

However, more troubling than his mother revealing this humiliating incident to all and sundry was her subsequent decision to lock her clothing in a chest in order to prevent him from ever being able to access them again. Which is okay in my book. I feel like, yes, here's what I think. I think that's okay. That said, to do that and not get the child psychological help is not doing enough. Yeah.

Well, it reminds me of this story that I heard. True story. Someone told me that when they were a kid, they had a cabinet in their basement in the boiler room that had like, it was, I don't know if you remember these like tall cabinets, but with one piece of metal going across the middle with a padlock. I think I had one in my boiler room. Yeah. Okay. I had one too. So he said that there was liquor kept in there on the bottom shelf. So he would go in there, pull the bottom, grab the liquor, drink it, put it back,

And then he noticed that when he went back the next time, there was a padlock on the bottom also. So he screwed off the locks, took them off, opened it, took the liquor, put the liquor back in, put the locks back on. Yeah.

Then he noticed that when he went back down again, the heads of the screws had been shaved off. Good God. I know. And he goes on and on. He's like, and it just, it baffles me that at no point in time, someone didn't say to me, hey, you shouldn't be doing this. Right. Let's have a conversation about you digging through the cabinet and taking hardware and fucking dismantling.

disassembling a cabinet. I know. Get to it. This is my point. You're ignoring the root problem. Yeah. It's a bandaid. Like locking your clothes in a chest, Mrs. Schmidt, is not problem solving. Yeah. It's a, it's a trouble shooting. It's a desperate attempt. Right. But she did have the conversation with him. She berated him, humiliated him, cursed at him. Yeah. Made a joke of him to everyone. Yeah. That's, that part is the worst. She did not talk to him. Yeah. Right.

So Mrs. Schmidt hiding the clothes, hiding her clothing and her undies did not stop young and determined Wolfgang Schmidt. It just meant that he would need to be more creative in getting his little hands on ladies lingerie because by age 10, he had a full on addictive fetish. So Schmidt's obsession led him to scour streets, garbage dumps and illegal trash sites in search of women's underwear and now pornography. So he's meshing.

And in her defense, it's 1974 at this point. Taking your kid to a psychiatrist or a psychologist isn't really in the zeitgeist of people's toolbox. Right. I think I mentioned that when we were doing the Anatoly Moskvin case. Yeah. And I was saying how when he...

became suddenly withdrawn. Now, sadly, it was because he was assaulted and he never told his parents. Assaulted? Yeah, when he was a child, remember? He was sexually assaulted. Oh, I remember him kissing the corpse. Yeah, that came after. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. His parents noticed that his behavior dramatically changed and they said, all right, I guess he needs time. Yeah. And they didn't get him help. And I remember saying in that episode, given the times...

It's a little understandable that they didn't get psychological help because they don't know that it was as accessible or the awareness was there back then. Yeah. Same thing here. So I hear that point. So he would meticulously check every garbage bin for underwear, bras, lingerie, and pornography.

Upon finding discarded underwear, he would then hide them in various little hidey holes outdoors and in forests. And then he would later return to wear them and defile them in his disturbing ritual. And finding underwear in a garbage can must have been so difficult and he must have been so angry.

Oh, yeah. Such a win. There was an illegal dump site, though, in the forest near where he lived. Apparently, this was a thing back then. And people would actually discard...

like largely would get rid of loads and loads of clothing. Why didn't they put it in a bin and donate it? They didn't have that back then. I don't know if they did, but they didn't in this case. I'm going back to the whole thing of like, it's so easy to judge a story based on today's standards. And it's just not, it's not fair. Yeah. You got to try and look through the lens of the times. Yeah.

Schmidt's primary hunting grounds were a forest in Belize known for, as I said, illegal dumping and also a second large garbage dump site. So he had two basic main areas where he did his hunting and dumping once he hunted successfully and found his items. I'm on a little hunt and dump right now. I'll be back in about three hours, mom. You got any tacos before I leave?

