Mark Benecke (born 26 August 1970) is a German forensic biologist.

Career

Science

Benecke has worked on the identification of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and

Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich in 1929 (aged 17) when she was an assistant and model ...

's dental remains in Moscow (as well as a skull fragment claimed to be Hitler's). Notably, he argued (in line with early investigator

Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...

) that

body water In physiology, body water is the water content of an animal body that is contained in the tissues, the blood, the bones and elsewhere. The percentages of body water contained in various fluid compartments add up to total body water (TBW). This ...

would hinder an open-air cremation. Historians such as

Anton Joachimsthaler Anton Joachimsthaler (born 1930 in Hohenelbe) is a German historian. He is particularly noted for his research on the early life of the German dictator Adolf Hitler, in his book ''Korrektur einer Biografie'' ("Correction of a Biography") and hi ...

have cited an alleged cremation as explaining why nothing more than the dental remains of Hitler and Braun were found, but scientific studies support Benecke's logic, as does Hitler forensics expert

Philippe Charlier Philippe Charlier is a French coroner, Forensic pathology, forensic pathologist and Paleopathology, paleopathologist. Biography Charlier was born in Meaux on 25 June 1977. His father is a Physician, doctor, his mother a pharmacist. He made his f ...

. The dental remains include part of the jawbone, which was sundered around the

alveolar process The alveolar process () is the portion of bone containing the tooth sockets on the jaw bones (in humans, the maxilla and the mandible). The alveolar process is covered by gums within the mouth, terminating roughly along the line of the mandibu ...

and only partly burnt. (

Mark Felton Mark Felton (born 1974) is an English author, historian and YouTuber. Felton has written over a dozen non-fiction books. He runs several channels on YouTube covering different historical subjects of the 20th and 21st century, mainly related to ...

explains that the corpses the Soviets identified as the couple's were probably a German fraud.) Benecke is the only forensic scientist to work on the case of Colombian serial killer and rapist

Luis Garavito Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos (25 January 1957 – 12 October 2023), also known as ("The Beast") or ("Goofy"), was a Colombian serial killer, sex offender, pedophile, and necrophile who sexually assaulted 200 victims before sexually assau ...

. Some of Benecke's forensic cases have been covered by the

National Geographic Channel National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney Enter ...

and the

History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...

. Benecke has published several best-selling popular science books about the biology of aging, criminal cases and forensic biology. He is a member of the editorial board of the ''

Annals of Improbable Research The ''Annals of Improbable Research'' (''AIR'') is a bimonthly magazine devoted to scientific humor, in the form of a satirical take on the standard academic journal. ''AIR'', published six times a year since 1995, usually showcases at least one ...

'' (Cambridge, US), guest editor for ''

Forensic Science International ''Forensic Science International'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal of forensic science. The journal was established in 1972 and is published by Elsevier. The journal occasionally published supplements from 1999 onwards, but these supplements w ...

'' (

Forensic Entomology Forensic entomology is a branch of applied entomology that uses insects and other arthropods as a basis for legal evidence. Insects may be found on cadavers or elsewhere around crime scenes in the interest of forensic science. Forensic entom ...

Special Issue) and scientific advisor to the German

skeptic Skepticism ( US) or scepticism ( UK) is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

organization

GWUP The (GWUP) (English: ''Society for the Scientific Investigation of Pseudosciences'') is a non-profit organisation promoting scientific skepticism, headquartered in Roßdorf, Germany. Its estimated membership in 2016 is 1300 who are scientists o ...

, where he publishes skeptical articles on various topics, including his attempt to explain alleged signs of

vampirism A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

. In 2001, Benecke was editor of the

special issue on forensic entomology. In 2004, he was the guest editor of ''

Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Anil or Anıl may refer to: People * Anil (given name), an Indian and Nepalese given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Anıl (given name), a Turkish given name (including a list of persons with the name) * Anil (director), active ...

'' for the

Special Issue).

Other ventures

In 2011, Benecke featured as a vocalist on

Sara Noxx Sara Noxx is a German musician and member of the alternative music scene. She is also a member of the band Essexx, who in 1997 were the winners of the ''Zillo'' band contest. Career Noxx's debut solo release was the 1997 mini-album ''Society ...

's cover of

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are a Rock music, rock band formed in Melbourne in 1983 by lead vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and German guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throug ...

' song "

Where the Wild Roses Grow "Where the Wild Roses Grow" is a murder ballad by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and pop singer Kylie Minogue. Released in October 1995 by Mute Records, it is the fifth song and lead single from the band's ninth studio al ...

". In 2020, together with Bianca Stücker, he published a

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

tribute cover album. Using the pseudonym "Belcanto Bene", Benecke was a member of the German punk band Die Blonden Burschen between 1989 and 2000. In 2010, Benecke was candidate for the office of prime minister for Germany's largest state,

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

, for the satirical political party

Die PARTEI (''Party for Labour, Rule of Law, Animal Protection, Promotion of Elites and Grassroots Democratic Initiative''), or Die PARTEI (''The PARTY''), is a German political party. It was founded in 2004 by the editors of the German satirical magazine ...

. Since 2010, he is chairman of Die PARTEI in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Personal life

Benecke was born in

Rosenheim Rosenheim () is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the Rosenheim (district), district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

. After receiving a Dr. rer. medic. at

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

University in 1997,Print of the Ph.D certificate in: Lachende Wissenschaft. Aus den Geheimarchiven des Spaß-Nobelpreises'', Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2005. (German)]'' he worked in the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, New York, from 1997 to 1999. , he works internationally on forensic cases as a freelance

expert witness An expert witness, particularly in common law countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and the United States, is a person whose opinion by virtue of education, training, certification, skills or experience, is accepted by the judge as ...

