An Infamous Robber From History Was Identified After His Skeleton Was Mixed Up 220 Years Ago
In 1803, the legendary robbers Schinderhannes and Schwarzer Jonas were executed by guillotine in Mainz, Germany.
Two years later, Jacob Fidelis Ackermann, the first chairholder of anatomy at the University of Heidelberg, brought the two skeletons to the institute, where they were mixed up.
Now, a research team has been able to correct this 220-year-old error using the latest analytical methods. The two skeletons have been part of the Anatomical Collection at the university for 220 years. They belonged to Johannes Bückler, better known as Schinderhannes, and Schwarzer Jonas.
Both men were guillotined along with 18 other convicts in November 1803. The skeletons were brought to Heidelberg in 1805.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the skeletons’ collection numbers were mixed up, causing them to be misidentified.
The skeleton that was thought to be Schwarzer Jones was actually that of Schinderhannes. On the other hand, the alleged skeleton of Schinderhannes was not Schwarzer Jones.
Sadly, the real skeleton of Schwarzer Jones was lost over time. It was possibly stolen or borrowed and never returned.
There are only a few accounts and paintings of Schinderhannes, and they vary greatly, so it was unclear exactly what he looked like. But new genetic analyses have determined his eye, hair, and skin color.
“The data suggests that Schinderhannes had brown eyes, dark hair, and rather pale skin,” said Dr. Walther Parson, a professor at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria.
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The research team included experts from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Portugal, and the United States. The experts used isotope analysis to narrow down the skeletons’ identities.
They were able to determine where the two individuals spent their childhood and later years, as well as information on the age, gender, and possible illnesses of the individuals.
The skeleton attributed to Schwarzer Jonas was compared to a living descendant of Schinderhannes in the fifth generation. The results showed that the skeleton may have originated from Schinderhannes.
The researchers have not yet located the skeleton of Schwarzer Jonas. The real skeleton of Schinderhannes was removed from the exhibition for conservation purposes, but visitors can see a replica of the skeleton in the Anatomical Collection.
Schinderhannes was born in 1779 in Germany to a family of executioners and slaughterers. He was tied to at least 211 crimes of theft, extortion, robbery, and maybe even murder.
Schwarzer Jonas was born around 1774. The two men eventually paired up to commit crimes together. They were arrested in 1802. During the investigation, Schinderhannes named over 100 individuals connected to his criminal activities.
After a month-long trial, Schinderhannes, Schwarzer Jonas, and 18 others were convicted. They were executed in front of a crowd of 30,000 onlookers.
The study was published in Forensic Science International: Genetics.
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