Ondrej Rigo
Encyclopedia
Ondrej Rigo is a Slovak serial killer
and necrophile who targeted women in Bratislava
, Munich
and Amsterdam
from 1990 to 1992. Currently serving a life sentence for 9 murders and 1 attempted murder in Leopoldov Prison
in Slovakia
, Rigo is a dissocial and schizoid psychopath while also being a necrophile, finding pleasure in having intercourse with women with mutilated heads. Ondrej Rigo remains the Slovak murderer with the highest number of victims and he is also the most prolific serial killer in modern Slovak history. He is eligible to apply for parole
in 2019.
and a daughter who sometimes visits him in prison. According to an article in Slovak newspaper SME
Rigo is of Roma ethnicity. Even as an adult, Rigo was a short man. When he was 14 he was taken into a youth corrective institution and later into an orphanage
together with his siblings. They stayed there for a year, having been taken from their mother after their father's arrest. Rigo's mother died in 2000 after being hit by a car. Learning of her death is the one time he remembers crying in his life. His father died during a burglary. Rigo claims he liked both parents.
He was married two times. First time he got married during military service (compulsory in Czechoslovakia
at that time), but "when we returned to Bratislava she started to become jealous. You know, an Easterner (note: meaning from Eastern Slovakia, a culturally and linguistically disticnt region of the country), so she returned to Poprad
. I went with her to say goodbye at the station," recalls Rigo. Little is known about his second marriage. The woman he was with in the movie theatre on the night of his last murder is being referred to as his "partner".
, Rigo worked in Hotel Carlton, where he was arrested. Before that he worked as a "kurič" in a heater room in Pravda newspaper and in a hospital on Bezručova street and a hospital on Šulekova street, having also completed his gas certificate (plynárske skúšky in Slovak).
) was from September 28, 1989 to December 9, 1989 because of unauthorised leaving of the Republic.
After the fall of the iron curtain
and end of communism in Czechoslovakia
, people were allowed once again to travel freely in Europe
and Rigo continued with his crimes abroad. On December 9, 1989, the same day he was released from prison and mere three weeks after the start of revolution
, he traveled to Vienna
without any valid passport. There, he acquired a fake Yugoslavia
n passport on the name of "Nedo Ikic". Later, he traveled to Germany to meet his brother. In Bavaria
he asked for asylum using his fake passport. He was, however, sentenced by the German authorities to two months in prison for forging documents. He spent his sentence in a prison in Bad Reichenhall
. After his release from prison, Rigo escaped from a refugee camp and traveled to Munich
where he continued his burglaries and started his killing spree.
:
After arriving at Munich
, Ondrej Rigo murdered twice in three months. His first victim, Helena S. (40), probably surprised Rigo while he was burglarizing her apartment. "He killed her and got aroused sexually," recalls Anton Heretik, author of Rigo's psychological evaluation during investigation. On the night from June 7 to June 8, 1990, he sneaked through a partially open window into the ground floor bedroom of Helena S. at an unspecified location in Munich
. Rigo smashed her head with a 2.5 kilogram
metal pipe, wrapped the upper part of her body in a blanket
and copulated with her. Before leaving, according to some sources he stole some easy to carry valuables, according to others he stole nothing. He disposed of the murder weapon directly beneath the bedroom window.
On the night between the last day of July and August 1, 1990, Rigo sneaked through the partially open balcony door into the Munich
apartment of Ilke Z. (28) murdering her, again using a metal pipe. Probably during copulation, Rigo stabbed her into the neck with a screwdriver
. He performed both vaginal and anal intercourse with her. Afterwards, he covered up the body and searched the house for valuables including a golden necklace and an unknown amount of German marks, which he stole. The murder weapon and a men's sock was later found by the German police at the crime scene.
