The hellish ritual murders

In 1970, three horrific ritual murders took place in Tenerife’s island capital, Santa Cruz, which went down in criminal history as the so-called Alexander murders. On December 16, 1970, the Alexander family, consisting of 39-year-old Harald, his 41-year-old wife Dagmar, their 16-year-old son Frank, 18-year-old daughter Marina, and 15-year-old daughter Petra, ate lunch as usual in the dining room of their four-room apartment at 37 Jésus Nazareno Street. Only 15-year-old Sabine was missing, as she was helping out in the household of their friend, Dr. Walter Trenkler. After lunch, Harald lay down on the bed, while his wife Dagmar and their son Frank sat on the edge of the bed. Then, out of the blue, Frank suddenly screamed, “The devil is in my mother.” What happened next would be a perfect scene for the horror movie “The Exorcist.” Just as Frank shouted this, his father Harald heard a voice commanding him to listen to his son. This voice ordered him to strike Harald’s wife and Frank’s mother Dagmar exactly 72 times, which they both did with clothes hangers and a spirit level until Dagmar was dead. She let everything happen and appeared to be blissful, which both of them interpreted as a sign of a successful exorcism. After Dagmar was dead, Harald heard the voice of the Archangel Gabriel again, who spoke to him and said, “Be calm, she died freed from the devil and awaits you in heaven.” Frank then ordered his father to kill his two sisters and Harald’s daughters in the same way as Dagmar, as they were also bewitched. After beating them to death with 72 blows, they cut out all three of their hearts and genitals, carving a cross into one of them. Frank later testified that it was difficult to break the ribs, so his father helped with his feet. They then dismembered the three bodies with kitchen knives, garden shears, and bolt cutters. After their horrific deed, they washed themselves calmly and put on new clothes. They wanted to flee, but in their bloodlust they had destroyed their passports, so they drove to Los Cristianos to see their friend, the German psychiatrist Udo Derbolowsky, who was not at home. After waiting for a while, they drove to another German doctor they knew, Dr. Walter Trenkel, where Harald’s daughter and Frank’s 15-year-old sister Sabine worked. Once there, they confessed the murders to Sabine, who accepted them without batting an eyelid. Dr. Trenkel happened to overhear the conversation and notified the German consulate. Father and son allowed themselves to be arrested by the Guardia Civil without resistance and confessed to the murders. During a search of the house, the Guardia Civil found the disemboweled bodies in the blood-spattered apartment. But how could such a family tragedy have come about? The Alexander family was considered God-fearing and lived until 1956 in the small village of Eckel in the district of Harburg near Hamburg. Harald Alexander, a slender, reserved man, worked as a bricklayer. In the early 1960s, after attending several lectures by Lorber interpreter Riehle in Dresden, he joined the Lorber movement, which are followers of Jakob Lorber’s revelatory work. Lorber described himself as “God’s writing servant,” as he believed that the inner voice dictating this work to him was that of Jesus Christ. Harald often held conversations with God and dreamed of the Archangel Gabriel, who also commanded him to give up his job at his parents’ propane gas business. At that time, he had perceived “12 tones with different meanings.” The archangel Gabriel had also told him that he was the chosen one who would reestablish the kingdom of David, keep himself pure, and avoid all activities except bricklaying. In 1970, the archangel Gabriel commanded him to move with his family to Tenerife, the island of the blessed. After receiving a small inheritance, he bought a piece of land in the south. The Hamburg psychotherapist Dr. Udo Derbolowsky had a vacation apartment nearby. The Alexander family became friends with him. The family lived a very secluded life in Tenerife, where Harald’s son Frank, whom he considered a kind of messiah, was in charge. What he commanded was law. The 16-year-old apprentice Frank was a shy young man with blond curls who was also very religious and often pondered life after death with his father. Dagmar often played the harmonium she had inherited after the death of Lorber interpreter Riehle, while her children sang along and held hands. According to Hamburg forensic scientist Professor Jürgen Schröder, the crime was motivated by religious delusions. Over time, Harald developed a genuine hatred for his wife and daughters, with whom Frank allegedly had incestuous relationships. Harald adored his son, with whom he shared a room. According to psychiatrists, Harald had a repressed homosexual complex. Harald was also diagnosed with schizophrenia. His father and grandfather had also been mentally ill. His family had fallen prey to group delusions. The trial, which the father and son could barely follow due to their lack of Spanish language skills, reached a verdict after only 4.5 hours. The prosecution had sought the death penalty for Harald Alexander and for his son.