In Velbert, a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, several years have passed without a clear explanation for the disappearance of a group of primary school aged boys aged eight to fourteen. Despite repeated appeals to investigators, the search yielded little, and the community braced for the worst as families faced the possibility that the children had perished.
Then, a turning point arrived when a fourteen year old boy named Peter Frese returned home. He was frightened, battered, and deeply shaken. He later recounted to law enforcement that a young man, whom he did not know, had lured him into a cave by promising to reveal hidden treasures. Initially, the stranger appeared kind and trustworthy, but once inside the cave the situation deteriorated rapidly. Frese described being struck in the face, stomach, and groin, then forced to strip, restrained, and subjected to sexual violence. The attacker gagged him, bound his hands, and left him alone in the darkness.
Despite the brutal ordeal, Frese managed to free himself, escape, and make his way back to safety. He remembered the route that led to the place nearly claimed his life and soon guided authorities to the exact location. The cave was found to be an abandoned military bunker, where the remains of four children were discovered.
In the days that followed, a suspect connected to the bunker, a twenty year old named Jurgen Bartsch, was detained. At the station, he did not deny his involvement and confessed to the crime. He also admitted that Peter Frese was not his only victim and that the remains found in the bunker belonged to others as well. In his discussions with police, Bartsch claimed that his actions were driven by a need to inflict pain because he felt overwhelmed by his own inner turmoil.
Adoptive family, abuse and secrecy in a convent school
Bartsch was born in 1946 and spent his early years in an adoptive family after his biological mother died from tuberculosis. His adoptive parents, a childless couple named Gertrude and Gerhard Bartsch, provided material care but left him feeling lacking in love. As a child, he faced mood shifts and was subjected to severe discipline when the house appeared dirty or disorganized. His adoptive mother focused on cleanliness to the point of controlling every aspect of his routine, including how he interacted with other children.
Gertrude initially showed warmth through gifts, yet Bartsch often felt emotionally isolated. He grew up with a sense of being unseen, even as he tried to conform to the role of an exemplary son. He described times when the desire to escape the abuse was overwhelming, yet he found it hard to break free from the pattern laid out by his guardians.
At ten years old, he was sent to Don Bosco, a Salesian monastery in Marienhausen, for schooling. There, at thirteen, he encountered sexual abuse by a teacher. After an escape with a friend named Dieter, Bartsch began to sense a budding attraction to boys. The environment at the school stigmatized discussions about sexuality, and Bartsch found himself increasingly at odds with the rules and the people around him. A violent impulse emerged, and he briefly contemplated harming a friend during a moment of isolation near the railway tracks. He later described this as an early sign of illness he could not ignore.
Following his escape from the boarding school, Bartsch wrestled with unsettling thoughts and a growing urge toward severe acts. He later reflected that he might have been acting under a powerful compulsion that he could not resist. He observed how these impulses began to shape his behavior when he encountered others who were younger or more vulnerable.
“I could not stop the crimes”
After that difficult period, Bartsch sought solitude where he could lure children. He discovered an abandoned bunker near his home and fantasized about control through fear. He wrestled with the dual feeling of wanting to dominate and the disgust that followed such thoughts. At times, children refused to accompany him, and passersby sometimes intervened, complicating his plans. He would sometimes invite neighborhood kids to play a disturbing game that involved undressing and examining one another’s bodies.
Parents and other guardians grew alarmed as reports began to surface. Some families confronted Bartsch and his household, while others hesitated, worried about the social repercussions. The adults in his life could not always see the warning signs, leading to a degree of tolerance for troubling behavior that should never have been dismissed.
Bartsch committed his first murder at fifteen, targeting an eight year old named Klaus Jung. He lured him to the bunker, forced him to undress, strangled him, and engaged in sexual acts with the body, before dismembering the remains. This act deeply unsettled him, and he sought forgiveness through confession, but a priest suggested that true absolution required acknowledging the full extent of the deeds.
Three years later, in Essen, Bartsch encountered thirteen year old Peter Fuchs, who was lost and seeking help. He enticed the boy into a forested area near a shelter, then subjected him to the same brutal treatment. Over time, two other boys, Ulrich Kalweis and Manfred Grassmann, met similar fates. Bartsch claimed that some acts occurred during intravital sexual contact with the last surviving victim, Peter Frese, who managed to escape. The killer later described a mix of relief and disappointment at the escape, believing his capture might be imminent but unable to resist his impulses again.
Judgment, imprisonment and death
Bartsch was tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison. A successful appeal by a Munich defense attorney altered the sentence, leading to a term of ten years in prison followed by placement in a private hospital. In 1972, he was admitted to a psychiatric clinic in Lippstadt, and two years later he married a medical student who later recalled the crimes with a sense of revulsion. Bartsch spoke about his past with a mix of remorse and stubborn defiance, admitting that his early life and the environment around him had failed him in profound ways.
Criminologists noted that Bartsch experienced genuine empathy and understood his own tendencies, even as he acted on them. He expressed a desire to eliminate these urges, including exploring the possibility of chemical castration. The procedures at Eckelborn hospital did not go as planned, and the anesthesia led to a fatal complication. The responsible clinician received a suspended sentence. Commentators later argued that the failures of adults to recognize early warning signs and to address problematic behavior allowed the tragedy to unfold. The case stands as a stark reminder of the need for early intervention in troubled behavior and open discussion about sexuality in a healthy, age-appropriate way.