Human Wreckage True Crime
Join us as we navigate the wreckage left behind by humanity’s darkest instincts.
Disturbing True Crime Stories, These include, murderers, kidnappings, serial killers. Solved and unsolved.
Human Wreckage True Crime
Vengeance Served Cold: A Father's Relentless Quest: André Bamberski
It was a warm summer morning in Petschbusch, france, on the 10th of July 1982. Andrei Bamberski was in his home when his phone began to ring. Andrei was a successful accountant. On the other end of the line was Daniel, his ex-wife, who lived in Lindau, germany. She informed Andrei that their only daughter, 14-year-old Kalinka, was dead. Welcome to this episode of Human Wreckage. In this episode we look at the case of Andrei Bambursky and how his vengeance for his daughter's death is what legends are made of. Let's get into it. Andrei couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. How could his daughter be dead? She was a happy and healthy teenager and was active in numerous sports. According to Daniel, kalinka had died in the middle of the night. She said that an autopsy had not yet been conducted, but that one could be carried out shortly. Daniel knew all about the autopsy protocol because her husband, dieter Kronbach, was a well-known doctor and former diplomat with friends in very high places. In 1975, daniel had left Andrei for Kronbach, and she and Kalinka and Kalinka's brother had moved in with Kronbach. Andrei soon discovered that it was Kronbach who had discovered the body of Kalinka and called for the doctor. When Dr Jobst arrived at the scene, krombach had told him that at around 7.30 pm the previous evening he had injected Kalinka with a compound which he refused to name. According to Krombach, the compound was to help Kalinka tan more easily. He said that at around midnight he then gave her a sleeping tablet when she could not sleep.
Speaker 1:The autopsy was conducted by Dr Hohmann and Dr Doman Kronbach was present during the examination. The autopsy found that Kailinka's vagina had been torn and blood was found in her underwear. There were also several injection marks on her arms, legs and throat. An internal examination turned up a white substance in her vagina and undigested food inside her stomach. No toxicology tests were conducted and the estimated time of death was between 3M and 4M. However, this doesn't explain the undigested food. Kalinka had last eaten at 7pm and her food would have been digested by that time. Furthermore, the white substance was never analyzed.
Speaker 1:Despite these suspicious findings, kronbach was not formally interviewed. Commissioner Jebath of the Lindau Police, however, did speak with him over the phone. During this conversation, kronbach offered a different version of events to the one he told Dr Jobst. He told Jebath that he had injected Kalinka with iron and cobalt to treat anemia at around dinnertime. He also said that when he found her unconscious he injected her with dopamine and dilated in a bid to wake her up. The doctors concluded that there was no foul play. They couldn't determine her cause of death, but experts suggested that Kalikma had died from heart failure after having sunstroke from windsurfing the previous day.
Speaker 1:Around three months later, andrei finally received a copy of his daughter's autopsy report. By this time the case had already been long closed. A wave of dread washed over Andrei as he read the findings To him. It read as though his daughter had been drugged, raped and then murdered, and then her killer allowed to go free. Andrei devoted his life to pursuing Kronbach. He demanded that a second autopsy be carried out. However, when Kalinka's body was finally exhumed, it was discovered that her sexual organs had been removed, ruling out testing on the white substance. The autopsy report was reviewed by Professor Spahn of the Munich Forensic Institute. Spahn cast doubt on Kronbach's testimony and concluded that the iron and cobalt injection had been administered much later than when he claimed.
Speaker 1:When authorities refused to reopen the case, andrei traveled to Germany to deliver leaflets to Kronbach's neighbors. I had written to the inhabitants. I told them that they had to know that in their town there was a criminal doctor, and I gave his name address and said that he had raped and killed my daughter. He later said Kronbach fought back with the defamation lawsuit and won damages of $150,000. Andrei refused to pay. After years of campaigning, andrei finally convinced authorities to file murder charges against Kronbach. In 1995, a trial in absentia took place because Germany refused to extradite Kronbach, stating that the case had been closed in 1987 and German citizens could not be extradited. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison but didn't serve a day. Instead, he continued living a comfortable life in Germany.
Speaker 1:While in Germany, kromach was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting a teenage patient in his office. He was fired from his role but only received a suspended sentence. Shortly thereafter, several other women came forward to say they had been drugged and assaulted by Kronbach. However, due to lack of physical evidence, the cases were not pursued. Meanwhile, daniel divorced. Kronbach Infuriated.
Speaker 1:Andrei refused to give up in his fight for justice. He hired private detectives to track Kronbach down even after he moved home and changed his phone number. In the early morning hours of the 18th of October 2009, french police received an anonymous tip from someone informing them that in the residential street of Rue du Tillul in Mulhouse they would discover a notorious fugitive. When they arrived, they found Dr Dieter Krombach gagged and was bleeding on the pavement. You may be questioning how Krombach got here. Well, andrei Bamberski was sick of waiting around for the slow wheels of justice and decided to take things into his own hands. He paid several men to abduct Krombach from his home in Bavaria and drive him to Mulhouse, france, where he was found by police. Germany demanded that Kromach be returned in Bamberski and the abductors be extradited to Germany. France refused and instead charged Kronbach in relation to the death of Kylinka and released Bamberski on bail.
Speaker 1:Kronbach's lawyer launched seven attempts to have his trial stopped, but to no avail. This trial is the culmination of 29 years of exhausting initiatives of dysfunction and judicial bungling. It is true that I have been relentless in my pursuit of the truth, but I regret nothing, even if I have sacrificed part of my life, said André. Dieter Kronbach was found guilty of deliberate violence leading to involuntary death. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, finally ending one of the most bizarre cross-border judicial disputes in legal history. My first thought is for Kalinka, said Andrei. What I promised her, what I wanted, was a complete and fair trial. Now that goal has been reached. Justice has been done in her memory and now I will be able to mourn for her. Bamburski stood trial in France for his part in the abduction. He confessed and said that he had been morally bound to abduct Kronbach. He received a one-year suspended jail sentence. The prosecutor praised Andrei for his courage and perseverance. Thanks for joining me on this episode of Human Wreckage. Till next time, take care of yourselves. Thanks for watching.