In a case that has shocked the community, Lorenz Kraus, 53, confessed to killing his parents eight years prior during a televised interview. The chilling admission came after police uncovered the bodies of Franz and Theresia Kraus at their upstate New York home in Albany. The investigation began due to suspicions surrounding continued Social Security payments being received for the couple, who had not been seen or heard from in years.
Kraus reached out to local news outlet CBS6, and sat for a half-hour interview where he described the killings as mercy killings. In the interview, Kraus was initially hesitant but eventually admitted to the act after being questioned by news anchor Greg Floyd. He stated his parents were declining in health, and he acted out of concern for their suffering. “I did my duty to my parents,” Kraus stated during the interview, suggesting their misery was his primary concern.
The interview was arranged after Kraus emailed a two-page statement to the news station and other outlets, including his phone number. The news director, Stone Grissom, contacted Kraus to verify his identity. During that phone call, Kraus allegedly admitted to burying his parents in his yard, but invoked his Fifth Amendment rights when questioned about the killings. Subsequently, an interview was arranged, and Grissom even frisked Kraus upon his arrival at the station to ensure he was unarmed. A plainclothes police officer was present in the lobby during the interview, and the news anchor had only ten minutes to prepare.
Moments after the interview concluded, Kraus was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. During a brief court appearance, a public defender entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. The defense is now looking into the circumstances surrounding the interview, specifically whether the media acted as an agent of the police, which could potentially impact the admissibility of Kraus’s statements made during the interview. The discovery of the bodies in the backyard was the result of an investigation into financial crimes. Police believe Kraus collected his parents’ benefits for his personal use. Authorities are in the process of positively identifying the bodies, which are believed to be those of Franz Kraus, 92, and Theresia Kraus, 83.