Barbara Erni (15 February 1743 – 26 February 1785) was a

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

woman known for

stealing Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

from

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

s throughout western

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

using a

confidence trick A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

. Known in Liechtenstein legend as Golden Boos, Erni was the last person to be

executed Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

by Liechtenstein. Erni was born in

Feldkirch Feldkirch may refer to: Places * Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, a medieval city and capital of an administrative district in Austria ** Feldkirch (district), an administrative division of Vorarlberg, Austria * Feldkirch (Hartheim), a village in the munici ...

to a homeless couple. In 1779, she married a Tyrolean, Franz, a man with a reputation for

criminal In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

behaviour. According to the legend, the Golden Boos was a woman with red-blond hair and great strength who travelled throughout the European countryside with a large

treasure chest Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...

backpack A backpack—also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, rucksac, pack, sackpack, booksack, bookbag or backsack—is, in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders ...

. Wherever she rested for the night, she would demand that her chest be locked in the best and most secure room available, since she claimed it contained a fabulous

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...

. Once the treasure was locked away and night fell, a small man would emerge from the chest or backpack and would gather the valuables from the best room, after which Erni and the man would flee during the night. The scheme worked well for Erni for a number of years, and she became wealthy. The identity of the male assistant is unknown. Erni and her male accomplice were arrested at

Eschen Eschen (High Alemannic: ''Escha'') is a municipality in the north of Liechtenstein. It has a population of 4,466, and covers an area of . It is the fourth-largest town in Liechtenstein by population. Geography The municipality includes the villag ...

and imprisoned at

Vaduz Vaduz ( or , High Alemannic pronunciation: [])Hans Stricker, Toni Banzer, Herbert Hilbe: ''Liechtensteiner Namenbuch. Die Orts- und Flurnamen des Fürstentums Liechtenstein.'' Band 2: ''Die Namen der Gemeinden Triesenberg, Vaduz, Schaan.'' Hrsg. ...

on 27 May 1784. She was tried by Liechtenstein, and she admitted to seventeen thefts using the confidence trick. On 7 December 1784, the court found Erni guilty of being the Golden Boos and sentenced her to death by

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

. She was beheaded in Vaduz before a public audience of approximately 1000 spectators. The fate of the male assistant is unknown. No one was executed again by Liechtenstein before it abolished the death penalty in 1987.

References

*Barbara Greene (1967). ''Liechtenstein: Valley of Peace'' (Vaduz: Liechtenstein-Verlag) pp. 20–21. *James Foster Robinson, "The Legend of the Golden Boos", 21 May 2004. 1743 births 1785 deaths Confidence tricksters Executed Liechtenstein women Liechtenstein criminals People executed for theft People executed by Liechtenstein by decapitation Executed Liechtenstein people 18th-century Liechtenstein women 18th-century criminals People from Vaduz People from Feldkirch, Vorarlberg {{Liechtenstein-bio-stub