Zeißstraße 74 is the residential address at the center of the case against Fritz Honka: the place where he killed four women and where firefighters discovered human remains in 1975. Its ordinary domestic setting became the scene of a crime investigation when remains were found in a concealed part of the building during firefighting operations.

Address and Domestic Setting

The court’s account locates Honka’s apartment in Hamburg 50, at Zeißstraße 74, on the third floor. The address was not merely associated with him; the judgment stated that he had killed four women in his apartment, probably to gratify his sexual desire. The evidence identifies two of the killings there in particular: Gertraud Bräuer was strangled at the end of 1970, and Anna Beuschel was beaten or strangled and had her throat cut in October 1974.

Discovery During Firefighting

On July 17, 1975, firefighters found human remains in a side room of the attic while carrying out firefighting operations at Zeißstraße 74. The remains indicated a homicide. The discovery abruptly changed the meaning of the address: what had been Honka’s residence became the place from which investigators began to uncover the murders.

Role in the Investigation and Trial

Honka, then forty and working as a night watchman, quickly became the chief suspect. After remaining silent for several days, he confessed to the murders during questioning on July 29, 1975, to criminal investigators Peter Seeler and Hans-Peter Untermann. At trial, the court’s account tied all four killings to his third-floor apartment at Zeißstraße 74, making the address the central physical location in the case.