Elfriede Martha Blauensteiner, known as "the black widow of Vienna," was a serial killer in Austria who killed at least five men and one woman to obtain their inheritances. Born on January 22, 1931, Blauensteiner used medication to commit her crimes and became the first person in her country to earn that grim nickname.
The woman, a gambling addict, sought out her victims through advertisements, primarily wealthy and needy individuals. Once she gained their trust, she murdered them to take their belongings. Blauensteiner was discovered due to the greed of the nephew of one of her victims, who, feeling cheated after being excluded from his aunt's inheritance, began to suspect the circumstances of her death.
In a case in Krems in 1997, Blauensteiner was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Subsequently, in a trial in Vienna in 2001, she was convicted of two other crimes, despite denying any responsibility. Despite the legal defense led by Elmar Kresbach, Blauensteiner served her sentence in Schwarzau prison from 1997 until her death in 2003 due to a brain tumor at the age of 72.
During her time in prison, Blauensteiner maintained a defiant attitude, even quoting biblical phrases during one of her public appearances. The serial killer was buried in Simmering Fire Hall Cemetery, and her grave was abandoned in 2016.
One of Blauensteiner's most famous crimes was that of Alois P., a 77-year-old retiree whom she met through a personal ad in 1995. Using medication, she left him unconscious and then slowly killed him by freezing. Franziska K., a widow, was another of Blauensteiner's victims in 1992, whom she murdered using the same methods to take her savings accounts. Ambulances always arrived when the victims were still alive, but unfortunately, they died shortly after in the hospital.