Franz Schmidt was born on February 24, 1930, in Weißenkirchen im Attergau, Austria. He was the first child of an unmarried maid who had an affair with her employer. Due to his mother's situation, he was adopted when he was very young. After being adopted, he was sent to the Kaiserebersdorf Educational Institution. There, he trained to become a carpenter.

Once he completed his training, Franz moved to Wels, Austria. In Wels, he got married and started a family. He had a child.

In 1957, Franz Schmidt was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a 14-year-old. He used a pitchfork handle in the crime. He also received an 8-year sentence for arson and attempted murder involving another young woman. While in prison, he confessed to attacking a 38-year-old woman. A psychiatrist evaluated him and reported that he showed sadistic tendencies and lacked moral insight. However, on July 22, 1981, Schmidt was paroled for good behavior with a 10-year probation.

On June 14, 1984, Schmidt entered a home in Redlham and killed 39-year-old Gertrude Reiter and her 3-year-old daughter, Barbara. The family head found their bodies and informed the authorities. After months of investigation, police arrested Schmidt on August 3, 1984. Evidence found in his home included blood matching one of the victims and two stolen wristwatches. He faced charges for two counts of murder and aggravated theft. On December 5, 1985, the Wels District Court sentenced him to life imprisonment again.

Investigators suspected Schmidt might be responsible for the murder of a 13-year-old boy named Andreas Pentz, who was stabbed in 1982. His watch was stolen, similar to the case of the Reiters. The crime scene, located between Schmidt's home and a relative's house, raised suspicions. However, there was no strong evidence to connect him to that murder, and he never confessed to it.

After over 53 years in prison, Schmidt was released in early 2013 at the age of 83 due to positive psychiatric reports and his declining health. He moved to a shared apartment in Wels, Austria, where he was supervised. Franz Schmidt died on May 14, 2017, at the age of 87. Files related to the Redlham murders are now part of an exhibit at the Crime and Gendarmerie Museum in Scharnstein Castle.