Jack Unterweger was Austria’s most notorious serial killer, who went on to become a writer and TV personality before reverting to his murderous ways.

Unterweger had a miserable childhood. He never knew his father and his mother was a prostitute who abandoned her son at an early age leaving him in the care of his abusive, alcoholic grandfather. When he was just sixteen the rage that had built up during his youth erupted and he was charged with assaulting a prostitute.

His violent behaviour escalated and in 1976 Unterweger was jailed for life for the murder of Margaret Schaefer. The young woman was a prostitute and Unterweger claimed that he had killed her because she reminded him of his mother. The forensic psychologist who examined him at the time, Dr. Klaus Jarosch, pronounced him a sexually sadistic psychopath with narcissistic and histrionic tendencies.

While serving his sentence Unterweger wrote a series of short stories, plays and an autobiography that made him the darling of the Viennese cafe-intellectuals. Hailed as a model for rehabilitation, Unterweger was granted parole in 1990. On his release his writing made him a celebrity with regular appearances on local talk shows and a life style to match.

However, not truly reformed, he kept up with his old habit of strangling prostitutes and he was linked to murders both in Europe and the USA. After being extradited back to Austria from America, Unterweger was found guilty of committing nine murders and sentenced to life, again. He hanged himself just 24 hours after receiving his sentence.