Joseph Kallinger American serial killer Date of Birth: 11.12.1935 Country: USA

1. Biography of Joseph Kallinger
2. Early Life
3. Education and Marriage
4. Life of Crime
5. Capture and Conviction
6. Death

Biography of Joseph Kallinger

Joseph Kallinger, born Joseph Lee Brenner III, was an American serial killer who killed three people and tortured four families. He committed his crimes alongside his 13-year-old son, Michael.

Early Life

Joseph Kallinger was born on December 11, 1935, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Joseph Lee Brenner Jr. and his wife Judith. When he was just two years old, Kallinger was placed in an orphanage after his father abandoned his mother.

In October 1939, Joseph was adopted by Stephen and Anna Kallinger, who subjected him to severe abuse. Stephen was particularly cruel to Joseph, causing him to develop a hernia by the age of six. The adoptive parents forced the child to kneel on sharp rocks, consume feces, inflict self-harm, and lock him inside closets. They also subjected him to starvation, beatings with belts, and branding with an iron. When Joseph was nine years old, he was sexually assaulted by a group of neighborhood boys.

Education and Marriage

During his childhood, Kallinger frequently rebelled against his teachers and adoptive parents. He dreamed of becoming a playwright and became a director for a school play called "A Christmas Carol" in the ninth grade.

At the age of 15, he began a sexual relationship with a classmate named Hilda Bergman. Although his parents prohibited him from seeing Bergman, Kallinger eventually married her and became the father of two children. However, she left him due to his frequent physical abuse.

In 1958, Kallinger married for the second time after being released from a psychiatric hospital. He and his wife raised five children together. Unfortunately, Joseph began to inflict the same cruel and degrading punishments he had suffered in his childhood on his second family.

Life of Crime

Over the next decade, Kallinger was frequently admitted to psychiatric institutions, attempted suicide multiple times, and set his own house on fire three times. In 1972, he was arrested and imprisoned for child abuse after three of his children reported him to the police. While in custody, Joseph underwent an IQ test and scored 82, leading to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. However, his children later recanted their accusations, and he was released.

Two years later, one of his sons, Joseph Jr., was found dead in the ruins of an old building just two weeks after Kallinger took out life insurance policies on his sons. Kallinger claimed that Joseph Jr. had run away, but the insurance company became suspicious and refused to pay. From July 1974, Joseph and his 13-year-old son Michael embarked on a crime spree, terrorizing Philadelphia, Baltimore, and New Jersey. Over six weeks, they robbed, beat, and sexually assaulted members of four families, resulting in three deaths.

On January 8, 1975, in Leonia, New Jersey, Joseph and Michael held three residents hostage at gunpoint. When others entered the house, they too became captives, tied up with cords from lamps and other appliances. The Kallingers ultimately killed Maria Fasching, a 21-year-old nurse who criticized Joseph's behavior. They slit her throat. Eventually, one of the captives managed to escape and call for help. Neighbors summoned the police, but by the time they arrived, the Kallingers had fled on a city bus, disposing of their weapons and bloody clothing along the way.

Capture and Conviction

Law enforcement launched an investigation, using physical evidence and eyewitness testimony linking Joseph and Michael to the crime scene. They also uncovered Kallinger's history of family violence, arson, and the suspicious death of Joseph Jr. Both father and son were apprehended and faced multiple charges of murder, kidnapping, and rape in New Jersey courts. Kallinger claimed insanity, stating that God had instructed him to begin killing. However, he was found competent and sentenced to life in prison on October 14, 1976. The investigation concluded that Michael was under his father's control, and he was placed in a correctional facility. He was released at the age of 21, moved to another state, and changed his name.

Kallinger attempted suicide multiple times while in prison, including setting himself on fire. Due to his aggressive and suicidal behavior, he was transferred to a psychiatric hospital in Trenton, New Jersey. On May 18, 1979, he was eventually transferred to a psychiatric facility in Philadelphia.

Death

Joseph Kallinger died from an epileptic seizure on March 26, 1996. During the last 11 years of his life, he was under constant supervision to prevent further suicide attempts.