Fritz Honka

Friedrich Paul 'Fritz' Honka (31 July 1935 – 19 October 1998) was a German serial killer. Between 1970 and 1975 he killed at least four prostitutes from Hamburg's red light district, keeping the bodies in his flat.

Honka was born on 31 July 1935 in Leipzig as the third of ten children. His father Fritz Honka (Senior) was a joiner, his mother Else Honka worked as a cleaner. Three of his siblings died during birth. During his later trial Honka described his youth thus: "My father was in a concentration camp. I too was in a concentration camp for children. I was freed by the Russians. My father too. School afterwards didn't amount to much." Honka grew up in children's homes in Leipzig. His father worked as a stoker in Leipzig. His father was said to have been sent to concentration camp for working for the Communists. He died in 1946 of alcoholism and long-term health issues caused by imprisonment.

His mother was said to be unable to cope with her 9 children. In the early 1950s Honka started an apprenticeship as a bricklayer, but had to give it up due to an allergy. Honka fled to West Germany in 1951 and started work as an unskilled farm worker in the small village of Brockhöfe on the Lüneburg Heath. He had an affair with a woman named Margot which yielded a son, Heinrich. Honka had to pay 3000 Deutschmarks alimony and left the village. In 1956 he came to Hamburg and was employed as a harbour worker at Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft. A serious traffic accident in 1956 smashed his nose and gave him a pronounced squint. In 1957 he married Inge and had a son called Fritz, but the marriage failed and they separated in 1960. Neighbours recall violent scenes in their flat. The couple reconciled, but separated a second time in 1967. He moved to the Hamburg suburb Ottensen in 1967. In 1972 he lived together with Irmgard Albrecht for a while. On 15 August 1972 he attempted to force Ruth Dufner to have sex with him and Irmgard. Dufner fled unclothed from Honka's flat and reported him to the police. She received treatment in hospital. At the time of the incident Honka had a very high blood alcohol level. On 4 April 1975 a court ordered him to pay a fine of 4500 DM, but a charge of rape was dropped. In the years afterwards his problems with alcohol prevented him from relationships with women and he turned to prostitutes he met in pubs or around the Reeperbahn for sex.

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