Oh, my God. Ew. I know. This case is disgusting already. Interestingly, Adel Trout Nixdorf, the victim that I mentioned in the intro, she was actually the only one of his victims that was not killed near one of those locations, so near the illegal dumping site and the large garbage dump. She was attacked in her home. As time progressed, Wolfgang Schmidt's deviant behaviors escalated

escalated in both intensity and danger. Merely looking at pornography and stealing knickers in which to come and crap, while once thrilling, now ceased to satisfy his deepening and increasingly complex desires. This insufficiency marked a concerning turning point in his psychological state, a progression towards more extreme and harmful actions. By age 23, his compulsions had grown beyond control. Mm-hmm.

But before we delve into the horrific progression of Wolfgang Schmidt's actions in vivid detail,

It's crucial to acknowledge that in 1985, his life was actually pretty good, despite his unusual private interests. He was employed as a police officer and was even engaged to a woman from a neighboring village. So this duality or juxtaposition of a seemingly normal life with a darker, depraved, hidden activities behind the scenes is a pattern often seen in serial killers.

Similar dual lives were led by individuals like Israel Keyes, we've talked about, Jerry Brudos, and to some extent even Gary Heidnik. Remember, he would hold church services in his living room while simultaneously torturing and assaulting sex slaves in his basement. Yeah, like six, five, eight feet away. Beneath where the people were standing in the church services.

Schmidt had sights on maintaining an ordinary, if not commendable facade, and as such, committed to a 10-year term with the riot and anti-insurgency police force. But then, in April 1989, he was suddenly, perhaps unsurprisingly, discharged from the police force just four years into his 10-year term.

Pop quiz. All right. What did Schmidt do to get himself kicked out of the police force? Oh, I need to know. A, stole panties out of the female officer's lockers. Okay. B, masturbated in his patrol car. C, celebrated Hitler's 100th birthday while drunk. Oh, fuck. Man. C.

Yes. You want to know how I know that? Oh my God, tell me. A, there were no women police officers in Germany. Shit, I thought about that. I thought about that. I'm like, he's not going to dig that deep. I don't remember the second one. Masturbated in his patrol car? Why? That's a different type of perversion, for lack of a better word. That's an exhibitionism, not a... Okay. Yeah. And also, I know that German people, for the most part, obviously there's some outliers here and there, but they're so...

sensitive about that part of their history. And I think I've heard that there are laws against even not acknowledging it, but like, I think it's illegal to own Nazi memorabilia in Germany. I may be wrong. Wow. It should be, but they're illegal everywhere. Yeah. But like, especially there, because they're like, we cannot even for one second begin to think that this was okay. We did this person from another country thinks it's interesting, fascinating piece of history. Still a little weird, but like in Germany, it's like, no, we can't, we can't ever even give

give ourselves an inch on this. I am amazed at how much thought you were able to put into this pop quiz in about 10 seconds. Good on you.

So Schmidt was a xenophobic and right-wing radical. And his dismissal from the police force created a crack in his otherwise well-crafted facade. And this break in an otherwise disciplined life, it gave him now a loss of identity and it had catastrophic effects. And he began to unravel at a breakneck speed.

Schmidt immediately hit the dump sites to try to locate a doll that he could use as a participant in his sexual activities because he's now escalating. But when this search yielded no results, he then made the chilling decision to find a living, breathing woman who could, in his words, perform these actions with him. And this brings us to October 24th, 1989, when he broke into the home of 51-year-old Adeltrout Nixdorf.

Sadly, we already know what happened to that poor woman and subsequently to her husband. Yeah. It was seven months after that when Schmidt decided to strike again. On May 14th, 1990, he discovered a 45-year-old woman named Krista Nowayux who lived in a trailer near a trash collection site where he typically scrounged for used lingerie. According to the

According to Schmidt, he initially observed Krista in a state of intoxication near her trailer, and his original intention was to assist her in safely reaching her home. Yeah, okay. She was very drunk, right? Sure. But then, once confronted with the woman, he, and this is a quote, couldn't stop himself. So Schmidt grabbed an electric cable, strangled Krista, dragged her dead body into the forest...

undressed her, put on ladies' underwear, and then raped her corpse. Oh my God. When Krista's body was found a day later, she was covered in rags, her sweatpants pulled down, and her bra pushed up. I mean, things are certainly escalating. Big time. I wonder if he actually believed what he said about helping her get home.

Obviously, it's fabricated and not true, but like I know that to catch a predator sometimes they'll ask these people like, why are you here? And they'll say with a straight face and probably mean it in the moment, even though it's obviously a lie. I was coming to make sure that no other pedophiles were here to have sex with her. It's like. Right.

