Following the death of Kalinka Bamberski in 1982, her father, André, began what would turn into a 27-year crusade to bring the alleged perpetrator, Krombach, to justice. After failing to get the German courts to try Krombach or to extradite him, Bamberski, in October 2009, had him kidnapped in Bavaria, driven across the French border and delivered to local authorities.

 

Krombach, 74, now awaits his trial in a prison outside Paris. Meanwhile, Bamberski, 72, is facing kidnapping charges.

 

When Kalinka was found dead in her bed while in Germany back on July 10, 1982, Krombach, a cardiologist who was now married to her mother, admitted to giving her an injection of iron cobalt the night before to help her tan and other medications during the night and in the morning. A post-mortem examination found injuries to Kalinka’s genitals and a white substance in her vagina. However a cause of death was not determined. Kalinka’s body was exhumed in 1985, but a second autopsy proved fruitless because her genitals had been removed and were missing.

 

In 1995, Krombach was tried in absentia in France for manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Then, in 1997, Krombach was convicted in Germany of sexually abusing a 16-year-old patient after giving her an anesthetic. At the trial, five other patients claimed that Krombach had drugged and raped them. Krombach was given a suspended sentence, but his license to practice medicine was revoked. In 2006, Krombach was convicted of practicing medicine without a license.

 

The murder case has produced divided sentiment among Europeans. Many in France applaud Bamberski’s vigilantism, while there is reportedly anger in Germany over the kidnapping and France’s decision to prosecute Krombach.

-David Wallechinsky, Noel Brinkerhoff

Father's Crusade in Name of 'Murdered' Teen (BBC News)

André Bamberski: Father Turned to Kidnapping in Name of ‘Murdered’ Daughter (by Charles Bremner, Times of London)

A Father’s Revenge (by Marilyn Z. Tomlins, Crime Magazine)