A man from the US has been arrested after confessing to murdering his parents in a TV interview.
Lorenz Kraus, 53, was apprehended by police after leaving the studios of WRGB in Albany, New York on Thursday, having admitted he suffocated them.
He was charged with two counts of murder and two counts of concealing a human corpse.
When he appeared at Albany City Court on Friday, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His parents, Franz and Theresia Kraus, have been dead since August 2017. In a television interview with reporter Greg Floyd, he described their deaths as mercy killings for parents who were old and becoming more frail.
Kraus described his 92-year-old father as no longer able to drive after cataract surgery and explained how his 83-year-old mother had been recently injured from falling whilst crossing the road. He did not disclose whether either parent had life-threatening conditions.
Lorenz Kraus has been arraigned on 2 counts of 2nd degree murder and 2 counts of concealment of a corpse. We just spoke with Kraus’ public defender and Albany County DA Lee Kindlon. More at Noon on @CBS6Albany pic.twitter.com/Kpz7KU37hh
— J.T. Fetch (@CBS6Fetch) September 26, 2025
When asked to clarify if he killed the couple, he said he "buried them in their property".
Mr Floyd asked: "You buried them in the back of your house in Albany?", to which Kraus responded: "Yes."
When asked if he had suffocated them, he replied: "Yeah, basically."
Mr Floyd asked: "They knew that this was it for them, that they were perishing at your hand?", to which Kraus responded: "Yes. And it was so quick."
He explained that whilst his parents didn't ask to be killed, "they knew they were going downhill.”
He justified the murders by saying: "I did my duty to my parents. My concern for their misery was paramount."
His Parents Disappeared. In a TV Studio, He Confessed to Killing Them.
— Cornelius (@cornelius_cen) September 27, 2025
After investigators came looking, Lorenz Kraus told a reporter he had strangled Franz and Theresia Kraus eight years ago. Two bodies were buried in their backyard.https://t.co/loBLKw67x0 pic.twitter.com/PgYbuBji2b
This came a day after two bodies were found at their home by police, after it was reveled that the couple was still receiving welfare payments, despite having been out of the public eye for years.
Police allege that Kraus was collecting his parents’ welfare checks for his own personal use.
A neighbour living near the pair told NBC that she noticed they had been missing since June 2017.
Since then, Kraus had made regular visits to the house to collect mail, upkeep the lawn and clear snow.
When she asked him where his parents were, he told her that they had moved to Germany.
The office representing Kraus, led by Assistant Albany County Public Defender Rebekah Sokol, said that the interview was "shocking", but said she suspects that it is not admissible in court.