What? Yeah. There's something that happens later on in this case that when he was forced to discuss it later on, years after it happened, he literally could not recall certain facts regarding the crime that he committed. Like he literally didn't process something that he did. He was probably in a trance.

I think he's very, very complex and disturbed. Yeah. I think it might be possible in his mind that he really believed that this was something he didn't plan to do. Yeah.

Additionally, end of note is that investigators discovered pink women's underwear at the crime scene that did not belong to Krista, which means that he collected pink lingerie and planted it at the murder scene. Why? His perversion. He wanted there to be pink lingerie. And I think that that lingerie is what he wore when he raped her corpse. That makes sense. I thought maybe you just said he was dropping it off because he wanted...

retroactively to have pink underwear at the scene. But I don't know. I'm trying to figure out a fucking this guy. It's not going to happen. Good luck. Yeah.

With respect to Krista's tragic and savage murder, Schmidt commented two years later during court proceedings in 1992 and said the following, I had her breast in my hand. I got so excited, I couldn't stop myself. But why'd you have her breast in your hand? Exactly. Exactly. About 10 months after Krista's murder on March 13th, 1991, a 34-year-old woman named Inga Fisher was walking home in the woods of Neuendorf, Belitz, after visiting a friend.

Jesus, dude. Heidi holes. I can't. I can't. It's such a great phrase. Yeah.

Then, this vile shitbird raped her corpse and redressed her in lingerie that did not belong to her. When Inga's body was eventually discovered by hikers the following week, she had feces smeared all over her face. Oh my god. I knew a kid in high school who shit in a bag for like three days and then smashed it in some other kid's face because he thought that his girlfriend treated on him with this guy.

Can't you just like give him a bloody nose? Yeah. No. I mean, I don't know. I guess not. By the way, when you say hidey hole, does any part of you want to sing it or no? What do you want? How would you have me sing it? Hidey, hidey, hidey hole. Hidey, hidey, hidey. It's from Pee Wee Herman.

Oh, my God. No, it's not. No, it's not. But it is a song. I don't know it. Thank God. Yeah, I think Pee Wee Herman is Mecca like a high Mecca. Heidi Ho. No, but now my everything's crossing in my head because I was going to say Heidi Ho. That too. But that's Heidi Ho and that's the Christmas poop. No, I know. I think I'm thinking of poop because of this case, but it's not Heidi Ho. It's Heidi Ho. Well, the song is Heidi Ho too. Right. It's not Heidi Ho. I know. That's my point. But I'm thinking of that song because he's a poop.

Yeah. Interesting. For moving on. I'm going to call my butthole my hidey hole from now on. Oh, man. At this point in the case, the frequency and depravity of Schmidt's atrocious crimes began to increase as his compulsions continued to climb.

Trigger warning. Oh my God, it's going to get worse? This next part is especially horrific and some people may wish to skip ahead like 45 seconds. Especially heinous. I mean it. Listeners, it's okay. Meet us back here in 45 seconds.

Just nine days after Inga's tragic murder on March 22nd, Schmidt came across a 44-year-old woman named Tamara Petroskaya in the woods as she pushed her three-month-old son, Stanislaw, in a stroller. Tamara's husband was a Russian physician working at a nearby hospital on a military assignment, and the entire family was set to imminently return back to Russia.

Schmidt, wearing nothing but a bra and a pair of ladies' underwear, charged at the mother and son, snatched the infant, whom he perceived as an obstacle between him and his real target, and smashed the baby to death against a tree stump. Oh, fuck this guy. Then he gagged the baby's mother, Tamara, with pink panties and strangled her to death with a pink bra. Ugh, can you...

For a second, imagine you're in the woods walking your three-month-old child and you see a six-foot-three psychopath charging at you in a bra and panties and that's it. And then he grabs your baby? No. I would fucking die. It's what nightmares are made of. Oh, my God. It's worse than any horror movie. And I'm jacked. Like, I got a shot against this guy. Yep. You know what I mean? Yep, I do.

Following that, on April 5th, 1991, so just 14 days after the absolutely heartbreaking double homicide of mother and baby, Schmidt spotted two 12-year-old girls named Jana Harder and Jana Wendland playing together in a wooded area near a village church in Ludwigsfeld. Dressed entirely in women's clothing and wearing an apron on this occasion, Schmidt attacked both of the girls with a knife. But...

