A man from New York is facing charges of second-degree murder after admitting to the killing of his parents in an interview with CBS6 in Albany.
Lorenz Kraus, aged 53, made his confession during an interview with CBS6 anchor Greg Floyd. Kraus was under investigation by the Albany Police Department at the time.
The investigation involved the New York State Police and the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. Authorities executed a search warrant at Kraus’ residence at 6 Crestwood Court on September 23, following suspicions related to a financial crime.
In an official statement, Albany police revealed that Kraus’ parents, Franz Kraus, 92, and Theresia Kraus, 83, had not been heard from or seen in several years.
Kraus was alleged to have collected his parents’ social security benefits for personal use. Police mentioned that they recovered “several items of evidentiary value” during the search.
As the inquiry progressed, two bodies were found buried in the backyard of the house.
Two days following the police search, Kraus reached out to CBS6, revealing to Floyd that he had killed his parents in 2017, and stated, “I buried them in their property.”
Floyd, confronted with this revelation, responded, “You buried them in the back of that house in Albany.”
Kraus confirmed by saying, “Right.”
He claimed awareness of his parents’ declining health, leading Floyd to ask if they understood they were dying at his hands.
Kraus replied affirmatively, characterizing their deaths as rapid.
Kraus stated he strangled his father manually and used a rope on his mother.
“I did my duty to my parents,” Kraus explained. “My concern for their misery was paramount.”
Following the television interview, Kraus was taken into custody by Albany Police Department officers and charged with two counts of second-degree murder and concealment of human corpses.
Kraus appeared in court on September 27, and despite his confession during the interview, he entered a plea of not guilty to the charges against him.
His attorney, Assistant Albany County Public Defender Rebekah Sokol, emphasized the importance of the presumption of innocence for Kraus until proven otherwise.