Peter Kürten, notoriously designated as the “Vampire of Düsseldorf,” was a prolific German serial killer who terrorized the Weimar Republic between February and November 1929. Kürten committed a series of sadistic sexual assaults and murders involving a highly varied victimology profile that crossed all age and gender demographics.

Arrested in May 1930 following a massive urban police dragnet, Kürten was found guilty on nine counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to decapitation. He was transferred to Klingelputz Prison in Cologne, where his execution sequence was executed on July 2, 1931.

On the eve of his execution, Kürten requested a traditional, heavy Germanic comfort layout:

Kürten processed the meal with extraordinary enthusiasm. Upon finishing the initial serving of veal and potatoes, he requested a complete second helping of the entire menu layout, which prison officials granted. He consumed the entire second allocation without exhibiting any signs of pre-execution anxiety or appetite suppression.

Psychological logs emphasize this behavior as a clear indicator of Kürten’s severe psychopathic structure—his absolute lack of internal fear, guilt, or emotional distress permitted normal, high-level metabolic processing even when standing hours away from a violent execution by guillotine.