Bio

Henry M. Heepe was born on March 30, 1944, in the United States. He lived in Akron, Ohio, with his mother, Barbara Heepe. Reports described Heepe as having serious mental health problems. Later crime summaries stated that he had been unstable for years and that his younger brother had died by suicide in 1970. By 1994, Heepe was about 50 years old and was reportedly receiving medical or psychiatric care.

Barbara Heepe was 77 years old and lived with her son. Neighbours later described her as someone who cared for him. On the day police entered the home, a neighbour reported concern after a boy raking leaves heard a woman calling for help.

The case became known for the extreme condition of the crime scene and for Heepe’s delusional statements to police. He told officers that his mother was a “vampire devil” and claimed that he had cut out “both of her hearts.” These statements became central to the later finding that he was legally insane.

Murder Story

On November 7, 1994, police were called to the Akron, Ohio, home shared by Henry M. Heepe and his mother, Barbara Heepe. A neighbour had reported that a boy raking leaves heard a woman crying for help. When officers entered the home, they heard Heepe chanting. Reports state that he had barricaded himself inside a bedroom and refused to come out. Police tried for more than an hour to persuade him to leave the room.

Officers eventually forced open the bedroom door. Inside, they found Heepe naked on the bed near pieces of his mother’s body. Other body parts were found in a pan on the stove. Investigators said at the time that they believed he may have eaten some parts of the body, but not all details were publicly confirmed. Heepe’s mouth was reportedly smeared with blood when he was arrested. He told police that he had killed his mother because he believed she was a “vampire devil.” He also told officers that it had taken her hours to die.

The Summit County coroner later said Barbara Heepe had been beaten around the face, head, chest, and arms and had also been strangled. The coroner said she was stabbed and disemboweled after death. Heepe was initially charged with murder or aggravated murder. His arraignment was delayed because he was hospitalized for treatment of diabetes. He was later indicted on one count of aggravated murder and one count of gross abuse of a corpse.

In April 1995, Heepe was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. Because of that finding, he was not sentenced to prison as a convicted murderer. Instead, he was committed to a psychiatric institution. Henry M. Heepe died by suicide at Central Ohio Psychiatric Hospital in November 1995.