These brave girls fiercely fought back, scratched at Schmidt's face, and in spite of one of them getting slashed, both managed to escape. Sick. Yes. Good for them. God, that felt good to say. Yeah. And this escape marked the beginning of the end for Wolfgang Schmidt because this

These two young victims provided a detailed description to the police, enabling them to create and publish a composite sketch of the person that they were now calling the Beast of Belitz. They got locations also approximate. Exactly. Hangout points. Exactly. Authorities circulated leaflets warning the community and offering a $20,000 Deutschmark reward, which is about $10,000 U.S.,

offering that amount of money for any information. This led to over 1,000 tips. Notably, even Schmidt's fiance's parents reported his resemblance to this identikit that was being circulated. Wow. But this clue was overlooked. What's an identikit? I figured you were going to ask that, actually. It's just the information you're giving to identify a suspect. After the girls escaped, Schmidt was freaking out.

Good. Oh, I don't feel bad for this guy at all. No, fuck no.

After a brief stop at a kiosk for cigarettes and a drink, he impulsively boarded a train consumed by thoughts of the escaped girls and his now extremely, extremely heightened escalating compulsions. Disembarking and planning a shortcut through a spruce forest near Belitz, his route unexpectedly took him past the dark, secluded home of a 66-year-old retiree named Talita Bremmer.

and he simply could not resist his impulse to break in. He was on foot at this point? Yep. Okay. Sadly, Schmidt forcibly entered the home, strangled Talita in her sleep, engaged in necrophilia with her body, and then stole her blouses, skirts, and underwear as he fled the scene. Mercilessly, Talita would be Schmidt's last victim, because four months later, in August 1991, what happened?

Pop quiz. A, Wolfgang Schmidt turned himself into the police. B, two civilians caught Wolfgang lurking in the woods and turned him into the police. C, Wolfgang killed his mother before taking his own life. Oh my God. D, special ops staked out a forest in Belitz and caught him leaving one of his hidey holes. Well, I know it's not C. Turned himself in, got reported by two guys in the woods or special ops staked him out.

A. No. He didn't turn himself in? No. All right. I'm giving him way too much credit. Yeah. So B and D are pretty similar. Similar, but not the same. B. Yes.

Two civilians. Two joggers stumbled upon a man wearing a green camouflage jacket and a bra while peering through binoculars and masturbating. Yeah, I mean, pretty fucking recognizable for sure. Pretty egregious. The joggers, already on edge due to reports of a serial killer in the area, knew they were looking at the beast of B-Lits. Yeah. Bravely. So fucking scary, by the way. Listen to this, though.

They decided to confront him. And when they did, they noticed a crowbar concealed beneath his jacket. They also noticed the bra. With a mix of courage and urgency, the men managed to overpower Schmidt, apprehend him, and hand him over to the police. Wow. Right? And this act of outrageous bravery officially ended.

His reign of terror. That sounds like when I saved those people that were almost, almost saved those people, didn't help at all. Those people. Almost being the operative word. It sounds like when I almost drowned as well, trying to help people. It sounds like when you were a phenomenal human being and did two beautiful acts of kindness. Yeah. But I mean, these people are real heroes. I guarantee you they said they're not heroes though. Well, yeah.

You think? 100%. That's what heroes do. That's what heroes do. No, that's what unsung heroes do. Well, I know what you're saying, but no, that's what heroes do. Yeah. All right. Two professional judges and two lay judges presided over Wolfgang Schmidt's trial that followed his arrest. Four judges? Yes. So in Germany, the composition of the court for a murder trial depends on the specific court and the severity of the case. So generally, murder trials are heard by the...

Schroedericht, a type of court specifically designed for serious criminal offenses like homicide. Very good, by the way. In the Schroedericht, there are usually five judges, three professional judges, and two lay judges, known as Schofen in German.

The professional judges are legally trained, whereas the lay judges are ordinary citizens who contribute a non-legal perspective to the proceedings, which I fucking love. Like a jury? It's funny. I researched this because I thought the same thing. I'm like, well, what's the difference, right? They're ordinary citizens selected to participate in the judicial process, bringing the perspective of the community into the courtroom.

