Beate Schmidt (born Wolfgang Schmidt on 5 October 1966) is a German

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. From October 1989 to April 1991, Schmidt, a

transgender woman A trans woman or a transgender woman is a woman who was assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity, may experience gender dysphoria, and may transition; this process commonly includes hormone replacement therapy and so ...

, murdered five women and an infant.

Early life

Schmidt was born Wolfgang Schmidt on 5 October 1966 in Lehnin,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

Murders

Schmidt murdered five women and a three month old baby: * Edeltraut Nixdorf, 51, killed on 24 October 1989. * Christa Naujoks, 45, raped and strangled to death on 24 May 1990. * Inge Fischer, 34, raped and stabbed to death on 13 March 1991 in

Beelitz Beelitz is a historic town in Potsdam-Mittelmark district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is chiefly known for its cultivation of white asparagus (''Beelitzer Spargel''). Geography Beelitz is situated about 18 km (11 mi) south of Potsdam, ...

. * Tamara Petrowskaja, 44, strangled to death on 22 March 1991. Schmidt struck her son against a tree stump. * Talita Bremer, 66, strangled to death on 5 April 1991 and her corpse was raped. The nickname the Pink Giant came from both the killer's size and alleged penchant for pink

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

. The area where some of the crimes took place led to a second and third moniker, the "Beast of

" and "

-Murderer". On 1 August 1991 Schmidt was arrested after two men found Schmidt masturbating while wearing a bra under a jacket. Schmidt was sentenced to 15 years in prison and detention in a psychiatric hospital in

Brandenburg an der Havel Brandenburg an der Havel () is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, which served as the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg until it was replaced by Berlin in 1417. With a population of 72,040 (as of 2020), it is located on the banks of the ...

.Claus-Dieter Steyer
''Beate S. statt „Rosa Riese“: Verurteilter Serienmörder durfte Namen ändern''
Tagesspiegel, 7. August 2009.

21st century

An application for a name change to Beate Schmidt was met by the court in 2001. Since 2009 Schmidt has undergone a hormone treatment for

gender reassignment Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

. In 2010, Schmidt was investigated for raping and causing another

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

inmate to attempt suicide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schmidt, Beate 1966 births 20th-century German criminals Criminals from Brandenburg German female serial killers German people convicted of murder German rapists Living people Necrophiles People convicted of murder by Germany People from Bezirk Potsdam People from Potsdam-Mittelmark Transgender women

Early life

Murders

21st century

See also

References