Karl Pfeffer: Man, 28, says he's 'no threat to society' after killing mom and dismembering her body
WARSAW, POLAND: An American man has asked not to be portrayed in the media as a "psycho" after brutally murdering his elderly mother, hacking her to pieces and throwing her remains into a river. Karl Pfeffer, 28, who was picked up last October on an international arrest warrant by FBI after fleeing Warsaw, Poland, told the court he was "no threat to society" After grinning into court photographers in the Polish capital, Pfeffer told judges, "I don't want to look like a psycho in the media, I don't want to be the next Jeffrey Dahmer."
The 28-year-old allegedly lived off his 71-year-old mother, Gretchen Pfeffer, a wealthy widow. Pfeffer said in court, "Allow me to admit that I buried the body in the river and explain why this person is dead. If I were to say what my mother did in the USA, she would be publicly executed. She would be crucified in Seattle." Pfeffer said that of the "hundreds of good relationships he has all over the world," it was his relationship with his mother "that turned sour" He added, "She went from being totally cultured and friendly to being absolutely vulgar. I don't want to be treated as a murderer and a psychopath. Honestly, I want to go back to the beach. I am not a threat to society."
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Gretchen Pfeffer was 'social and intelligent'
Pfeffer's mother, whose body has not yet been found, was described as "social, intelligent and communicative," according to the DailyMail. Those close to Gretchen claimed that her relationship with her son was reportedly strained. According to witnesses, Pfeffer refused to work, took drugs and was financially dependent on her. He also allegedly became violent toward her.
According to a court document, one of her friends "told investigators that Gretchen Pfeffer confided in her that Karl Pfeffer had beat her around the head with a frying pan during one of their arguments." Furthermore, Pfeffer is said to have used her credit cards even after he had moved out of their shared apartment "until they were blocked by his family" He then asked his then-girlfriend, who was only posing as IBK, to call the bank and use his mother's documents to try to reopen the accounts.
Pfeffer killed his mom in Warsaw apartment
"From that day on [31 March], all in-person contact with Gretchen's friends stopped, and the occasional social media post or message sent from her phone was strikingly different from Gretchen's typical style of speech and the way she wrote," Polish investigators said of Gretchen after she was last seen at the end of March 2020. After seeing that her things were missing from her apartment, police concluded that "on March 31, 2020, or April 1, 2020, Karl Pfeffer killed his mother Gretchen in her Warsaw apartment." A thorough investigation revealed that Pfeffer bought a handsaw and duct tape on April 1, as per the outlet.
While he flew away from the scene, Pfeffer was tracked down six months later. He was then interrogated by FBI, where he confessed to the murder and described how he dismembered the body and packed the remains in six bags before dumping them in the Vistula River. However, according to the arrest warrant released by the US Attorney's Office, Pfeffer had already confessed to his half-sister, Michelle Pfeffer.
Pfeffer's lawyers push 'lack of evidence'
According to the DailyMail, Pfeffer's lawyers have appealed for his release based on "lack of evidence" and "ill health." Speaking for the defense, Grzegorz Roman said, "The evidence does not provide grounds for any of the allegations against Karl to be justified. If the body really had been dismembered it would be easier to find at least parts of this body. Dismemberment of a body always increases the probability of finding at least one of its parts, that's an obvious conclusion. But no part could be found."
Trial resumes February 10
He further added that being in pre-trial custody "for about two years has had a negative impact on his mental state. Unfortunately, this affects the state of health of the accused. He does not tolerate such a long period of being in custody properly. I am requesting the repeal of the preventive measure in place, which is now approaching two years." However, Judge Agnieszka Domańska did not release a judgment in the defendant’s favor, saying that Pfeffer was a "flight risk because the charges against his are punishable by life imprisonment." The trial will resume on February 10.