Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “Serial Strangler” Volker Eckert Pt. 1

Episode Date: July 12, 2021

From a young age, Volker Eckert displayed a strange fascination with women’s hair. His fetish led him to murder in 1974, when he was just 14 years old. Eckert spent the next decades assaulting women across Western Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of murder and sexual assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On June 20, 2001, it was a heady, humid summer's night on the outskirts of Bordeaux-France. 21-year-old Sandra Oceivo fought back exhaustion as she walked along a deserted stretch of road. All she wanted to do was go to bed. but she couldn't go home yet. As a sex worker, her income fluctuated wildly from one day to the next,

and it seemed like she could always use a little extra money. But that evening had been quiet so far, so she gave up on her usual corner in the city center and headed toward the train station, where she hoped there'd be more traffic. Soon enough, she heard the sound of an approaching engine. Sandra turned to see a truck driver lowering his window to wink at her. She smiled back,

She haunted over to him, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. As she did so, she noticed the John's eyes light up with a hunger that was almost creepy. In fact, it was definitely creepy. Hair fetish, she figured. Suppressing the urge to roll her eyes, she asked how his night was going. He pushed the door open and beckoned her inside. Then, in a German accent, he invited her to join him in the truck. Sandra knew long-haul truckers made good money, and since he was a foreigner, she could probably

get away with charging a little more. So she named her price. He agreed immediately and said, for an hour with you, that's a bargain. Smiling sweetly, Sandra hoisted herself into the passenger seat and closed the door behind her, thinking that at last the night was turning around. Things were looking up. Of course, things weren't what they seemed. Sondro wasn't going to see the money her new client promised her.

He wasn't even going to let her see another sunrise. Hi, I'm Greg Paulson. This is serial killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're exploring the killing spree of Fulker Eckert, a truck driver who murdered at least five women across Western Europe. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Today, we'll explore how Eckert's perverse fascination with his sister's doll mutated into a dark, sadistic fantasy. We'll also discuss how his career as a long-haul trucker gave him ample opportunities to hunt down victims. Next time, we'll explore Eckert's murder spree all across Europe and detail the chance encounter. that led to his capture. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer,

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Hosted by me, your guide, Derek Hayes. Somehow I had lost eight whole, Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcast. When we pull back the curtain on a killer's childhood, it's often easy to identify the roots of their evil. Traumatic events like abuse, neglect, or severe head trauma often show up in these types of stories and allow us to make sense of how a child can grow up to be a murderer. But while it's tempting to think that nurture and not nature is what makes a killer, that's not always the case. As far as we know, Folker Eckert never experienced any of these kinds of trauma.

Sure, his life wasn't perfect. There were hardships to endure, but growing up during the Cold War, every other kid around him faced the same things. And yet, by his teenage years, Eckert was displaying unusual behaviors that grew only more and more violent. But before we dive into his life and his crimes, it's important to note that reports of Eckert's murders are inconsistent, and many of his suspected crimes have never been proven.

As such, there are areas where the details are scarce, and we're going to have to speculate a little. But we'll walk you through all the information we do have about Eckerd's crimes and the factors that shaped his life. And our journey to uncover the truth begins in the late 1950s. Following Germany's defeat in World War II, the country had been divided up into an eastern and western block. East Germany was a communist state, and life there could be tough.

Food shortages were common and employment opportunities were limited. The knock-on effect of these hardships was that things like record-keeping weren't a high priority. As such, we don't have too many details on Fulker Eckert's early life. We do know that he was born in the summer of 1959 in the city of Plow in East Germany. And in 1961, when he was still an infant, construction began on the Berlin Mall. East and West Germany had already been separated for many years, the wall was a painful physical reminder of just how constrained life was for East Germans. Many citizens felt trapped and were desperate to escape to the West, but most were unable to cross the heavily guarded border. But the wish for

freedom became so strong that people were willing to try anything to escape, and hundreds died in the process. In all, it was a dangerous environment, and certainly not an ideal place to raise a family. And while children are notoriously resilient, it's hard to know how Eckert handled what was going on around him. But we know that children are very intuitive, so even if a child doesn't fully understand a situation, an atmosphere of constant anxiety can take a toll. Vanessa is going to take over on the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or a psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. In a

