Fritz Honka (1935–1998) was a German serial killer who murdered at least four women in Hamburg’s Reeperbahn red-light district between 1970 and 1975. He was infamously dubbed “The Red Light District Killer” or the “Honka of the Golden Glove,” named after the notorious local dive bar where he selected most of his victims.
He lured the women back to his small, cluttered attic apartment on Zeißstraße in the Altona district. Once inside, he choked or strangled them to death during alcohol-fueled rages.
Following the murders, Honka dismembered the bodies. He hid the decomposed remains inside the alcoves and wall cavities of his attic apartment. To mask the horrific stench, he heavily relied on cheap pine-scented air fresheners, cologne, and chemical powders
Honka’s crimes were uncovered by pure chance on July 17, 1975. A fire broke out in his apartment building while he was away, and firefighters searching his attic flat discovered the hidden human remains.
In 1976, Honka stood trial represented by the prominent defense attorney Rolf Bossi. Due to chronic alcoholism and severe psychological trauma, the court ruled that he had diminished responsibility. He was sentenced to 15 years in a psychiatric prison hospital.Honka was released from the psychiatric facility in 1993. He spent his remaining years living under a pseudonym (Peter Jensen) at a nursing home and died in 1998.
