Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
Favoriten is the most populous district of the Austrian capital, Vienna, home to over 10 percent of Vienna’s residents. This 10th district of Vienna is located in the south of the city and was formed in 1874 through the merger of the five suburbs of Favoriten, Inzersdorf-Stadt, Rothneusiedl, Unterlaa, and Oberlaa. To this day, it has a reputation for being Vienna’s most dangerous district, as it is indeed where the highest number of crimes occur. This district was also the scene of one of the most heinous serial murder cases in criminal history, known as the Favoriten Girl Murders, which remained unsolved for over two decades. It all began with the murder of 20-year-old saleswoman Alexandra Schriefl on October 26, 1988. On that day, she had visited the Azzuro nightclub in her home district of Favoriten. Her boyfriend was supposed to pick her up afterward. But after she left the club, there was no trace of Alexandra. Eleven hours later, her naked body was found on Himberger Straße, tied to a tree with her stockings and sweater. Alexandra had been raped and strangled. Just three months later, on February 3, 1989, 10-year-old Christina Beranek was found in the Per-Albin-Hansson housing complex, only 100 meters from the scene of Alexandra Schriefl’s murder. The girl, who had last been seen alive buying a Mickey Mouse comic at a newsstand, was sexually assaulted in her apartment building, strangled with her tights, and tied to the stair railing with them. Given the proximity of the two crime scenes and the similar modus operandi, investigators assumed the crimes were committed by the same perpetrator. This led to the largest police operation since World War II, with over 200 officers searching for clues. The police suspected that the perpetrator came from the Per-Albin-Hansson housing estate, where approximately 11,000 people lived. Over 1,000 people were questioned, and more than 500 apartments were searched. A reward of 160,000 schillings was offered, but to no avail. Nearly two years passed before, on December 22, 1990, the body of Nicole Strau, who was only 8 years old, was found in the Laaer Forest. After picking up Christmas presents from her aunt, she had encountered her killer on her way to the bus. He sexually assaulted Nicole and then attempted to strangle her with her own shoelaces; when that failed, he bludgeoned her to death with a broken branch. Following this murder, the police assumed they were dealing with a serial killer. Over 1,600 people were investigated. However, significant errors occurred during the course of the investigation. In the Alexandra Schriefl murder case, the medical examiner’s office had secured a contaminated sample, which led to the perpetrator’s blood type being incorrectly identified. Furthermore, in the Nicole Strau case, the only suspect who had not provided a DNA sample was not tracked down. There were significant instances of negligence. But then the tide turned. Traces of semen had been secured at the crime scenes of Alexandra Schriefl and Nicole Strau. The DNA contained in these samples yielded a match in September 2000. This match led to Herbert P., who had been under investigation shortly after the crime. However, due to the incorrect blood type determination, he was not considered a suspect. Herbert P. was arrested in October 2001 and sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of Alexandra Schriefl—the maximum sentence for a juvenile who was not yet 21 years old at the time of the crime. Although it was suspected that he was also responsible for Christina Beranek’s murder, there was no evidence to support this. Furthermore, it would not have had any impact on the sentence. In November 2001, the murder of Nicole Strau was solved. She had been murdered by Michael P., who was already among the suspects at the time. However, he had provided a false alibi, which is why he was no longer considered a suspect. DNA evidence proved him to be the murderer of Nicole Strau, and in December 2002, he was sentenced to life in prison for her murder. This finally solved the mystery of the Favoriten girl murders.