In October, Rigo left Munich
for Amsterdam
to visit his sister Helena. Maria van der W. (58) was a woman living alone in Amsterdam
with cats. During the night of September 27, 1990, Rigo sneaked into her ground floor apartment through a partially open balcony window and killed her with a stone weighing over 5.5 kilograms (probably a pavement cobblestone
). He stripped the body naked and copulated with it. Again he robbed his victim, stealing a camera, a women's wristwatch, two boxes containing coins and some other valuables. In the kitchen on a shelf he finds some slivovica and drinks it. Later in court, one of the witnesses would testify, that Rigo had a liking for this particular drink.
Rigo left for Bratislava
, Slovakia
the day following the murder. His killings continued with the murder of Terézia R. (88) inside a retirement home
in Bratislava
, on October 6, 1990. He murdered her with his fist while she was sleeping. The retirement home reported prayer books, rosary and 4000 Slovak Crowns as missing. Underneath the balcony, the police found some Dutch
coins and cigarette butts with Rigo's biological material on them.
On January 3, 1991, early in the morning, the bodies of Anna P. (40) and her son Juraj N. (14-16 depends on the source) were found inside a ground floor flat in a dormitory, at an unspecified location in Bratislava
. Rigo entered the apartment through a window around midnight. The son was sleeping beside his mother when Rigo crushed their heads with a wooden stick. Anna P. tried to protect her son. Afterwards, Rigo copulated with her body. Anna P., who emigrated to Switzerland in 1982 with her son and husband, was in Bratislava
with her son just for a few days for New Year's.
Jana B. (31) became the first person to survive Rigo's attack on January 9, 1991, when she managed to fight him off after being attacked in her probably first-floor Bratislava
apartment on Kutuzovova street. Her quick decision to fight coupled with a poor weapon choice on Rigo's part allowed her to come out of the confrontation only with some wounds. Rigo gained access through a ventilation window above the door. After the unsuccessful attack, he quickly fled the apartment. Jana B. noticed that Rigo's light-blue pants were hand-sewn in the crotch area which later helped in identifying him. The police indeed found such pants in his closet. The same night before this attack, Rigo entered through another window in the neighborhood, but it led only into a small locked storage room.
Three weeks after his last kill and two weeks after the attack on Jana B., at an unspecified date, he murdered Helena N. (79) near Záhradnícka street in Bratislava
. This was on the same street as the last murder scene according to some sources, or very near the last murder scene, according to others. Rigo removed a net from the kitchen window of this ground floor apartment, killing Helena N. with a piece of concrete
.
Henrieta O. or A. (22) was attacked on July 14, 1991. Rigo gained access to her Bratislava
apartment through the window, which she probably left open because it was a hot summer. She was playing on her guitar
late into the night. Rigo smashed her head, raped her and robbed her, leaving her for dead. Henrieta O. however survived the attack but died 18 days later. Together with Henrieta O. there was also her grandmother sleeping in another room of the apartment. She was practically deaf and didn't hear Rigo raping her fatally injured granddaughter.
The last victim, Matilda U. (67), was murdered on March 4, 1992, in the center of Bratislava
in a "pavlač" house in Obchodná street. That night, Rigo was in movie theater Dukla (today known as YMCA) on Šancová street together with his girlfriend. They were returning home together when he suddenly told her that he had to take care of something and got off the trolleybus
. He didn't come home until morning.
According to an article in Časopis Šarm, there is another unnamed victim from Bratislava
, killed with a knife, which was never proved to Rigo. The victim was a woman found in the morning by her son sleeping in his child's room. The murder is considered unsolved as of 2008.
Rigo gave some of the items he stole from his victims to his unnamed daughter (12).
in Bratislava
, where he was employed as a "šatniar" in a cloakroom
. At the time of his arrest he was still without his socks
on, which he used in the attack.
Later, he would claim that the blood on him was syrup and that his sperm found on the victims was arranged by a prostitute from an erotic club. He explained his footprints beneath the balconies and cigarette butts by claiming he was there by chance and had to pee or that he was curious and took a look through some windows. He explained his possession of jewelry by saying that women often gave him gifts.
Jana B., the only survivor of his crimes, clearly saw Rigo's face because inside the apartment where she fought with Rigo, there was some light from a streetlight outside. She would later actually attend his trial wearing a wig
to remain unnoticed.
