Peter Kurten was born the 26th of May 1883, in Cologne-Mulheim Germany. The eldest of 13 children, he was born into extreme poverty. Having to live in a small one-room apartment, he was witness to the violent outbursts of a drunken father. On his father's side of the family there was a history of alcoholism and mental problems. Not only was Kurten subjected to the drunken violent assaults by his father, but was also witness to the forced rape of his mother on a continual basis. His father would later be arrested for attempting to molest his own 13-year-old daughter. Kurten would later state this was the beginning of his sexual teachings, which unfortunately would also involve violence.
             Having his father in prison, his mother, of "respectable stock" separated from her husband and shortly remarried. However, while the violent episodes that influenced Kurten should have ended, another individual surfaced to continue his perverse teachings. While the father was imprisoned the family took in a boarder, a dogcatcher, who would befriend the young Kurten. The dogcatcher, a severely demented individual, formed a tight bond with the 9-year-old and taught the boy to masturbate dogs and to torture them. Enjoying this immensely, Kurten turned to bestiality, which involved goats and sheep. He soon learned he enjoyed this much more when he would stab them repeatedly during intercourse.
             By the age 16 Kurten was involved in committing petty thefts and subsequently ran away from home. It was here that he would receive the first of 27 prison sentences,
             which would consume some 24 years of his life. After release from his first sentence he moved in with a prostitute who was twice his age. It is here that his teachings reached full circle and he moved sexually from animals to people.
             In 1913, Christine Klein, an 8-year-old girl, was to be the first known victim of Kurten. Frequenting a local inn, one nig...