In 2016 study, Boston College researchers explored the impact of early exposure to environmental chaos on children's mental health. Focusing on children growing up in low-income urban areas, the researchers found that neighborhood disorder and relationship instability were more potent predictors of children's mental health as they entered elementary school. They also found a correlation between the intensity of chaos and the level of abnormal development and fun. functioning. In other words, the more turmoil a child experiences, the more they'll be affected. Needless to say, growing up in the shadow of the Cold War most likely had an impact on Eckert's psyche, and it's possible that as a result, some unusual proclivities emerged while he was still a young boy. Now, Eckert had two siblings, a younger sister and a brother. But rather than play with them,

he preferred to be on his own. Over time, he introduced a new friend into his life. But instead of playing with another child, he gravitated towards a doll that belonged to his sister, Zabina. Knowing that Eckerd would go on to become a serial killer, you might assume that he acted sadistically toward the doll, but Eckert did just the opposite. He loved Zabina's doll. And while we can't say for certain if anyone in his family knew what he was doing, we know that he played with the doll carefully and lovingly, paying particular attention to its long, shiny hair. hair. But then, when he was about nine or ten, Eckert's interest in the doll took a sexual turn. He started masturbating to it, stroking the doll's hair while he pleasured himself. Later, he found an old hairpiece that belonged to his mother and did the same thing.

This was the beginning of a fetish that would stay with Eckert into adulthood. Unusual, though it may sound, the fetish of being sexually aroused by hair has its own name. It's known as trichophilia, and at this stage of Eckert's life, it could be categorized as a kind of partialism, which is an erotic focus on a part of a living consenting person other than their genitalia. According to psychiatrist Dr. Margaret Saeed, an individual with trichophilia would derive sexual pleasure from viewing, touching, and in rare cases, eating hair. According to this definition, Eckert's fixation seems like a fairly textbook case, so far.

But these inanimate objects only kept the boy aroused for a brief period of time. As he reached puberty, Eckerd began to fantasize about taking things further. He wanted to bring his more elaborate fantasies to life. In middle school, he sat transfixed by the girl who sat in front of him and by her long, smooth, silky hair. He wanted so badly to reach out and touch it, but he had enough impulse control to know that this would get him in trouble. Then, in 1973, something happened to shatter that control.

That year when Eckert was 13, his parents told him they were separating. He didn't take the news well. Devastated that his home life was crumbling before him, he turned inwards and his fantasies became more violent. Eventually this rage manifested in unhealthy ways. While he'd previously been careful with Zabina's doll, he found that now he wanted to hurt it. At some point, Eckert started wrapping his hands around the doll's neck and squeezed tightly, pretending to strangle it. Eventually, he found himself wondering how much larger a living girl's neck would be and how much more strength it would take to choke her. It soon dawned on him that in order to really

live out his fantasy, he'd have to subdue a real girl. And he already had a particular girl in mind. 14-year-old Sylvia Unterdurfel was a classmate of Eckertz, with long, shiny, beautiful hair that fell halfway down her back. Eckert was bewitched by her and obsessed by the possibility of acting out his dark fantasy on her. Conveniently for Eckert, the Unterdurfels lived in the same apartment building, which made enacting his plan even easier, and in May of 1974, just two months shy of his 15th birthday, he was ready to strike. From his apartment, Eckerd climbed up into a communal attic space, which spanned the entire length of the building, He walked all the way to the opposite side of the complex and descended into a hallway just outside the Uttodorfel's door.

While we can't say for certain why he went to such great lengths to go to Sylvia's apartment, it's possible he didn't want any witnesses to see him making his way to her home. So, with no one the wiser, he eventually stood before her front door and knocked. When Sylvia answered, he told her that he needed some help with a homework assignment, and she obligingly let him in. Playing it cool, Eckert then asked if Sylvia's family were around. She shook her head no and told him that her parents wouldn't be home until later. That was all Eckert needed to hear.

Adrenaline suddenly surged through his body and he was ready to attack. When Sylvia's back was turned, he advanced and put his hands around her neck. He strangled Sylvia until she was unconscious, then buried his hands in her hair. That's when he realized that she was still alive and... breathing. Now we're not exactly sure whether Eckerd intended to kill Sylvia or whether the thought only occurred to him once she was unconscious, but it seems he quickly realized that if he allowed her to wake up, she'd inevitably land him in trouble. So in his head she was a danger to protect himself he had to kill her. Eckert searched the apartment for something to use. He found a clothesline

and wound it around Sylvia's neck, using the garotte to strangle her to death. Then he tied one end of the clothesline to a doorknob, clumsily trying to make her death look like a suicide. Though this touch may seem like impressive forethought from a teenager, it wasn't very well executed. For one thing, Sylvia hanging herself from a doorknob doesn't make any sense logistically. And at some point during his frenzy, Eckerd had also wrenched a pipe off the wall, which would surely indicate that someone much stronger than Sylvia had been there when she died. To top it all, Sylvia's father was a police officer, and when he learned the details of her death, he was certain his daughter hadn't killed herself.