. He also teaches at various police academies and acts as a visiting professor to universities in Germany, England, Vietnam, Colombia, and the Philippines. He was married to the criminal psychologist

Lydia Benecke Lydia Benecke (born in 1982 as E. C. Wawrzyniak) is a German criminal psychologist and writer of popular science non-fiction. Early life and education Benecke was born in Bytom, Poland and left for Germany at the age of 4 with her mother. She g ...

Books

*''Der Traum vom ewigen Leben'',

Droemer Knaur Droemer Knaur is a publishing group based in Munich. The group consists of the book publishers Droemer, Knaur, the Pattloch Publisher and O.W. Barth. Droemer Knaur belongs to the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. Program Droemer Knaur Pu ...

Kindler Verlag, München 1998. (German) **''The Dream of Eternal Life'',

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, New York 2002. *''노화와 생명의 수수께끼 마크 베네케 (Dr. Mark Benecke) 과학은 죽음보다 강하다?'' (Korean). *''Kriminalbiologie. Genetische Fingerabdrücke und Insekten auf Leichen'', Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2001. (German) *''Mordmethoden. Ermittlungen der bekanntesten Kriminalbiologen der Welt'', Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2002. (German) **''Mordmethoden'', Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2004. (German) **''Moordmethoden'', Bruna Uitgevers, A.W., Boek 2004. (Dutch) **''Murderous Methods'', preface by Michael Baden. Columbia University Press, New York 2005. (English) ** ''살인 본능 / 법의곤충학자가 들려주는 살인자 추적기'', translated by Kim Hee-sang, 알마 (Alma, year unknown). (Korean) *''Šiurpių nusikaltimų pėdsakais''. (Lithuanian) *''Lachende Wissenschaft. Aus den Geheimarchiven des Spaß-Nobelpreises'', Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2005. (German) **"ПРИКОЛЬНАЯ НАУКА 1.ИЗ ТАЙНЫХ АРХИВОВ ШНОБЕЛЕВСКОЙ ПРЕМИИ", Moscow, книжный клуб 36.6, 2011, (Russian) **"ПРИКОЛЬНАЯ НАУКА 2.ИЗ ТАЙНЫХ АРХИВОВ ШНОБЕЛЕВСКОЙ ПРЕМИИ", Moscow, книжный клуб 36.6, 2011. (Russian) *''怎麽有人研究這個? 法醫昆蟲學家的搞笑諾貝爾報告 / 怎么有人研究这个? 法医昆虫学家的搞笑诺贝尔报告''. Taiwan: 馬克∙班内可, VR: 马克∙班内可 (Chinese) *''Dem Täter auf der Spur. So arbeitet die moderne Kriminalbiologie'', Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2006. (German) ** ''모든 범죄는 흔적을 남긴다 / 법의곤충학자가 들려주는 과학수사 이야기'' (Korean) * ''Memento Mori'', Edition Roter Drache, Rudolstadt 2012. *''Mordspuren. Neue spektakuläre Kriminalfälle – erzählt vom bekanntesten Kriminalbiologen der Welt'', Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2007 (German) ** ''연쇄 살인범의 고백 / 법의학자가 들려주는 살인 조서 이야기'', 마르크 베네케 지음 , 송소민 번역 , 알마. (Korean) *''Medical Detectives'' (preface), vgs Verlagsgesellschaft, Köln 2005. (German) *''Vampires among us'', Sequenz Medien Produktion, Fuchstal-Welden 2006. **''Vampire unter uns!'' (mit E. Wawrzyniak, N. Palanetskaya & K. Sonntag), Edition Roter Drache, Rudolstadt, 2009. **''Vampyres among us!: Volume III – A scientific study into vampyre identity groups and subcultures'' (with Ines Fischer), Edition Roter Drache, Rudolstadt, 2015. *''Wo bleibt die Maus?'', Sauerländer, Oberentfelden 2008. (German) ** ''Wo bleibt die Maus?'' Buchvolk-Verlag, Zwickau 2016. **''Hvor blev musen af? En historie om livets kredsløb'', Klematis Forlag. (Danish, Oversætter: Mette Jørgensen, Illustrationer: Lisa Fuss) * ''Ölümün İzleri'', Kırmızı Kedi. (Turkish) * ''Cinayet Yöntemleri'', Kırmızı Kedi. (Turkish) *''Warum man Spaghetti nicht durch zwei teilen kann'', Luebbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2009. * ''Das knallt dem Frosch die Locken weg: Experimente für kleine und große Forscher'', Oetinger, Hamburg 2012. *''Mein Leben nach dem Tod: Wie alles anfing'' (Biography), Luebbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2019. *''Viren für Anfänger'' (Corona Virus), Luebbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2020. *' (Animals / Natural History), Galiani, Berlin 2021.

References

Sources

External links

* * * Interwiew with

Manfred Kohrs Manfred Kohrs (born 24 January 1957) is a German tattooist and conceptual artist, who has been tattooing since 1974. He was a student of Horst Streckenbach ("Tattoo Samy") (5 August 1926 – 27 June 2001). Together they developed the barbell ...

''First tongue barbell piercing ever made (on earth) shown at BMXnet 2022''
Dr. Mark Benecke's Official Youtube Channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Benecke, Mark 1970 births People from Rosenheim Living people 21st-century German biologists German forensic scientists German skeptics University of Cologne alumni