The criminal police of Germany
, Netherlands
and Czechoslovakia
investigated Rigo's murders separately. It was only after his arrest that they started cooperating on the case.
after a trial that lasted 10 days. A senate headed by JUDr. Peter Šamko sentenced him to life imprisonment
in the "third class", which means highest security prison in Slovakia
. When details of his crimes were read to him in court, Rigo did not react in any way. He was sitting rigidly and leaning a bit forward, his face showing no emotion throughout the trial.
His file consisted of 5500 pages.
As explained by Šamko, the sentence was chosen based on directly or indirectly proven 9 murders, based on especially brutal way in which he committed the murders and based on the fact that possibilities of his resocialization are quite limited and the prognosis is bad. There was also DNA
evidence presented to the court consisting of blood analysis and analysis of semen from the victims' vaginas, as well as testimonies of 194 witnesses (including witnesses from Germany and Netherlands).
Rigo never pleaded guilty to any of the murders and he does not feel guilty.
Ondrej Rigo has appealed the first-order court's sentence. In his appeal, he claims he is innocent, without giving any kind of proof.
Rigo's appeal process at the Highest Court of Slovak Republic started on February 27, 1996. During his finishing speech, the representative of the General Prosecutor Office of Slovakia JUDr. Ivan Segeš proposed to confirm the life imprisonment
sentence because Ondrej Rigo's guilt has been proven once again in the appeal process. On February 28, 1996 the senate of the Highest Court of Slovak Republic denied Ondrej Rigo's appeal and confirmed his sentence. There is no other appeal possible.
After serving several years in Ilava
prison, Rigo was transferred to Leopoldov Prison
.
Anton Heretik, author of Ondrej Rigo's psychological profile during the trial, Rigo is a psychopath. "He does not accept any social norms, he is lacking empathy and behaves very impulsively. In the same time he is a schizoid, unable to create relationships with others. He has strange thoughts and hobbies, he is a loner. He is a combination of dissocial and schizoid psychopath, creating a very dangerous type of criminal", claims Heretik.
According to his psychological profile, the strangeness, lack of hospitality and language barrier in a foreign country could have influenced his later behavior. Rigo was found by the psychologists to not be a sadist
.
According to Ondrej Rigo's investigator JUDr. Jozef Vachálek, "(he) had low IQ and seldom talked".
While incarcerated in Ilava
prison, Rigo behaved according the norms most of the time, but according to pedagogist Daniel Blaško from Ilava prison, he would "often react too aggressively". "Chances for his correction are zero", says Blaško. According to him, it was difficult to communicate with Rigo, because he seldom said a coherent sentence.
classes for several years. Jana B. was attacked around 2:30 in the night while sleeping in her apartment on Kutuzovova street in Bratislava
's 3rd district on January 9, 1991. She returned home an hour after midnight and went to sleep. Rigo gained access to the apartment via a ventilation window above the door. A ladder was found leaning against the "pavlač".
"I was woken up by a hit to the head and I saw a man standing by my bed. At first I thought I'm dreaming, because I was living alone but when I received another hit to the head I woke up and the wooden shaft from a hoe
Rigo stole outside, on the building's yard, broke, because it was moldy," she recalls. Jana B. jumped from her bed and started defending herself immediately with the broken piece of wood. When Rigo walked to the door, unlocking it from inside, she threw a chair at him. In the kitchen, he wrestled Jana B. onto a hot gas oven. "The skin on my legs and stomach started to burn", she recalls. They fell on the ground wrestling, then Rigo stood up and started punching her to the head. At this moment Jana B. grabbed him by his genitals and squeezed them. "He was just trying to gouge out my eye", she remembers. She doesn't remember whether Rigo screamed or not, but the rest of the fight before was silent. He then quickly fled the apartment while Jana B. alarmed the neighbor by banging on the wall, instructing him to call the police. Another neighbor, woken up by her son who was alarmed by the noise, found Jana B in shock and savagely beaten.