The inclusion of lay judges is intended to ensure that the judicial process reflects a broader societal viewpoint, not just the legal perspective of professional judges. This combination of professionally trained and lay judges is intended to ensure that the judgment is balanced, and they do help to determine judgment of guilt or innocence. But is there also a jury? No, there is not a jury on top of the chauffeur.

Now, the number of judges can vary depending on the complexity and specifics of the case. For less serious cases, there might be a smaller panel. The court system in Germany is designed to adapt to the requirements of individual cases, ensuring that each is judged with appropriate expertise and fairness. This just sounds so fair and productive. I remember when I was doing stand-up comedy, there was this guy who was also obviously doing stand-up comedy, and one of his jokes all

All I remember is him saying he got called to do jury duty one day and he's like, there's no way these people are my peers. Are they?

Like the terrifying thought. I actually would love to serve on a jury for like a legit case. I'd be such a nerd. You'd be the foreman for sure. Oh, yeah. Or woman, yes. Isn't it still foreman? It probably is. I just want it to be. The patriarchy is alive and well. I want it to be a feminist. Yeah, it's about men and horses.

The chairmanship, which means the senior judge on the panel. We're getting back to the case now. Yeah. A man named Hans Walter Ehrenstein, who brought in a defense attorney named Ulrich Baschult from Dusseldorf. You're doing great. Thank you. Too bad you can't pronounce English, English word. Neither can I. Yes, that was so perfect. The irony is staggering. That was a beautiful moment for me. Yeah, me too. It was pretty good.

So he said the following. This is now the defense attorney. Human beings are capable of such an act of

under unfortunate circumstances. The attempt to understand does not serve to absolve responsibility. That's what we say. Yes, we do, Tank. But rather to provide even a slight, at least possible insight, which could help to prevent such circumstances from arising in the first place. Or find other people that do this easier. So if they look into like patterns and habits and whatever, like

God forbid someone else decides to do this, whether it's a month from now or 10 years, like they might say, all right, well, we know that this guy was hanging out around dump sites. So let's maybe keep an eye on the dump sites. So that instead of six people being killed,

There's only one because that... We're onto it immediately. Yeah. Right. Now, the prosecution, which was being led by a woman named Marianne Bohm from West Berlin, had overwhelming amounts of evidence against Schmidt, including eyewitness testimony, DNA evidence, a collection of undergarments,

And murder weapons. And his entire life. But it didn't matter because Schmidt confessed to everything. That's how I knew he wasn't dead in that pop quiz. Well, let's point out another one of my failures. I don't know why you take it like that, but sure.

In late 1992, two court journalists with a prominent German news magazine called Der Spiegel, which means The Mirror, Gisela Friedrichsen and Gerard Maus... Holy shit, Cash, are you hearing this? ...provided extensive coverage of Schmidt's trial. He heard it. I practiced on him driving over here. Oh, okay. That's why he's sleeping. He's exhausted. Friedrichsen reported shortly before Schmidt's actual conviction, while Maus, the other reporter...

reported shortly after the conviction. So these are two very prominent people who reported on this case. Friedrichsen wrote in early November. It's a little much. It's how you say it. Friedrichsen? Excuse me, when you speak in Spanish, you give your accent. Si, pero yo hablo espanol. Si, well, yo hablo... Whatever. Exactamente.

Friedrichson wrote in early November 1992 that Schmidt had opened up to expert witnesses in a way that no defendant who was accused of such terrible crimes had ever done. She went on to say that perpetrators like Schmidt are marginalized as threatening, callous, brutal beasts, as monsters outside of human society.

Overall, the impression Friedrichsen formed of Schmidt was that of an ostensibly average life juxtaposed with a hopelessly disturbed inner world. Yeah. Contrary to Gisela Friedrichsen, who focused on Schmidt's background before his conviction, Maus extensively examined the evaluation of Schmidt post his November 30th, 1992 conviction.

This assessment was commissioned specifically to address the question of Schmidt's criminal responsibility. But I want to save what he said until the end because it's kind of deep and kind of articulates what I often try to articulate when analyzing perpetrators. What the reporter said? Yeah. So just put them on ice for a few. Well, you've already, you've said so many times that to call people monsters just takes away from their everyday-ness.

