Hans Schmidt (priest)

Hans B. Schmidt (January 3, 1881 – February 18, 1916) was a German Catholic priest, rapist, convicted murderer, and suspected serial killer. He was executed by way of the electric chair at Sing Sing Prison in New York State for murdering and dismembering a woman in the United States. He was also suspected in the disappearance of another woman and child. Schmidt was the first and remains the only Roman Catholic priest to be executed in the United States.

Early life

Hans Schmidt was born on January 3, 1881, in the Bavarian town of Aschaffenburg, to a Protestant father and a Catholic mother. Both sides of his family had a long history of mental illness. From his early childhood, Hans was regularly beaten by his father and watched his father beating his mother. Even in childhood, Schmidt combined a fascination with blood with bisexual promiscuity. He was deeply devoted to his mother's Catholic religion and would attend services with her multiple times per day. According to his father, Hans once beheaded two of his parents' geese and kept the severed heads in his pocket. He also frequented the village slaughterhouse daily despite being forbidden by his parents. He and several neighborhood boys would engage in sexual activity at the slaughterhouse while watching the death and dissection of farm animals.

Ordination

Hans attended seminary in Mainz from 1901 to 1904 but struggled to follow the rules. He was told repeatedly that if he did not change his behavior he would be asked to leave. When it came time for his class to be ordained, Hans was told that he would not be ordained due to an "unbalanced mind."