Madman Confesses on Camera to Killing Parents After Remains Found at Albany Home: ‘Did My Duty’ [WATCH]

An Albany man confessed on camera to killing his elderly parents and burying their bodies in the backyard of their home, years after the couple was first reported missing, as reported by The New York Post.

In an interview with CBS6 that aired Thursday, 53-year-old Lorenz Kraus admitted to killing his parents, Franz and Theresia Kraus, who disappeared in 2017.

A 53-year-old man was taken into custody outside of 13WHAM’s sister station in Albany after he admitted during an interview to killing his parents and burying them in the backyard of their home.https://t.co/saPBd53nx5

— 13WHAM (@13WHAM) September 25, 2025

“I buried them in their property,” Kraus said. When asked by CBS6 anchor Greg Floyd if he buried them behind their Albany home, Kraus responded, “Yes.”

The interview aired just hours after investigators discovered two sets of human remains on the property. Police began digging Wednesday, recovering one body, and found a second on Thursday.

During the interview, Floyd pressed Kraus on how he killed his parents. Kraus at first hesitated but eventually admitted, “Yeah, basically,” when asked if he had suffocated them.

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He then explained that he choked his father with his hand and later strangled his mother with a rope. “My father, after he died, my mother put his head on his chest, and after a few hours, I finished her,” he said. Kraus added that it took him several days before he buried both bodies in the yard.

Police first turned their attention to Kraus after receiving a request from the Social Security Administration in May to conduct a welfare check. The agency flagged the case after noticing the couple, now presumed to be 92 and 83, were still collecting benefits despite not being located.

Investigators had also been reviewing Kraus for possible financial crimes, The Times Union reported. A previous welfare check had been requested in February 2020 by a relative, but neighbors at the time said Franz and Theresia had moved abroad.

Kraus appeared to justify the killings in the interview, suggesting he acted out of concern for his parents’ declining health. He said his father had recently undergone cataract surgery and could no longer drive, while his mother had been injured crossing a street.

“I did my duty to my parents. My concern for their misery was paramount,” Kraus told CBS6.

He also said, “My goal is for the American people to recognize that there is 40 million boomers, they are all going to go through the same kind of problems. It affects all of us, and we need to widen up the law so people can deal with these kinds of problems.”

After the taping, Kraus left the CBS6 studio but was taken into custody immediately.

Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox confirmed at a press conference that investigators believe the remains are those of Franz and Theresia but said further work is needed to make positive identifications and determine the official cause of death.

In addition to his on-camera confession, Kraus issued a bizarre written statement to local outlets.

The statement did not mention his parents but outlined an incoherent plan to replace state and federal governments with a board of trustees, and claimed he could be prosecuted under German law if the proposal failed.

Authorities continue to investigate while awaiting forensic confirmation of the identities of the remains.

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