page_title: Xaver Hohenleiter
section_title: Arrest and death
hierarchical_section_title: Xaver Hohenleiter / Arrest and death
caption_attribution_description: Biberach, Weißer Turm
context_page_description: Franz Xaver Hohenleiter was a notorious German criminal. As a leader of a band of robbers, he was active between 1817 and 1819 in the border regions of the Kingdom of Württemberg, the Grand Duchy of Baden and the Principality of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.
context_section_description: In the early months of 1819, the Laubbach Mühle, a mill near Ostrach, had been plagued six times by Hohenleiter and his gang. Each time they were trying a break-in in order to get provisioned with food. After unsuccessfully trying to prevent burglaries by patrolling the area, foresters from Königseggwald changed tactics and laid an ambush at the mill in order to catch Hohenleiter and his gang. On 16 April 1819, Veri and his gang attempted another robbery at the mill during which they were caught in the act by the foresters. The criminals first escaped into the woods but were pursued by the foresters. Later on, the foresters surprised the gang, who were having a meal in the forest, and, after some shots were fired, arrested most of them whilst some managed to flee, only to be arrested by a Baden patrol three days later who incarcerated the lot of them. Only Joseph Anton Jung (The Pedlar) managed to escape and joined the "Rosenberger-Gang".
  The arrested persons were taken to Biberach and imprisoned at various locations within the city. Some were held at the White Tower, whereas others were taken to the so-called Seelhaus ( an old building, originally owned by Beguines, then in the possession of the city), which had iron-barred windows on the ground floor. Xaver Hohenleiter, however, was incarcerated in the Ehingen Tower (Ehinger Turm), together with some of the women of his gang. Hohenleiter was locked up in a cell with a suspect from another band of robbers. Both were bound up in heavy chains. The chains led through a hole in the wall to a chimney upon which they were securely fastened. Four of Hohenleiter's companions managed to escape from captivity only to be caught after four weeks on the run near Kißlegg in the Allgäu. Franz Merkle remained a fugitive from the law for some considerable time and was only arrested in 1823 in Baden.
  Investigations by the authorities commenced in May 1819 and lasted until 1821. Xaver Hohenleiter, however, never stood trial.
  On the evening of 20 July 1819 a huge thunderstorm moved over Biberach. Lightning struck the Ehingen Tower and when the doors of the prison were opened, thick smoke billowed out of the cell where Hohenleiter was held and Xaver Hohenleiter was found lying dead on his pallet, having been struck by lightning. When his body was carried outside, his clothes caught fire. Any attempts to revive him proved futile as his injuries were too severe. The right side of his chest down to his loins was entirely burnt. The inner side of his right upper arm was torn up and the skin from his elbow down to his hand had completely disappeared. An investigation, consequently carried out to determine the cause of death of the arrestant, concluded that lightning first struck the weathervane, smashed the roof trusses, toppled the chimney and went down the chimney chase, shattering the fireplaces on the top and third floor without harming any of the inmates imprisoned there. However, it struck Hohenleiter with full force, the iron chain functioning as a conductor. The body of Xaver Hohenleiter was buried in the cemetery of the poorhouse on 21 July 1819. The grave has since been levelled.
caption: White Tower in Biberach
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