A Mysterious Murder in the Heart of Vienna
Across from the cathedral, at Stephansplatz 3, stands the Curhaus. In March 1892, the curate’s assistant Leopold Buchinger was found murdered in his modestly furnished room there. He was supposed to show up for dinner at 9 p.m. that evening.
A gruesome discovery at Stephansplatz
Since he didn’t come, the cook and her assistant went to check on him. With great effort, they opened the door to his room. When the women entered the room, a horrific sight met their eyes: the old man was lying in a pool of blood. Their screams alerted the curate, Franz Czernohorsky, who immediately notified the police. Senior officials from the Criminal Investigation Division and the Homicide Unit arrived from the city police station and police headquarters. During the investigation, it turned out that the employee had a large amount of cash and securities in his possession.
The Mystery of Buchinger’s Fortune
The officials wondered how this man, who earned 6 guilders a month, could have amassed such wealth. The detectives assigned to the case also found the victim’s will, in which he named his siblings as beneficiaries. Every clue, no matter how small, was followed up on, but neither the murder weapon nor the killer was ever found. The crime was committed between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m.—that much was certain.
The Search for the Perpetrator
The other curate’s assistant, Johann Sperl, could hardly say anything about his colleague either, since the latter was a man of few words. It was known, however, that Leopold Buchinger sometimes lent money to students aspiring to the priesthood, but always got it back. An open entrance to the basement posed a security risk for the Curhaus, as beggars would sometimes come through it asking for a hot meal.
A murder that remains a mystery to this day
The victim’s room was never locked either. The perpetrator was never identified. In a final report, the investigating detectives described a scenario in which the employee may have been surprised by a beggar while counting money and subsequently beaten to death and robbed. Of course, there was never any evidence to support this theory.
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Author:
Michael Ellenbogen
Source:
Tartaruga Ubald, Der Wiener Pitaval, ed. Seyrl Harald, Edition Seyrl, 413 pages, ISBN 3-901697-08-X, Vienna-Scharnstein, 2000