The neighbor told the police he heard some weird noises but he thought Jana B. was probably framing pictures in the middle of the night. After the attack, her wounds required several weeks to heal. According to Jana B.'s mother, the worst thing was that Ondrej Rigo was caught over a year after the attack on her daughter, all the time knowing he might come back to finish the job. Years later, Jana B. claims she has no psychical trauma from the attack and she is not interested in Ondrej Rigo.
Jana B. never moved from the flat she was attacked in and as of 2008 she continues to live there. Other sources claim she bought a dog
and had to have lights on during the night for seven years after the attack, afterwards finally moving out from the apartment.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
and necrophile who targeted women in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
from 1990 to 1992. Currently serving a life sentence for 9 murders and 1 attempted murder in Leopoldov Prison
Leopoldov Prison
Leopoldov Prison is a 17th century fortress built against Ottoman Turks, in the 19th century it was converted into a high-security prison in the town of Leopoldov, Slovakia...
in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, Rigo is a dissocial and schizoid psychopath while also being a necrophile, finding pleasure in having intercourse with women with mutilated heads. Ondrej Rigo remains the Slovak murderer with the highest number of victims and he is also the most prolific serial killer in modern Slovak history. He is eligible to apply for parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
in 2019.
Childhood
Ondrej Rigo has a brother, who is angry with him because of the troubles he got him into in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and a daughter who sometimes visits him in prison. According to an article in Slovak newspaper SME
SME (newspaper)
SME or Denník SME is the most widely read and very influential mainstream broadsheet in Slovakia.Its target group is very wide, but officially it focuses on readers in bigger cities and agglomerations. Its circulation in December 2006 was 76 590. It appears 6 times a week. It is issued by Petit...
Rigo is of Roma ethnicity. Even as an adult, Rigo was a short man. When he was 14 he was taken into a youth corrective institution and later into an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
together with his siblings. They stayed there for a year, having been taken from their mother after their father's arrest. Rigo's mother died in 2000 after being hit by a car. Learning of her death is the one time he remembers crying in his life. His father died during a burglary. Rigo claims he liked both parents.
He was married two times. First time he got married during military service (compulsory in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
at that time), but "when we returned to Bratislava she started to become jealous. You know, an Easterner (note: meaning from Eastern Slovakia, a culturally and linguistically disticnt region of the country), so she returned to Poprad
Poprad
Poprad is a city in northern Slovakia at the foot of the High Tatra Mountains famous for its picturesque historic centre and as a holiday resort. It is the biggest town of the Spiš region and the tenth largest city in Slovakia with a population of approximately 55,000.The Poprad-Tatry Airport is...
. I went with her to say goodbye at the station," recalls Rigo. Little is known about his second marriage. The woman he was with in the movie theatre on the night of his last murder is being referred to as his "partner".
Legal occupation
In BratislavaBratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, Rigo worked in Hotel Carlton, where he was arrested. Before that he worked as a "kurič" in a heater room in Pravda newspaper and in a hospital on Bezručova street and a hospital on Šulekova street, having also completed his gas certificate (plynárske skúšky in Slovak).
Career criminal
Before his first murder, Ondrej Rigo was already convicted 11 times. He was a criminal from an early age, focusing mainly on home burglaries. The last time he was in police custody in Slovakia (at that time CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
) was from September 28, 1989 to December 9, 1989 because of unauthorised leaving of the Republic.
After the fall of the iron curtain
Iron Curtain
The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological fighting and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1989...
and end of communism in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
, people were allowed once again to travel freely in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and Rigo continued with his crimes abroad. On December 9, 1989, the same day he was released from prison and mere three weeks after the start of revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
, he traveled to Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
without any valid passport. There, he acquired a fake Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
n passport on the name of "Nedo Ikic". Later, he traveled to Germany to meet his brother. In Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
he asked for asylum using his fake passport. He was, however, sentenced by the German authorities to two months in prison for forging documents. He spent his sentence in a prison in Bad Reichenhall
Bad Reichenhall
Bad Reichenhall is a spa town, and administrative center of the Berchtesgadener Land district in Upper Bavaria, Germany. It is located near Salzburg in a basin encircled by the Chiemgauer Alps ....