Very quickly, all the odds were against Eckert, and yet remarkably, the police recorded the cause of death as suicide and closed the case. In the years since, it's been speculated that the people in charge wanted to sweep the case under the rug. A police officer's daughter being murdered in her own home surely wouldn't reflect well on the East German authorities. Whatever the reason, Eckert was in the clear, and in 1974, when he finally turned 15, he felt the intoxicating high of having gotten away with murder. But despite this disturbing personal victory, his life was far from perfect. That year, his parents' divorce was finalized, and he had a difficult time coping with it all. He'd indulge in fits of rage, where he was wild with anger.

Eventually, Eckert decided he didn't want to live in a family. a house without his father, so he ran away from home. But he didn't simply pack a rucksack and head off down the street like many teenage runaways might. No. Instead, he stole his mother's car and drove it as far away as he could. That Wild Summer's drive was a turning point for Eckert. Behind the wheel, he got a taste of freedom, a feeling that he could go anywhere and do anything

he wanted. It was a feeling he would chase for the rest of his life. Up next, Eckert faces the consequences of his actions. The CIA. They're the first line of defense for the United States, analyzing intelligence to thwart any possible threats and keep us safe. Some of their involvements are made public, and others aren't. Hi, it's Carter from Parcast,

and in honor of America's birthday, we're uncovering the cases you were never supposed to know about in the new series, conspiracy theories CIA edition. From international assassination plots and mind control experiments to catastrophic cover-ups and secret societies fit for film, sift through the agency's most questioned and controversial affairs. Each week, conspiracy theories CIA edition exposes the covert operations intended to protect us from conflicts,

but end up creating conspiracies. does the truth lie? Where do the lies end? And how much do we really want to know? Follow the new Spotify original from Parcast, Conspiracy Theory's CIA edition. Listen every Thursday, free and only on Spotify. Now back to the story. Following his parents' divorce in the summer of 1987, 15-year-old Fulker Eckert stole his mother's car in an act of rebellion. He drew. drove it around Eastern Germany for weeks and weeks, relishing his newfound freedom. But eventually, the police tracked him down and placed him under arrest. Shortly after that, he was found guilty of theft and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Now, the conditions inside East German prisons were notoriously horrifying. Run by the Stasi, the state's infamous secret police, these prisons were widely feared. and psychological torture were often used to extract information from political prisoners, and things weren't much better for the more run-of-the-mill criminals. As a minor, Eckert wouldn't have been sent to the worst of the prisons, but it was still a rough 18 months, so much so that when he was finally released in 1975, the 16-year-old was very much changed by the experience, hardened. All of the rage he'd felt after his parents' divorce had only festered during his time

behind bars, and now he was a ticking time bomb. By day, it might have looked as though the teen had turned things around. He started working with his father as a house painter and brought in enough money to support himself. But by night, he'd stalk the streets of Plowin, attacking unsuspecting women. Records from this period are sketchy, so we don't know exactly how many women Eckert attacked, but it's estimated to be upwards of 30. Some of these attacks involve sexual assault, and most of the same.

involved strangulation, but all of the victims survived the encounters. And yet, Eckert was neither arrested nor convicted for these attacks, at least not until 1978 when he was caught strangling a woman in the street. He was eventually taken into custody and sent back to jail for sexual assault. It's not clear why Eckert wasn't charged with attempted murder in this case. It's possible he was able to pass off the strangulation as a sexual ritual gone awry. As a result, he was sentenced to just two years and eight months and was released on parole after just a year. Despite the lenient sentence, this stint in prison gave him pause. Terrible conditions aside, what spooked him more than anything was the fact that the police now had his

DNA on file. He realized that if he were to kill again, he'd most likely leave behind traces of evidence that would make him easy to identify. He had to restrain himself. But due to a sudden family crisis, that was much easier than expected. In the early 1980s, both of Eckert's parents died within days of each other. Now in his 20s, he made an attempt to turn his life around and become a better person. To wit, he devoted himself to his younger sister and brother, making sure they went to school and got enough to eat. In his own telling, Eckerd called this the only worthwhile thing I've ever done.