That's exactly what I'm going to elaborate on, but that's my closing. So just put it on ice. Schmidt was also examined by the esteemed Berlin psychiatrist Wilfried Rasch, who served as the director of the Institute for Forensic Psychiatry in Berlin. After evaluating Schmidt, Rasch identified a condition he termed sexual pathological development, featuring, in Rasch's words, fetishistic, coprophilic, transvestite, and sadistic elements.

This condition was classified under the legal framework of Section 20 of the Criminal Code as a serious other mental abnormality. Yeah, not even classifiable, right? Right. Nonetheless, Rash advised the court to view Schmidt not as fully incapacitated under Section 20, but as having diminished responsibility as per Section 21, recommending his placement in a psychiatric facility according to Section 63 of the Criminal Code.

In his assessment, as cited by Schmidt's defense attorney, Rash described Schmidt's condition as a real perversion that evolved into an uncontrollable addiction. He observed that there had been early signs mistakenly dismissed as mere childish conduct or misconduct. Yeah. I mean, anybody with a brain would know that what he was doing, no matter what the age was.

was problematic. Yes. Okay. Let's talk modus operandi. Okay. So for any new listeners, modus operandi or MO is a Latin term that translates to mean method of operation. In the context of law enforcement and criminal investigations, it refers to the particular way or pattern in which a criminal commits a crime. While most serial killers have a consistent modus operandi in victim selection, murder methods,

and crime locations, Wolfgang Schmidt was an exception. His victims varied widely in age, from a 66-year-old woman to 12-year-old girls to even a three-month-old baby, reflecting his view on them as faceless and inhuman. Schmidt's methods were equally diverse, ranging from strangling and stabbing to bludgeoning.

Unlike many serial killers who meticulously plan, Schmidt alternated between stalking his victims and seizing spontaneous opportunities to kill. Certainly, Wolfgang Schmidt's consistent practice of wearing women's underwear can be seen as part of his modus operandi, given its ritualistic role in his crimes.

Additionally, his habit of leaving pink lingerie at each crime scene. He did it at each one? Yes, he did. Oh. While not technically part of his M.O., serves as a distinct signature, which is another term we've talked about in the past. Yeah, like turning all the faucets on when you rob a house. Yes, yes, the wet bandits, which just further defined his criminal pattern. Yeah.

Schmidt's crimes were driven not only by sexual motives, but also by a desire for complete power and domination over his victims, showing a callous disregard for their humanity. He followed the typical pattern of serial killers maintaining cooling off periods between his killings.

And like many others, his eventual downfall came when he became sloppy and it led to his capture. Criminologist Stephen Harbert characterizes Wolfgang Schmidt as exhibiting extreme sexual deviance and likely suffering from a personality disorder, making him a perpetrator

perpetual threat to others. And while I'm not a mental health professional, it seems plausible to me that Schmidt could have had antisocial personality disorder marked by a lack of empathy, a disregard for social norms, and often aggressive or obviously unlawful behavior.

Thankfully, legal proceedings culminated in Wolfgang Schmidt's conviction on multiple counts of murder, sexual assault, and other violent crimes. And in 1992, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, followed by psychiatric detention in Brandenburg-on-der-Hevel.

which is a town. 15 years. He got 15 years in prison, but then like he's still locked up in a psychiatric institution. Forever. Forever. They keep reevaluating him and they keep coming back to the fact that he cannot be released. And he even says he cannot be released. Yeah. He calls himself unpredictable. At least he's got good self-awareness. Yeah. We'll give him that. He probably also doesn't want to be, you know, doesn't want to kill people anymore.

So he is what we call a product killer. Okay. He wanted the end result. He wanted the body to play with. He wanted to put the underwear on and defecate and humiliate and control and dominate. The act of killing itself is not what did it for him. He wasn't a process killer.

He also maintains that his first two victims, he did not intend to kill. Yeah. But then when he realized he enjoyed what he could do with their bodies after, then he went on with the intention of killing. Yeah. And with the Beast of Belitz, aka the Pink Giant, no longer at large, the pervasive threat he posed to the innocent women of Germany was finally eliminated.