. After his release from prison, Rigo escaped from a refugee camp and traveled to Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
where he continued his burglaries and started his killing spree.
Modus operandi
An important factor in Ondrej Rigo's conviction was his consistent modus operandiModus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
:
- His attacks occurred during the night or very early in the morning
- He wore his socks on his hands at all times during the attacks in order to not leave any fingerprintFingerprintA fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s - He would sneak into apartments in the basements, on the ground floor or with easy access via the balcony, usually entering through a window
- He would always pick women sleeping alone and beat them to death with a metal rod, wooden stick or a rock, always hitting the head
- The murder weapon is always left at the crime scene
- After killing the victim he would cover the victim's upper body with a blanketBlanketA blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking, a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket. Blankets are generally used...
. Then he would copulate with the bodyNecrophiliaNecrophilia, also called thanatophilia or necrolagnia, is the sexual attraction to corpses,It is classified as a paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association. The word is artificially derived from the ancient Greek words: νεκρός and φιλία...
both vaginally and anally. Sometimes, he would mutilate the body some more during intercourse - He smoked at the crime scenes and threw cigarette butts on the floor
- Usually, he robbed the victims of some easy to carry valuables
Murders
Listed in chronological order, these are the names of the victims who were murdered or wounded by Ondrej Rigo.| Name | Age | Status | Date of Attack | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helena S. | 40 | Killed | June 8, 1990 |  MunichMunich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... |
| llka Z. | 28 | Killed | August 1, 1990 | Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... |
| Maria van der W. | 58 | Killed | September 27, 1990 | Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... |
| Terézia R. | 88 | Killed | October 6, 1990 |  BratislavaBratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... |
| Anna P. | 40 | Killed | January 3, 1991 | Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... |
| Juraj N. | 14-16 | Killed | January 3, 1991 | Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... |
| Jana B. | 31 | Survived | January 9, 1991 | Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... |
| Helena N. | 79 | Killed | late January or April, 1991 | Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... |
| Henrieta O. | 22 | Killed | July 14, 1991 | Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... |
| Matilda U. | 67 | Killed | March 4, 1992 | Bratislava Bratislava Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava... |
After arriving at Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Ondrej Rigo murdered twice in three months. His first victim, Helena S. (40), probably surprised Rigo while he was burglarizing her apartment. "He killed her and got aroused sexually," recalls Anton Heretik, author of Rigo's psychological evaluation during investigation. On the night from June 7 to June 8, 1990, he sneaked through a partially open window into the ground floor bedroom of Helena S. at an unspecified location in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. Rigo smashed her head with a 2.5 kilogram
Kilogram
The kilogram or kilogramme , also known as the kilo, is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units and is defined as being equal to the mass of the International Prototype Kilogram , which is almost exactly equal to the mass of one liter of water...
metal pipe, wrapped the upper part of her body in a blanket
Blanket
A blanket is a type of bedding, generally speaking, a large piece of cloth, intended to keep the user warm, especially while sleeping. Blankets are distinguished from sheets by their thickness and purpose; the thickest sheet is still thinner than the lightest blanket. Blankets are generally used...
and copulated with her. Before leaving, according to some sources he stole some easy to carry valuables, according to others he stole nothing. He disposed of the murder weapon directly beneath the bedroom window.
On the night between the last day of July and August 1, 1990, Rigo sneaked through the partially open balcony door into the Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
apartment of Ilke Z. (28) murdering her, again using a metal pipe. Probably during copulation, Rigo stabbed her into the neck with a screwdriver
Screwdriver
A screwdriver is a tool for driving screws and often rotating other machine elements with the mating drive system. The screwdriver is made up of a head or tip, which engages with a screw, a mechanism to apply torque by rotating the tip, and some way to position and support the screwdriver...