However noble his intentions were, it's hard to imagine anyone thought Eckert was emotionally equipped to raise his siblings. Barely an adult, he already had a pretty serious rap sheet, which likely raised eyebrows among his relatives. So at some point, their aunt stepped in to take them off his hands. Unfortunately, without the distraction of his siblings and his feelings of responsibility to them, Eckert found it harder and harder to keep his mind off his violent impulses, and soon he returned to the streets of Plowen, prowling for unsuspecting victims. One night he saw a woman walking alone and slowly pursued her. Once he was sure they were alone, Eckerd grabbed her by the neck and strangled her until she passed out.

But he didn't kill her. He left her lying unconscious in the street, and when she came to, she went straight to the authorities. However, because Eckert had attacked her from behind, she never saw his face. Once again, Eckert was off the hook, but it seems he knew that the investigators were on high alert, and he made the conscious decision to try not to kill again. However, he did continue assaulting women. Over the next eight years, he attacked dozens of women. Each time, he'd throttle his victim until she was unconscious, but always made sure to leave her alive.

Interestingly, Eckert also managed to develop a few romantic relationships during this period. However, none of them lasted very long or ended on good terms. In fact, they all seemed to implode when Eckert lost control and tried to strangle his partner. His string of failed relationships likely added to Eckert's sense of simmering frustration. Little had ever gone right for him, and by the year 1987, the 28-year-old was close to the boiling point. That April, Eckert was walking in a wooded area on the outskirts of Plowen when his eye fell on 18-year-old. called Heika Wunderlich. Haika was a college student walking to class from her job.

Unfortunately, she didn't see Eckerd coming until it was too late. He grabbed her and strangled her to death there in the woods. It's unclear if Eckert sexually assaulted Heika, but he did strip her down, and based on what we know of his previous M.O., he likely played with her hair. Once he was satisfied, he made his way out of the trees, leaving his victim's body where it lay. Her corpse was eventually found, but the murder investigation seems to have ground to a halt fairly quickly, and Eckert was never questioned. As far as Eckert was concerned, he was unstoppable. Of course, he was wrong.

Soon after killing Haika Wunderlich, Eckert struck again. But now he was getting sloppy. This time, he didn't even bother to make sure that his victim was alone. Instead of looking for a lone target, he set his sights on a pair of young women who were walking through, plowen together. He followed the women for a while, then made his move, believing he was strong enough to overpower them both. He wasn't. The women managed to fight Eckerd off and run for their lives. And like so many of his earlier surviving victims, they got a good look at their attacker, which meant they were able to identify him. Not long after the bungled attack, Eckert was

arrested for attempted murder and sentenced to 12 years in prison. But it doesn't seem as though the police connected Eckert to any of his previous attacks. As far as the authorities were concerned, this latest incident was little more than an anomaly. Likely, because of this frustrating oversight, Eckerd made a successful appeal and got a sentence cut down by half. But the revised prison term came with a caveat. Eckert had to be treated by a psychologist before he could be cleared for release. Unfortunately, this was a pretty toothless order. Eckert spent only a few hours with his prescribed psychologist. And although he opened up about his violent sexual fantasies during these sessions, the therapist ultimately declared that he wasn't a threat to the public.

Of course, we'll never truly know what was said in their sessions and just how Eckerd's doctor made their determination. According to clinical psychologist Corain Sanders, psychologists must abide by a code of ethics to protect the confidentiality of information pertaining to their clients. Even when a patient reveals that he or she has thoughts to do harm, mental health professionals are only allowed to report this information when that harm is likely imminent. Clinical psychologist Jessica Nicolosi expands on this practice saying, I cannot break confidentiality if my patient says they want to punch, hit, or kill someone.

I can, however, and should report, when a patient states he or she has thoughts of harming John Doe has a plan and intends to carry it out. While Eckert may have been honest in these sessions, it's possible that his psychologist didn't believe he had a specific target in mind. If that was the case, it might explain how he was declared a non-threat. And in 1994, 35-year-old Eckert walked out of prison a free man and emerged into a very different Germany than the one he'd left. That's because five years earlier, in November of 1989, the Berlin Wall fell.