One more twist before we wrap up. Oh, wow. During the trial, Schmidt expressed a desire to be recognized as a woman in the future and requested a legal name change accordingly. And in 2001, the court approved his request and Wolfgang Schmidt officially became Beata Schmidt. Additionally, in 2010, Beata began taking hormones and requested to undergo a gender reassignment surgery, but was denied.

Beata, who we will now refer to her as, Beata's sentence has ensured that she will be kept in a closed psychiatric ward where she presently resides, as I said, in Bradenburg. Every year, doctors confirm that she's still a danger to society. In fact, while in prison, Beata was believed to have raped another trans-identified individual named Jasmine, who then tried to die by suicide, swallowing two razor blades. Oh my God.

In an interview that Beata provided in 2010, she said, my biggest pride right now are my boobs. I have an A cup. A little will come. My beard has stopped growing. The only thing missing is the sex change. Oh, the hormones were approved? Yeah. Just not the gender reassignment surgery. So I want to circle back now to what Gerard Mouse said, the court reporter. Yeah, I want to hear it already. Okay. I'm waiting with...

with bated breath. All right, I'm going to give it to you right now. So he described this case as a dark chapter in the history of journalism. At the time of Schmidt's arrest, her pregnant fiance was subjected to public calls for an abortion and the defense endured what he termed a media public execution. Oh my God. Wait, so people were calling for Beata's fiance to have an abortion? Yes.

Yes, they were. Oh, that's pretty fucking harsh. While acknowledging that Schmidt had inflicted suffering on the relatives... He didn't do anything. ...which they would bear until the end of their lives, Maus argued that it was misleading to label Schmidt as a product of hell.

He contended that such behaviors are within the realm of human possibility under unfortunate circumstances. Maus emphasized that efforts to understand these actions are not about excusing them, but gaining insights, which we touched upon, right? However small, that might prevent such scenarios or, and this is a quote, at least to recognize them before they have such terrible consequences afterwards.

as is the one in this case. And now here's me in my conclusion.

I've touched on this topic before, which you have remembered me doing, which warms my heart. My reluctance to label deeply horrific perpetrators as monsters. This term, to me, tends to alienate them from the rest of humanity and inadvertently suggest that their actions were beyond their control, as if these monsters lack free will, mental health complexities, or any semblance of human nature. This perspective, it's misleading.

We have to acknowledge that the potential for committing atrocious acts resides within human beings, being composed of the same flesh, blood, and consciousness as you, Tank, as me, as all of our listeners.

It's crucial to understand that these individuals are not otherworldly entities, but people with complex psychological and emotional landscapes. Our focus should be on identifying the factors that lead a seemingly ordinary person to commit such acts, especially when the red flags are there, like the ones that were observed by both his mother and his father in childhood. Yeah, but they didn't care. They didn't. But I also think that there were signs...

Later in life, he got kicked off of the police force. Like there were, there was shit going on.

And by doing that, we can better recognize early warning signs, provide necessary support and intervention, and ultimately safeguard potential victims. Understanding the human capacity for such actions is key to prevention and protection. Yeah. And maybe if we have a shot at doing that, innocent people and their brokenhearted families would be spared from enduring the unthinkable. Yeah.

I just, it's such a difficult topic to broach because obviously I see what you're saying about not calling them monsters. I think it's way too uncomfortable for people to really think about the fact that they don't want to think they're capable of something like this. Right. And they use the term monster because it obviously dehumanizes the perpetrator, but it also provides some like psychological distance between

me and them and like, you know what I mean? So that, that's a comfort thing. That's like the brain trying to protect itself. Totally get the reasoning behind it. Yeah. And I can understand the desire to put that distance between yourself and somebody horrific. I would, I would never do that. I'm not a monster. Right. But,

For me, if you act like these people are not people, it almost gives them an out in a way. And then it kind of makes it seem like, oh, there's warning signs I see with my kid, but he's not a monster. I saw him hugging his brother the other day. So he's not a monster. We're good. There are no monsters. There are just really, really, really, unfortunately, there's good people, bad people, and mad people, right? Where there's good acts, there's bad acts.

Yes, that's true too.

Right. You probably would have. Right. Because he did. And I know that there's a difference between mad and bad. So I know that there are some people who do what they do because they can't help it. Yeah. Right. And then there are people who do it because they want to. Yeah. Right. Either way, they're dangerous people and they have to be sectioned. And either way, they're still human beings. Yeah. So. Fucking crazy. Can I just leave off by remembering and honoring the victims whose lives were taken by Beata Schmidt? Yes.

