Killing of Kalinka Bamberski

1. 1982-07-09

   Dieter Krombach later said that after dinner on the evening of 9 July 1982, at his home in Lindau, Germany, he injected his 14-year-old stepdaughter, Kalinka Bamberski, with Kobalt-Ferrlecit, a cobalt-iron preparation; he said he found her dead in her room the next morning and called emergency services.

2. 1982-07

   An autopsy conducted two days after Kalinka's death could not establish a cause of death. It found aspirated stomach contents in her airway and lungs, several injection marks, and genital injuries, including a superficial vaginal tear judged to have occurred after death; her genitals were removed during the autopsy and have never been recovered.

3. 1983

   André Bamberski distributed leaflets in Lindau accusing Krombach of the rape and murder of his daughter. Krombach sued him for defamation and won a judgment of 500,000 German marks, which Bamberski refused to pay.

4. 1985

   Kalinka's body, which had been interred in Toulouse, was exhumed; her genitals could not be found, but a French medical evaluation found the original German toxicological analysis had been of poor quality.

5. 1987

   The Higher Regional Court in Munich ruled there was insufficient evidence that Krombach's injection had negligently or intentionally caused Kalinka's death.

6. 1995

   Krombach was tried in absentia in France and sentenced to 15 years in prison for intentionally inflicting bodily harm that caused Kalinka's unintentional death.

7. 1997

   In a separate German case, Krombach admitted to drugging and raping a 16-year-old patient in his medical office; he received a two-year suspended sentence and lost his medical license.

8. 2000

   A police officer recognized Krombach, from a photo distributed by Bamberski, on a train in western Austria and arrested him; he was released after three weeks when an Austrian judge ruled the French trial had been illegal.

9. 2001

   The European Court of Human Rights annulled Krombach's 1995 French conviction, ruling that he had been denied the ability to defend himself, and awarded him compensation.

10. 2004

    A German court declined a French request to extradite Krombach, ruling the case closed.

11. 2009-10-17

    André Bamberski paid several men to abduct Krombach from his home in Scheidegg, Bavaria; Krombach was beaten, suffering a fractured skull, and left near a police station in Mulhouse, France. Bamberski was arrested soon after with the cash he had intended to pay the men and was released on bail.

12. 2011-10-22

    Krombach was convicted in France of causing intentional bodily harm that resulted in Kalinka's unintentional death and sentenced to 15 years in prison; prosecutors argued he had drugged her intending to rape her.

13. 2012-12

    Krombach's 2011 conviction was confirmed on appeal.

14. 2014-04-02

    The Court of Cassation rejected Krombach's further appeal, making his conviction final.

15. 2014-05-22

    André Bamberski was tried in France, on 22-23 May 2014, for organizing the 2009 abduction; he confessed to arranging it and received a one-year suspended jail sentence.

16. 2016

    A court in Melun ordered Krombach's release from prison for health reasons, but a successful prosecution appeal kept him imprisoned.

17. 2018-03

    The European Court of Human Rights rejected Krombach's claim that he had been prosecuted twice for the same crime, upholding his French conviction.

18. 2020-02

    Krombach was released from prison for health reasons.

19. 2020-09-12

    Krombach died in an old-age home in Germany.

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• André Bamberski

  CONVICTED

  Kalinka's father; convicted in France in May 2014 of organizing Krombach's 2009 abduction from Germany and given a one-year suspended sentence. This conviction concerns the abduction, not Kalinka's death.

• Kalinka Bamberski

  VICTIM

  14-year-old French student; died on the night of 9 July 1982 at her stepfather's home in Lindau, Germany, after he injected her following dinner.

• Dieter Krombach

  CONVICTED

  German physician and Kalinka's stepfather; convicted in October 2011 of causing intentional bodily harm that resulted in Kalinka's unintentional death and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The conviction was upheld on appeal, became final in 2014, and was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights in 2018. An earlier, 1995 in-absentia French conviction had been annulled by the European Court of Human Rights in 2001.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

What happened to the victim?

Kalinka Bamberski, 14, died in July 1982 at stepfather Dieter Krombach's home in Lindau, Germany, after he admitted injecting her that night; following a decades-long legal fight across Germany and France, including Krombach's 2009 abduction to French custody, he was convicted in 2011 of causing her unintentional death and sentenced to 15 years, a verdict the European Court of Human Rights upheld in 2018.

Where did the killing happen?

Lindau, Germany.

Who was convicted?

André Bamberski (Kalinka's father; convicted in France in May 2014 of organizing Krombach's 2009 abduction from Germany and given a one-year suspended sentence. This conviction concerns the abduction, not Kalinka's death.) and Dieter Krombach (German physician and Kalinka's stepfather; convicted in October 2011 of causing intentional bodily harm that resulted in Kalinka's unintentional death and sentenced to 15 years in prison. The conviction was upheld on appeal, became final in 2014, and was upheld by the European Court of Human Rights in 2018. An earlier, 1995 in-absentia French conviction had been annulled by the European Court of Human Rights in 2001.).

What is the current status of the case?

Status: solved.

1. ENCYCLOPEDICKalinka Bamberski caseWikipedia · 2026-07-12
2. PRESSThirty Years in Search of JusticeThe Guardian · 2026-07-12
3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-12

First published

JUL 13, 2026