Mark Benecke (born 26 August 1970) is a German forensic biologist.
Career
Science
Benecke has worked on the identification of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun's dental remains in Moscow (as well as a skull fragment claimed to be Hitler's). He argued, in line with early investigator Hugh Trevor-Roper and scientific sources (including Hitler forensics expert Philippe Charlier), that body water would hinder an open-air cremation, as opposed to American jurist Michael Musmanno (in 1950) and historians such as Anton Joachimsthaler (1995), who argued that a full cremation explains why nothing more than Hitler and Braun's dental remains were found. The dental remains include part of the jawbone, intact (with superficial burning) but sundered at the depth of the teeth. According to Benecke, these either prove "that Hitler died in 1945 â or lived the rest of his life in Argentina without <nowiki>[</nowiki>part of his jaw]".
Benecke is the only forensic scientist to work on the case of Colombian serial killer and rapist Luis Garavito. Some of Benecke's forensic cases have been covered by the National Geographic Channel and the History Channel.
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 (Cambridge, US), guest editor for Forensic Science International (Forensic Entomology Special Issue) and scientific advisor to the German skeptic organization GWUP, where he publishes skeptical articles on various topics, including his attempt to explain alleged signs of vampirism. In 2001, Benecke was editor of the Forensic Science International special issue on forensic entomology. In 2004, he was the guest editor of Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology for the Forensic Entomology Special Issue).
Other ventures
In 2011, Benecke featured as a vocalist on Sara Noxx's cover of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' song "Where the Wild Roses Grow". In 2020, together with Bianca Stücker, he published a Leonard Cohen 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, for the satirical political party Die PARTEI. Since 2010, he is chairman of Die PARTEI in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Personal life
Benecke was born in Rosenheim, Bavaria. After receiving a Dr. rer. medic. at Cologne University in 1997, he worked in the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Manhattan, New York, from 1997 to 1999. , he works internationally on forensic cases as a freelance expert witness. 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.
Books
- Der Traum vom ewigen Leben, Droemer Knaur Kindler Verlag, München 1998. (German)
- The Dream of Eternal Life, Columbia University Press, New York 2002.
- ëÂ
¸ÃÂÂì ìÂÂëªÂ
ì ìÂÂìÂÂê»Âë¼ ë§Âì ë² ë¤켠(Dr. Mark Benecke) ê³¼ÃÂÂì 죽ìÂÂë³´ë¤ ê°ÂÃÂÂë¤? (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)
- ì´ì¸ 본ëÂÂ¥ / ë²ÂìÂÂ곤충ÃÂÂìÂÂê° ë¤려주ë ì´ì¸ì ì¶Âì Â기, translated by Kim Hee-sang, ìÂÂë§ (Alma, year unknown). (Korean)
- Ã
 iurpiÃ
³ nusikaltimÃ
³ pÃÂdsakais. (Lithuanian)
- Lachende Wissenschaft. Aus den Geheimarchiven des SpaÃÂ-Nobelpreises, Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2005. (German)
- "ÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂìÃÂÃÂï ÃÂÃÂãÃÂà1.ÃÂàâÃÂÃÂÃÂëÃÂ¥ ÃÂàÃÂ¥ÃÂÃÂÃÂàèÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂáÃÂÃÂàÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ", Moscow, úýøöýÃÂù úûÃÂñ 36.6, 2011, (Russian)
- "ÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂìÃÂÃÂï ÃÂÃÂãÃÂà2.ÃÂàâÃÂÃÂÃÂëÃÂ¥ ÃÂàÃÂ¥ÃÂÃÂÃÂàèÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂáÃÂÃÂàÃÂàÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ", Moscow, úýøöýÃÂù úûÃÂñ 36.6, 2011. (Russian)
- æÂÂ麽æÂÂ人ç Âç©¶éÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ? æ³Â髿ÂÂè²å¸家çÂÂæÂÂç¬Â諾è²Âç¾報å / æÂÂä¹ÂæÂÂ人ç Âç©¶è¿Â个? æ³ÂÃ¥ÂȾÂÂè«å¦家çÂÂæÂÂç¬Â诺è´Âå°ÂæÂ¥åÂÂ. Taiwan: 馬åÂ
ÂâÂÂçÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ
å¯, VR: 马åÂ
ÂâÂÂçÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ
å¯ (Chinese)
- Dem Täter auf der Spur. So arbeitet die moderne Kriminalbiologie, Lübbe, Bergisch-Gladbach 2006. (German)
- 모ë ë²Âì£Âë ÃÂÂì Âì ë¨긴ë¤ / ë²ÂìÂÂ곤충ÃÂÂìÂÂê° ë¤려주ë 과ÃÂÂìÂÂì¬ ì´ì¼기 (Korean)
- Memento Mori, Edition Roter Drache, Rudolstadt 2012.
- Mordspuren. Neue spektakuläre Kriminalfälle â erzählt vom bekanntesten Kriminalbiologen der Welt, Lübbe, Bergisch Gladbach 2007 (German)
- ì°ì ì´ì¸ë²Âì 고백 / ë²ÂìÂÂÃÂÂìÂÂê° ë¤려주ë ì´ì¸ ì¡°ì ì´ì¼기, ë§Â르ì ë² ë¤켠ì§Âì | ì¡ìÂÂ민 ë²Âì | ìÂÂë§Â. (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 â 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)
- ÃÂlümün ðzleri, Kñrmñzñ Kedi. (Turkish)
- Cinayet Yöntemleri, Kñrmñzñ 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 groÃÂe 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
Footnotes
Citations
Sources
External links