Kalinka Bamberski case

Did You Know?

• André Bamberski was born in France around 1938; his father's family had come from Poland.
• During World War II, the Germans took André Bamberski to Germany and Poland.
• The 2016 French-German drama film Kalinka (Au nom de ma fille) is based on the case.

Death of Kalinka Bamberski and investigation in Germany

Kalinka Bamberski, a healthy 14-year-old, was attending a French-language boarding school in Germany in 1982. During summer vacation at her mother and stepfather's home in Lindau, Dieter Krombach stated that on the evening of 9 July 1982 he injected her with Kobalt-Ferrlecit, a cobalt-iron preparation he used on family and friends. He initially said it was for tanning, later claimed it was for anemia. He said he told her to turn off the light at midnight and found her dead in the morning, after administering revival injections and calling emergency services.

He later added that he had given her a sleeping pill. An autopsy two days later could not determine a cause of death. Findings included aspirated stomach contents in the airway and lungs, undigested stomach contents, several injection marks, a superficial vaginal tear judged postmortem, bloody stains around the genitals, and a whitish substance in the vagina that was not tested. The genitals were removed and have been missing.

The prosecutor declined to open a case. After André Bamberski obtained the autopsy report, further German investigations found that the injection must have occurred very close to death and that Kobalt-Ferrlecit could cause an immediate adverse reaction. Undigested stomach contents indicated death soon after a meal; aspirated contents pointed to death during coma or anesthesia. The expert concluded Krombach's timeline was unconvincing and that an injection after dinner likely caused circulatory failure, unconsciousness, vomiting, and death.

First trial in France

Kalinka's body was exhumed in Toulouse in 1985, but the genitals could not be found and no new analyses were possible. French doctors evaluated the case, noting poor original toxicological analyses and concluding the injection site at the right arm occurred close to death. In 1995, after intense lobbying by Bamberski, Krombach was tried in France in absentia and sentenced to 15 years for intentionally inflicting bodily harm causing unintentional death. In 2000, a police officer in western Austria recognized Krombach from a photo distributed by Bamberski and arrested him. After three weeks in jail, an Austrian judge accepted the argument that the French trial was illegal and released him. The European Court of Human Rights annulled the French verdict in 2001, censuring France because Krombach could not defend himself, and awarded him 100,000 francs.

Convictions of Krombach in Germany and further allegations

In the 1970s, Krombach was investigated in Germany on suspicion of killing his wife with an injection, but no charges were filed. In a 1997 German trial, he admitted drugging and raping a 16-year-old patient in his medical office, receiving a two-year suspended sentence and losing his medical license. Other victims came forward but were not pursued due to lack of physical evidence. In 2006, he was sentenced to 28 months for practicing medicine without a license; after serving 11 months, the remainder was suspended. The 2006 German TV documentary Kalinkas letzte Reise includes interviews with two teenage sisters who said Krombach befriended them, injected them with iron cobalt, and raped them.

Abduction to France, conviction of Krombach, and further proceedings

A German court declined France's extradition request for Krombach in 2004, stating the case was closed. Concerned the statute of limitations would expire in 2012, Bamberski paid men to abduct Krombach. On 17 October 2009, the 74-year-old Krombach was beaten by three men in Scheidegg, Bavaria, driven to Mulhouse, France, and left chained to a fence near a police station, suffering a fractured skull. Bamberski was arrested with €19,000 intended for the kidnappers and released on bail.

Germany demanded Krombach's return and Bamberski's extradition, but France refused. Krombach was imprisoned in France, and a new trial was scheduled for 2011. Testimony emerged from a German woman who had an affair with Krombach at age 16; he would drug his wife during encounters. Several women testified he sexually abused them as teenagers using cobalt-iron injections.

On 22 October 2011, Krombach was sentenced to 15 years for causing intentional bodily harm resulting in unintentional death; prosecutors believed he drugged Kalinka to rape her. The verdict was confirmed on appeal in December 2012, and the Court of Cassation rejected a further appeal on 2 April 2014. Krombach appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, claiming double prosecution, but the Court rejected the appeal in March 2018. In 2016, a court in Melun ordered his release for health reasons, but the prosecution's appeal succeeded and he remained imprisoned. He was released in February 2020 for health reasons and died on 12 September 2020 in a German old-age home.