"Karl Strasser, 38 years old, came home from an election meeting of the Bavarian Party in Gangkofen on this Sunday evening of November 5, 1950. He looked after the animals and then had dinner with his wife Katharina (37) and their children Josef (12), Katharina (11) and Resi (4). He then read the newspaper to his wife in the kitchen-living room while the children played in the same room.
Outside, at around 6:30 p.m., a man approached the property across the snow-covered fields, opened a shutter and fired three times through the window with an army pistol. Two shots hit the man, one hit the woman. Then the unknown man disappeared again towards the edge of the forest. As the police soon determined, he was a cyclist accompanied by a medium-sized dog. Based on the shoe prints in the snow, it was determined that the murderer was limping.
After the couple died, the three children were taken into the care of foster parents. The property was first leased, then sold in 1961 and later demolished. Now a new house stands there. A shrine on the access road still reminds us of the crime."
The investigations by the rural police at the time were marked by numerous mishaps. Initial investigations suggested that Postfritz was the perpetrator. However, he had to be let go because of an "alibi". The case was filed. In 1956, however, the investigations were reopened by a Straubing detective. Based on his research, Postfritz was now able to be arrested. The trial took place in 1957.
The court met in the cinema hall of the former Niedermeier inn in Gangkofen. However, the alibi turned out to be baseless. The evidence was so strong that the court was convinced of the defendant's guilt. The verdict was two life sentences.
Miscarriage of justice?
Gottfried Salomon continued to protest his innocence. From prison he contacted a private detective and a lawyer who were supposed to clear up this miscarriage of justice. But the case was never reopened. He was released after 20 years. He apparently changed his name, got married, led a respectable life and died sometime in the 1990s.
Franz Gilg wrote a crime novel based on this incident called "The Shots of Öd". Taken from "RegioWiki Niederbayern" "Double Murder of Kleinheckenwies".