All of a sudden, the country was no longer divided, and citizens were able to move freely between the once-isolated regions. Eckert, who was born and raised in Plowen and had never left, was hungry for a change. That's likely because he couldn't risk killing again. At least not when the East German police knew him as an attempted murderer. He needed a fresh start, somewhere where nobody knew him. Fortunately for Eckert, history was on his side. After the reunification, most East German institutions didn't survive.

They were either dissolved or absorbed into their West German equivalent. This process didn't always go smoothly and resulted in a lot of bureaucratic chaos. As a result, Eckert's criminal records never made it over to the West German police force. In essence, he was handed a clean slate. It was an unexpected and undeserved fresh start for the vicious killer, and one he wasted no time exploiting. Coming up, Eckert makes the most of his new beginning. I am your host, Stasi Schroeder.

Welcome to Tell Me Lies, the official podcast. What's the most unhinged thing of season three? Stephen, because he's so evil. I do think he is misunderstood. You see everyone face consequences. It's intoxicating. The writers just know how to trick you. There's always a twist in this show.

It's nothing you would expect. Tell Me Lies, the official podcast now streaming and stream the new season of Tell Me Lies on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus. Now back to the story. Soon after his release from prison in 1994, 35-year-old Fulker Eckert relocated to Hough, a town in the state of Bavaria, which had been a part of West Germany. And just as he had hoped, no paperwork concerning his crimes was ever passed to the local police. In his new hometown, he could be a new man. He could become a ruthless killer. But with the entire European continent on his doorstep, he had to wonder,

why should he risk committing more crimes in Germany at all? Hough was only a 20-minute drive from Germany's border with the Czech Republic. So Eckert began taking regular road trips east, and he didn't have sightseeing on his mind. At some point in the 1990s, Eckert is believed to have murdered two women in the Czech Republic. As far as we can tell, no other details are available about these incidents, and Eckert was never convicted of the crimes.

What we know for certain is that Eckerd thrived out on the open road. After having his movement restricted for so long, first by the Berlin Wall and then by prison walls, being able to go wherever he wanted was exhilarating. Part of that excitement lay in his twisted fantasies. Eckerd couldn't stop thinking about all the potential victims just waiting for him beyond Germany's borders, and how easy it would be to cover his tracks in places where no one knew who he was. Still, he knew he couldn't just gallivant about the continent, killing women at will.

Travel wasn't free after all. He realized that he needed to find a job that would give him freedom of movement and ample opportunities to kill. So, in 1999, just after his 40th birthday, Eckert became a certified truck driver, picking up work driving several routes between European countries. It was perfect, although his new vocation might have had unintended consequences. Although Eckert likely wasn't aware of this, he'd chosen a job that could have a profound impact on his mental state.

Research suggests that regular long-distance driving can alter the way we think, and even make some people more prone to violence. In his book, Traffic, journalist Tom Vanderbilt explores the psychology of driving and what happens to us behind the wheel. According to Vanderbilt, driving provides a feeling of anonymity, both to us and to fellow drivers, and deprives us of social cues. Over time, this can have a strange effect. Long-distance drivers can become more paranoid and quick to anger.

More alarmingly, they can begin to see other people. people as objects, not humans. Not that Eckert needed help in this regard. He'd already murdered multiple people and attacked dozens more. But as long, lonely drives, no doubt exacerbated a troubling habit. And while we don't know much about his first two years on the job, it seems that by 2001, he was ready to kill again. That summer, he was assigned a new route, one that would take him all the way west across

Germany through France and into Spain. As the trip drew closer, Eckert felt like a child looking forward to Christmas, and then in June the time had come. Eckert departed his home in Hough and Germany's east and drove all the way across the country into France and headed for Spain. On June 20th, he reached his drop-off location and completed the job. The following day, he began the long drive back home. But once he crossed the border into France that night, he made made a stop in the port city of Bordeaux. He cruised past a train station enjoying the darkness, the quiet, and the view of sex workers walking the streets. He was looking forward to finding his next victim, but he wasn't going to target just any woman. She had to have the kind of long,

shiny hair he coveted, and for that, he was willing to take his time. He decided he could afford to be a little picky. This careful victim selection is one indicator of an organized killer, who are usually described as being intelligent, socially competent, and more likely to plan their murders in advance. Conversely, a disorganized killer attacks opportunistically without forward planning, and often leaves behind evidence at the crime scene. A common criticism of the organized, disorganized model of classification is that it's overly simplistic and assumes that killers behave consistently. But according to a 2004 critique, published by the American Psychological Association,