Adel Trout Nixdorf was 51 years old and had a husband who loved and adored her and quite literally could not live without her. Krista Nowiuk was 45 and died near her home after Schmidt discovered her intoxicated and took advantage of her unstable state in that moment. Inga Fisher, 34, had friends and family who loved her and she was on her way home from a friend's house when she was attacked and murdered.

Tamara Petroskaya was 44 years old and a devoted mother and wife to a husband working as a physician at a nearby hospital on military assignment. She, her husband, and their baby boy were days away from returning home to Russia when she and her son were brutally killed. And Tamara spent her final moments on Earth fighting to protect her baby with everything she had. She physically worked to pull her baby out of the ruthless grip of the beast of bilits. God.

Sadly, of course, we know that both she and her three-month-old baby boy, Stanislaw, were killed. Talita Bremer was 66 years old. She was retired and she was sleeping peacefully in her home when she lost her life. And then there were the 12-year-old girls who, thank God, survived the ordeal and then went on to really lead to his capture.

But let's not forget that real people, this case had a lot of crazy elements that we definitely, you know, went off on. But at the end of the day, there were real people who were victimized. So...

That's the case. Very sad. And not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It was temporarily unbearable, but then it like moved on right away. You know? It's unlikely going to be 30 pages of... Just gruesome. Absolute madness. But all of these cases have, it's like ebb and flow. You know, you're going to get your background, you're going to get your psychological elements, you're going to get the actual horrific crimes, and in this case, you're going to get a lot of poop. And you're going to get your eloquent descriptions and picture painting.

Thank you, Tank. Yeah. I still think you're gunning for my job after your Patreon case, but... Yeah, I may be. I mean, I have another case that I'm prepping mentally right now. I haven't looked at it, but I do know what it's going to be. I actually understand...

how you could get sucked into a case. I can't do it because I just don't have the attention span. I know we've talked about this and maybe if I really, really wanted to, I could of course sit down and figure it out and sit for four or five hours every day to get the most information. But I just don't, you know,

Want to. I don't want to. Yeah. My dad always used to say, I can't means I don't want to. And it like poisoned me against saying I can't. Yeah. Because it truly does mean you don't want to. Like I, my son the other day was like, I can't take the garbage out. My, my muscles hurt. Cause we went snowboarding. It's like, you can.

You don't want to. You don't want to be uncomfortable. Yeah. Yeah. But push through it. And he pushed through it. And I'm always so proud of him when he pushes. Yeah. That's the best. Yeah. I love that. We have a saying every single night before the boys go to bed and every single day when they're walking to their bus, smart, strong, beautiful heart. Those are the three things that we tell them that they are and have every single night and every single morning. You're smart. You're strong. You have a beautiful heart. Yeah. I'm trying to like ingratiate that. Yeah. Clear eyes, full heart. Can't lose. It's,

Giving Coach Taylor. Vibes. Yeah. Yeah. We don't have to say vibes in 2024. Oh, you don't? No. It's just, it's giving a whatever. Oh, you got to teach me how to be cool. And that's enough of a complete sentence somehow. Do you realize how opposite we are? You're like the meme king, social media, you know everything before like the rest of the world knows about it. I have such a great story to tell you about that. Unfortunately, and I'm not trying to be annoying. I did have it scheduled for the Patreon. All right.

I'm just, I have to save it for that because it's just a little embarrassing. Oh, yeah. I don't want the whole world to hear. Okay. If you made it this far, you might have a problem, but we're happy to have you here. Thank you for sticking it out with us, keeping Tank company. Truly. Keeping me company is what it does feel like. Like, I'm not alone in this. And I hope you guys on Patreon haven't forgotten about me and my role. Yeah, I have a feeling some of them definitely have, but she's coming right back.

right back. I've never left. You just tried to, you know, usurp my throne. Don't call it a comeback. You tried to usurp my throne. Usurp? Yeah. Yeah. And you did. I did. Hey, don't feel good. Sitting comfy in that big ass throne. Warm. Thank you for doing all the work. And I guess we'll just see you guys in the next episode. Yes, we will. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye.