Der Mordfall Lackum (Lackum - a murder case)
During summer term 2009 a group of students, conducted by DPhil Ralf-Peter Fuchs, got the thrilling opportunity to become a kind of “historic CSI” by participating in a research project in the field of Micro History.
In contrast to Macro History, which observes generalized social and economical life, Micro History focuses on a specific person or circumstance. This focus is supposed to make history more tangible to the researcher.
In this particular project, called “Der Mordfall Lackum” (murder case Lackum), students dealt with a historical murder case that took place in the 16th century:
In May 1590, the body of Johann auf der Ruhr (John upon Ruhr), a ferryman from Wetter/Ruhr, is found brutally murdered at the riverside of the Ruhr. The investigation for the murderer starts and after several wrong suspects the investigation turns against the grocer Georg and his son Anton Lackum.
It was said that both men had had an argument with Johann and that they intimidated him just before he disappeared.
Without having accurate, reliable witnesses or any evidence confirming the accusations, the bailiff of Wetter (Drost zu Wetter) decides to torture both men.
Under torture both men confess the homicide. It is though questionable whether they really committed the murder or not. Georg Lackum is finally decapitated and his body not buried but presented to the public as deterrent. Anton Lackum dies under mysterious circumstances during his imprisonment.
This case is interesting from a law historical viewpoint, because after the dead of her husband and son, the widow of Georg Lackum claimed a high sum of compensation from those who pronounced the death sentence, at the Imperial High Court (Reichskammergericht).
Even though she did not completely succeed, a large amount of documents of that claim, such as letters and court protocols, remained undamaged and still exist today.
This made it easy for historians(-to-be) to evaluate the case critically and to embed it in the Macro Historical world of the 16th century.
The following website (in German language) shows the researcher’s results in a virtual exhibition.