this two-fold approach doesn't encompass the behavior of all serial killers. In fact, many killers will display characteristics of both types. We can see how the typology breaks down in the case of Eckert. On the one hand, Eckert seemingly chose his victims carefully and planned his attacks in advance. On the other, he seemed unable to maintain personal relationships, a hallmark of a disorganized killer. According to the authors of the 2004 paper, this lack of normal, healthy, social relationships

increases the likelihood of sexual ignorance, as well as the potential for sexual perversions or dysfunctions as part of the homicidal acts. Organized or disorganized. Eckerd was out for blood that night. When he spotted 21-year-old Sandra Ocefo and her long, flowing hair, he knew she was the one. Originally from Nigeria, Sandra now. lived in France, making her living as a sex worker. She often catered to truck drivers, so when Eckert slowed his rig down to greet her, she didn't think anything of it. She smiled and

flirted with him, figuring he was just another John. When Eckert invited Sandra into his truck, she probably didn't hesitate. She was used to getting into strangers' vehicles. It was one of the occupational hazards of her job. Tragically, it was a risk that cost her her life. Soon after she slid into a seat, Eckert locked the doors. Then he drove north, possibly telling Sandra that he wanted to find somewhere secluded for them to get intimate. After reaching the outskirts of the city, Eckert pulled over so they could have sex right there in the cab of the truck. At some point, while Sandra's guard was down, Eckert tightened his hands around her throat, strangling her to death. But he wasn't ready to just dump Sandra's body right away. It had all gone so quickly,

and he decided that he needed a memento, something to help him relive this feeling again and again. As most true crime fans know, it's not uncommon for serial killers to keep trophies or souvenirs from their victims. There are a few theories as to why they do this, but the most renowned is from former FBI agent and profiler, John Douglas. Douglas has written extensively about trophy taking, and in a 2012 article, he explained that some killers use keepsakes to prolong and even nourish their fantasy of the crime. Since Eckert had a history of being sexually aroused by inanimate objects like dolls and hairpieces, it's likely that he also got off on using his keepsakes to relive his crimes. So after strangling Sandra, he opened his glove box and pulled out a pair of scissors.

Her hair was what had drawn him to her in the first place. and he couldn't just leave it behind. He gathered her locks into his hand to cut it all off, which is when he noticed something strange about the hair. It wasn't real. Sondra was wearing a wig, and though Eckert likely hoped for the real thing, it seems the wig was appealing in its own way.

He pulled it off Sandra's head and stashed it somewhere safe, somewhere close. Afterwards, he hid Sandra's body on the floor of the truck and got back on the road. Eckert drove about 50 miles, bringing him close to the city of Poitiers. There he pulled over on a deserted stretch of road, dragged Sandra's body out of the truck, and rolled her into a ditch. Then, without a backwards glance, he climbed into the truck and drove away. Sandra's body remained in the ditch for four days, until someone finally stumbled

across her. But for reasons that aren't very clear, the police investigation stalled fairly quickly. Eckert must have left forensic evidence on Sandra's body, but either it wasn't collected by investigators or it didn't match any samples in the police database. Then again, it's possible there wasn't much urgency because Sandra was a sex worker. It's also possible that because of the bureaucratic mess of Germany's reunification, Eckert's DNA was no longer on record at all. If this was the case, he had nothing to fear. Indeed, by the time Sandra's body was identified in France, Eckerd was hundreds of miles away in Hough, settling into bed for the night. As he returned to his usual routine, Eckert thought about Sondra again. His plan had worked flawlessly, and he knew it would work again.

Nothing could stop him now. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with Part 2, where we'll explore Eckerd's frenzied murder spree throughout the early 2000s and the fluke that led to his arrest. information on Folker Eckert, amongst the many sources we used, we found Nick Davies reporting in The Guardian, extremely helpful in our research. You can find all episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cuddler,

Sound design by Billy Pace, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Bruce Kitovich. This episode of serial killers was written by Emma Dibdin, with writing assistance by Jane O. and Joel Callan, fact-checking by Haley Milliken, and research by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood. Serial Killers stars Greg Paulson and Vanessa Richardson. Hi, it's Carter from Parcast. Every Thursday on Conspiracy Theory's CIA edition, we're uncovering secrets hidden deep within the archives of the Central Intelligence Agency

to bring you a special collection of episodes from shows across our network. Follow the new Spotify original from Parcast, Conspiracy Theory's CIA edition. Listen free only on Spotify. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination. for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th.

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You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.