Fritz Honka — Serial Killer of Hamburg's St. Pauli District

The Perpetrator's Background

Fritz Honka was born Karl-Heinz Honka on July 31, 1935, in Leipzig during the Nazi era. His childhood was marked by violence and neglect. His father was an alcoholic who abused the family, an experience that would have a lifelong impact on Honka's psyche. After World War II, the family fled to West Germany.

Honka grew up as a marginalized and lonely man with significant social problems. He developed a disfigured facial appearance following several operations and became a target of bullying. As an adult, he worked as a night porter but quickly became dependent on alcohol. His life centered around the cheap bars and taverns in Hamburg's St. Pauli district, particularly around the Reeperbahn area.

The small, slovenly man with crooked facial features became a regular at Elbschlosskeller and other bars, where he sought the company of socially marginalized women — prostitutes, alcoholics, and the homeless.

The Murders in St. Pauli

Between 1970 and 1975, Fritz Honka committed at least four murders of women he met in bars around St. Pauli. His victims were all socially marginalized women aged 40 to 57, whom society had largely forgotten. They were perfect victims for a serial killer because no one really missed them.

Honka lured the women to his small apartment at Zeißstraße 74 in the Ottensen district with promises of more alcohol and company. There he strangled them during or after sexual acts. The method was primitive — he used his bare hands or garters to asphyxiate his victims.