The Family was Murdered but Someone Kept Running the Farm

On April 4, 1922, mechanic Albert Hofner spent hours repairing an engine at the isolated Hinterkaifeck farm. He heard cattle and a dog. No one came to the door. Later that day, six people were found dead inside. What happened during the days between the killings and their discovery? Reports of smoke from the chimney, tracks leading toward the farm, and the animals’ condition have fueled a theory that someone remained there. The surviving accounts do not all agree. This episode follows the family’s final days, the discovery, the investigators’ reconstruction, and the people they questioned. It separates what the records establish from the mystery that still surrounds the farm. Hinterkaifeck remains unsolved. Subscribe to CrimesInBrief for real crimes, unresolved mysteries, and the investigations behind them. CHAPTERS00:00 Nobody answers00:57 The people at Hinterkaifeck02:45 Four days04:04 Behind the doors05:34 Did someone stay?07:06 The neighbor09:38 What was left CREDITSHistorical farm photographs: Andreas Biegleder and an unidentified photographer; public-domain images via Wikimedia Commons.Historical map reference: Königlich Bayerisches Vermessungsamt, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.Death card, witness statements, mattock replica photograph, and reward poster: Burkhard Mücke, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. The pictured mattock is a later reconstruction, not the original weapon.Additional historical photographs and documents: the Hinterkaifeck research archive and the 2026 exhibition catalog of Staatsarchiv München / Bayerisches Armeemuseum / Staatliche Archive Bayerns. Limited documentary use; these items are not claimed to be copyright-free.Contemporary illustrative footage via Pexels: Hữu Thịnh 79, Artem Podrez, yavuz selim korku, Matthias Groeneveld, Emre Yurttakalın, Igor Kira, and Martina Tomšič.Dog bark: Brandon Morris (HaelDB), “Dog barking mono,” CC0 1.0, via OpenGameArt. Paper sound effect: Luckius, CC0 1.0, via OpenGameArt.Original maps, graphics, reconstructions, and editing: CrimesInBrief. Modern footage and illustrative graphics are not recordings of the 1922 events. The identity of the killer and the claim that someone remained at the farm for four days have not been established. #Hinterkaifeck #TrueCrime #UnsolvedMysteries