He Emailed a News Station to Confess to Murder. What Happened Next Was Even More Unbelievable.

The Confession That Defied All Expectations

Murder cases are typically solved through painstaking police work, long investigations, and the slow accumulation of evidence. They are sagas of detection and deduction that can take years to unfold.

The case of Lorenz Kraus, however, shattered this expectation in the most bizarre way imaginable.

Lorenz Kraus

This was not a case solved by detectives. It was a case seemingly closed by the suspect himself, who walked into a news station to confess, on camera, to killing his parents eight years prior. But the live confession is not the most unbelievable part of this story. The series of surprising details surrounding the man, his motive, and the interview itself reveal a case that is stranger and more complex than any crime drama.

The Suspect Didn't Flee - He Emailed the Newsroom

The stunning interview was not the result of a long journalistic investigation. Lorenz Kraus himself initiated the contact, sending an email to the CBS6 new station with his phone number. When News Director Stone Grissom called, Kraus calmly admitted that he buried his parents in their backyard and agreed to an on-camera interview, stating he was on his way from a library 20 minutes away.

The newsroom was thrown into a state of surreal, high-stakes improvisation. Grissom had to prepare for a man who could be anyone.

"I didn't know if Charles Manson was going to show up or Pee-wee Herman," he later recalled.

He alerted police, set up a makeshift studio in the lobby to limit access, and when Kraus arrived, Grissom instinctively patted him down for weapons.

A Veteran Reporter's Masterclass in "Threading the Needle"

Tasked with conducting the interview with only minutes to prepare was veteran reporter Greg Floyd, a journalist with a 46-year career. His approach was not an aggressive confrontation but a masterclass in delicate, persistent questioning. Floyd understood that Kraus could simply get up and leave at any moment.

This dynamic was clear when Floyd first asked, "Did you kill your parents as a mercy killing...?" Kraus dodged, invoking his Fifth Amendment rights. Instead of backing down, Floyd had to continuously circle back, reframing the question multiple times until Kraus finally confessed. It was a masterclass in making the subject feel comfortable enough to reveal an unthinkable truth. Floyd later described his strategy for navigating the tense discussion.

"I was trying to thread a needle, to walk a very fine line, because there was a chance he would just leave. But I believed only on that he wanted to go there. And I just had to find a way to get him there."

Floyd's calm demeanor and extensive experience were essential in patiently drawing out the stunning confession that would soon make international headlines.

The Motive Was "Mercy," But the Investigation Was About Money

The contrast between Lorenz Kraus's stated motive and the origins of the police investigation is stark. During his confession, Kraus claimed the murders were "mercy killing" for his aging parents, describing his mother's recent fall and his father's inability to drive after cataract surgery as signs of their declining health.

"I did my duty to my parents. My concern for their misery was paramount."

However, the case was unearthed not because of a missing persons report, but because of a financial crimes investigation. Authorities began looking into his parents' Social Security payments, which Kraus had been collecting for eight years. The sheer scale of the financial crime that triggered the investigation casts deep suspicion on his claims of mercy. As the District Attorney noted, the financial records seized from the house "could fill a room."

More On This Case

If you want to hear the full breakdown of this case, you can listen to our Dead Diary episode covering the Lorenz Kraus confession at the links below. We walk through the interview, the investigation, and the strange details that never made it to the headlines.