. He performed both vaginal and anal intercourse with her. Afterwards, he covered up the body and searched the house for valuables including a golden necklace and an unknown amount of German marks, which he stole. The murder weapon and a men's sock was later found by the German police at the crime scene.
In October, Rigo left Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
for Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
to visit his sister Helena. Maria van der W. (58) was a woman living alone in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
with cats. During the night of September 27, 1990, Rigo sneaked into her ground floor apartment through a partially open balcony window and killed her with a stone weighing over 5.5 kilograms (probably a pavement cobblestone
Cobblestone
Cobblestones are stones that were frequently used in the pavement of early streets. "Cobblestone" is derived from the very old English word "cob", which had a wide range of meanings, one of which was "rounded lump" with overtones of large size...
). He stripped the body naked and copulated with it. Again he robbed his victim, stealing a camera, a women's wristwatch, two boxes containing coins and some other valuables. In the kitchen on a shelf he finds some slivovica and drinks it. Later in court, one of the witnesses would testify, that Rigo had a liking for this particular drink.
Rigo left for Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
the day following the murder. His killings continued with the murder of Terézia R. (88) inside a retirement home
Retirement home
A retirement home is a multi-residence housing facility intended for senior citizens. Typically each person or couple in the home has an apartment-style room or suite of rooms. Additional facilities are provided within the building, including facilities for meals, gathering, recreation, and some...
in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, on October 6, 1990. He murdered her with his fist while she was sleeping. The retirement home reported prayer books, rosary and 4000 Slovak Crowns as missing. Underneath the balcony, the police found some Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
coins and cigarette butts with Rigo's biological material on them.
On January 3, 1991, early in the morning, the bodies of Anna P. (40) and her son Juraj N. (14-16 depends on the source) were found inside a ground floor flat in a dormitory, at an unspecified location in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
. Rigo entered the apartment through a window around midnight. The son was sleeping beside his mother when Rigo crushed their heads with a wooden stick. Anna P. tried to protect her son. Afterwards, Rigo copulated with her body. Anna P., who emigrated to Switzerland in 1982 with her son and husband, was in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
with her son just for a few days for New Year's.
Jana B. (31) became the first person to survive Rigo's attack on January 9, 1991, when she managed to fight him off after being attacked in her probably first-floor Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
apartment on Kutuzovova street. Her quick decision to fight coupled with a poor weapon choice on Rigo's part allowed her to come out of the confrontation only with some wounds. Rigo gained access through a ventilation window above the door. After the unsuccessful attack, he quickly fled the apartment. Jana B. noticed that Rigo's light-blue pants were hand-sewn in the crotch area which later helped in identifying him. The police indeed found such pants in his closet. The same night before this attack, Rigo entered through another window in the neighborhood, but it led only into a small locked storage room.
Three weeks after his last kill and two weeks after the attack on Jana B., at an unspecified date, he murdered Helena N. (79) near Záhradnícka street in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
. This was on the same street as the last murder scene according to some sources, or very near the last murder scene, according to others. Rigo removed a net from the kitchen window of this ground floor apartment, killing Helena N. with a piece of concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
.
Henrieta O. or A. (22) was attacked on July 14, 1991. Rigo gained access to her Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
apartment through the window, which she probably left open because it was a hot summer. She was playing on her guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
late into the night. Rigo smashed her head, raped her and robbed her, leaving her for dead. Henrieta O. however survived the attack but died 18 days later. Together with Henrieta O. there was also her grandmother sleeping in another room of the apartment. She was practically deaf and didn't hear Rigo raping her fatally injured granddaughter.
The last victim, Matilda U. (67), was murdered on March 4, 1992, in the center of Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
in a "pavlač" house in Obchodná street. That night, Rigo was in movie theater Dukla (today known as YMCA) on Šancová street together with his girlfriend. They were returning home together when he suddenly told her that he had to take care of something and got off the trolleybus
Trolleybus
A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
. He didn't come home until morning.
