Page 66 of Anatomy of a Killer
RECORDING 08
Berlin, 10 May 2021
This discussion has nothing to do with your crimes, so I’m not going to get caught up in it. We were talking about Laura, the girl with the roller skates. You took her to the Kuhlake in Spandau. What happened then?
You appear to be in a hurry.
No, but you’re starting to wear my patience thin. I’m here to discuss the girls, the cases.
Yes, of course, do forgive me. So, Laura. Oh, she was really charming. And clearly she hadn’t got out of Hellersdorf often. Nature fascinated her– the glittering water, the aromatic grass, a carpet of thousands of wood anemones– ‘like in a fairy tale,’ she said. And her excitement when we got to the hut! How enviable children are! That genuineness, that enthusiasm for little things. I asked her if she would do me a favour– stick out her left hand and close her eyes.
And then?
I did it. I grabbed her wrist and made the first cut.
How did she react?
Well, she didn’t scream at first. She just opened her eyes and stared at me. But right after that, she tore herself free with a strength and determination you couldn’t imagine in a child, and then she ran off.
Are you saying she escaped? The girl survived?
(chuckles) Last time I asked you what your favourite subjects at school were, do you remember?
You’re doing it again.
What?
Dangling a carrot in front of my nose, only to pull it away again.
Do you want to know what my favourite subjects were?
No, I want to talk about Laura.
Art and religious studies.
(sighs) I see. Typical subjects you can bluff your way through.
More like subjects that allow plenty of scope for discussion.
Whatever. We were talking about Laura.
No, we were talking about our favourite subjects. Yours were German and PE, I recall. I’m extremely attentive and observant, which has stood me in good stead throughout my life. For example, I know a great deal about you now.
What’s that supposed to mean?
Laura, Miriam, Larissa, Jana, Kati, Olivia, Laetitia, Hayet, Jenny, Saskia, Alina and Sophie.
Laura, Miriam, Larissa. . . (pants) There were more! There weren’t ten, but. . .
(slow handclap) Twelve.
So Laura didn’t survive.
No, not her.
Not her?But that means someone else did?
Ann
