Carl Großmann

Carl Großmann, a.k.a. "The Berlin Butcher", was a German cannibalistic serial killer.

History
Little is known about Großmann's early life, except that he had sadistic sexual tastes and was convicted several times for molesting children. During World War I, he began selling meat in the black market and also founded a hot dog stand at a trains station located near his home; it is presumed that the meat that he sold came from the remains of his victims. For reasons unknown, he began killing women. On August 21, 1921, when he was in his early fifties, Großmann was arrested at his apartment in Berlin after neighbors began hearing screams and banging noises, which was then followed by silence. Investigating officers burst into an apartment that Großmann, where they discovered the body of a young woman who had recently been murdered on the bed. He was later taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. In addition to the body of his final victim, bloodstains were discovered in the apartment, which indicated that at least three other victims had been butchered in the few weeks leading up to his arrest. After a trial, Großmann was convicted of murder, with the intention of being sentenced to death, but before the sentence could be issued, he hanged himself in his cell. To date (February 2014), the final body count of Großmann remains unknown, although many agree on a minimum of 26 victims. However, there were some suggestions that as many as 50 women were murdered by him, then dismembered and consumed by unwitting customers of Großmann's meat business.

Modus Operandi
Not much is known about Großmann's murders, since there are very few details on them. What is known is that he targeted "destitute-looking young women", all of whom were killed by unknown causes. He would then dismember the bodies afterwards, scavenge on the meat, and allegedly throw the bones and other inedible parts into a local river.

Known Victims

 * Unspecified dates: At least twenty-six unnamed victims
 * August 21, 1921: Unnamed victim

On Criminal Minds
Though Großmann hasn't been mentioned or referenced on Criminal Minds yet, Floyd Feylinn Ferell's habit of dismembering his victims post-mortem and selling them as meat to unsuspecting customers appears to be an allusion to the allegations to the disposal of the flesh Großmann cut up from his victims. A scene where Wallace Hines feeds the pieces of a victim's head to unsuspecting restaurant customers in The Inspiration is also a possible allusion to the aforementioned rumor.