According to an article in Časopis Šarm, there is another unnamed victim from Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, killed with a knife, which was never proved to Rigo. The victim was a woman found in the morning by her son sleeping in his child's room. The murder is considered unsolved as of 2008.
Rigo gave some of the items he stole from his victims to his unnamed daughter (12).
Arrest
Ondrej Rigo was arrested by the Slovak criminal police on March 4, 1992, only hours after his last murder. He was arrested by Vachálek and probably some other policemen in Hotel Carlton on Hviezdoslavovo SquareHviezdoslavovo námestie (Bratislava)
Hviezdoslavovo námestie is one of the best-known squares in Bratislava. It is located in the Old Town, between the New Bridge and the Slovak National Theatre.The square is named after Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav.-History:...
in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, where he was employed as a "šatniar" in a cloakroom
Cloakroom
A cloakroom, or sometimes coatroom, is a room for people to hang their cloaks. They are typically found inside large buildings, such as gymnasiums, schools, churches or meeting halls....
. At the time of his arrest he was still without his socks
SOCKS
SOCKS is an Internet protocol that routes network packets between a client and server through a proxy server. SOCKS5 additionally provides authentication so only authorized users may access a server...
on, which he used in the attack.
Later, he would claim that the blood on him was syrup and that his sperm found on the victims was arranged by a prostitute from an erotic club. He explained his footprints beneath the balconies and cigarette butts by claiming he was there by chance and had to pee or that he was curious and took a look through some windows. He explained his possession of jewelry by saying that women often gave him gifts.
Jana B., the only survivor of his crimes, clearly saw Rigo's face because inside the apartment where she fought with Rigo, there was some light from a streetlight outside. She would later actually attend his trial wearing a wig
Wig
A wig is a head of hair made from horsehair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair, buffalo hair, or synthetic materials which is worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic reasons, including cultural and religious observance. The word wig is short for periwig and first...
to remain unnoticed.
The criminal police of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
investigated Rigo's murders separately. It was only after his arrest that they started cooperating on the case.
Trial
Ondrej Rigo was sentenced on December 7, 1994 by the City court of BratislavaBratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
after a trial that lasted 10 days. A senate headed by JUDr. Peter Šamko sentenced him to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
in the "third class", which means highest security prison in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
. When details of his crimes were read to him in court, Rigo did not react in any way. He was sitting rigidly and leaning a bit forward, his face showing no emotion throughout the trial.
His file consisted of 5500 pages.
As explained by Šamko, the sentence was chosen based on directly or indirectly proven 9 murders, based on especially brutal way in which he committed the murders and based on the fact that possibilities of his resocialization are quite limited and the prognosis is bad. There was also DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
evidence presented to the court consisting of blood analysis and analysis of semen from the victims' vaginas, as well as testimonies of 194 witnesses (including witnesses from Germany and Netherlands).
Rigo never pleaded guilty to any of the murders and he does not feel guilty.
Ondrej Rigo has appealed the first-order court's sentence. In his appeal, he claims he is innocent, without giving any kind of proof.
Rigo's appeal process at the Highest Court of Slovak Republic started on February 27, 1996. During his finishing speech, the representative of the General Prosecutor Office of Slovakia JUDr. Ivan Segeš proposed to confirm the life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
sentence because Ondrej Rigo's guilt has been proven once again in the appeal process. On February 28, 1996 the senate of the Highest Court of Slovak Republic denied Ondrej Rigo's appeal and confirmed his sentence. There is no other appeal possible.
After serving several years in Ilava
Ilava
Ilava is a town in the Trenčín Region, northwestern Slovakia.-Geography:It is located in the Ilava Basin near the Váh river at the foothills of Strážovské vrchy mountains, near the cities of Považská Bystrica and Trenčín...
prison, Rigo was transferred to Leopoldov Prison
Leopoldov Prison
Leopoldov Prison is a 17th century fortress built against Ottoman Turks, in the 19th century it was converted into a high-security prison in the town of Leopoldov, Slovakia...
.
Personality and psychopathological profile
According to court appointed psychologistPsychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
Anton Heretik, author of Ondrej Rigo's psychological profile during the trial, Rigo is a psychopath. "He does not accept any social norms, he is lacking empathy and behaves very impulsively. In the same time he is a schizoid, unable to create relationships with others. He has strange thoughts and hobbies, he is a loner. He is a combination of dissocial and schizoid psychopath, creating a very dangerous type of criminal", claims Heretik.
According to his psychological profile, the strangeness, lack of hospitality and language barrier in a foreign country could have influenced his later behavior. Rigo was found by the psychologists to not be a sadist
Sadistic personality disorder
Sadistic personality disorder is a diagnosis which appeared only in an appendix of the revised third edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders . The current version of the DSM does not include it, so it is no longer considered a valid...
.
According to Ondrej Rigo's investigator JUDr. Jozef Vachálek, "(he) had low IQ and seldom talked".
While incarcerated in Ilava
Ilava
Ilava is a town in the Trenčín Region, northwestern Slovakia.-Geography:It is located in the Ilava Basin near the Váh river at the foothills of Strážovské vrchy mountains, near the cities of Považská Bystrica and Trenčín...
prison, Rigo behaved according the norms most of the time, but according to pedagogist Daniel Blaško from Ilava prison, he would "often react too aggressively". "Chances for his correction are zero", says Blaško. According to him, it was difficult to communicate with Rigo, because he seldom said a coherent sentence.
Survivor
The Slovak artist Jana B. is the only person to survive an attack by Ondrej Rigo. She attended karateKarate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
classes for several years. Jana B. was attacked around 2:30 in the night while sleeping in her apartment on Kutuzovova street in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
's 3rd district on January 9, 1991. She returned home an hour after midnight and went to sleep. Rigo gained access to the apartment via a ventilation window above the door. A ladder was found leaning against the "pavlač".
"I was woken up by a hit to the head and I saw a man standing by my bed. At first I thought I'm dreaming, because I was living alone but when I received another hit to the head I woke up and the wooden shaft from a hoe
Hoe (tool)
A hoe is an ancient and versatile agricultural tool used to move small amounts of soil. Common goals include weed control by agitating the surface of the soil around plants, piling soil around the base of plants , creating narrow furrows and shallow trenches for planting seeds and bulbs, to chop...
Rigo stole outside, on the building's yard, broke, because it was moldy," she recalls. Jana B. jumped from her bed and started defending herself immediately with the broken piece of wood. When Rigo walked to the door, unlocking it from inside, she threw a chair at him. In the kitchen, he wrestled Jana B. onto a hot gas oven. "The skin on my legs and stomach started to burn", she recalls. They fell on the ground wrestling, then Rigo stood up and started punching her to the head. At this moment Jana B. grabbed him by his genitals and squeezed them. "He was just trying to gouge out my eye", she remembers. She doesn't remember whether Rigo screamed or not, but the rest of the fight before was silent. He then quickly fled the apartment while Jana B. alarmed the neighbor by banging on the wall, instructing him to call the police. Another neighbor, woken up by her son who was alarmed by the noise, found Jana B in shock and savagely beaten.
The neighbor told the police he heard some weird noises but he thought Jana B. was probably framing pictures in the middle of the night. After the attack, her wounds required several weeks to heal. According to Jana B.'s mother, the worst thing was that Ondrej Rigo was caught over a year after the attack on her daughter, all the time knowing he might come back to finish the job. Years later, Jana B. claims she has no psychical trauma from the attack and she is not interested in Ondrej Rigo.
Jana B. never moved from the flat she was attacked in and as of 2008 she continues to live there. Other sources claim she bought a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
and had to have lights on during the night for seven years after the attack, afterwards finally moving out from the apartment.
In popular culture
- "Beštia" (the beast), a detective novel by Slovak author Dominik Dán, published in Slovart in July 2006 is a semi-fictionalised story of Ondrej Rigo. It details the atmosphere of the aftermath of President Václav HavelVáclav HavelVáclav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
's amnesty from 1990 which released many criminals from prisons.