Failed Dem Prez Contender Makes Shocking Admission About Death of Parents

A shocking case in New York has exposed the disturbing double life of Lorenz Kraus, 53 — a fringe Democratic presidential hopeful from 2020 — who has now openly confessed to murdering his elderly parents nearly a decade ago and burying their remains in the backyard of the family’s Albany home.

The revelation came during a live, on-camera interview with CBS6 anchor Greg Floyd on Thursday, just one day after authorities recovered the bodies of Franz and Theresia Kraus.

What began as a financial fraud investigation quickly spiraled into a homicide case. Investigators originally probed Kraus for Social Security fraud after uncovering that he had been cashing his parents’ benefit checks long after the couple had disappeared from public life. That probe ended with a grim discovery: human remains buried at the family residence.

Kraus, whose radical political background has now drawn renewed attention, once appeared on the 2020 New Hampshire Democratic primary ballot. His quixotic campaign advocated abolishing the presidency, advancing antisemitic conspiracies, and carving the United States into four separate regions to “weaken the Deep State.” Analysts at the time dismissed him as a political sideshow, but the gruesome nature of this case has made his profile impossible to ignore.

During his televised confession, Kraus attempted to cast the killings as “mercy killings,” citing his parents’ declining health. “I did my duty to my parents,” he told CBS6. “My concern for their misery was paramount.”

Kraus admitted he killed his father first, later ending his mother’s life after she lay across her husband’s chest for hours. He conceded that neither parent had asked him to act, though he claimed they were aware of their failing health. He referenced his mother’s recent fall and his father’s vision issues after cataract surgery but cited no terminal illnesses. Fox News reported that he framed his actions as compassionate rather than malicious.

Police moved swiftly following the broadcast, charging Kraus with two counts of second-degree murder and two counts of concealing a human corpse. At his Friday court appearance, his attorney entered a not guilty plea while Kraus himself remained silent. He is being held without bail pending another hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Legal experts warn Kraus’s televised confession could complicate the case. Attorney Greg Rinckey told CNY Central that his comments might spur motions to suppress the interview or seek a change of venue. “If that confession is suppressed, now you need evidence that ties him to the crime,” Rinckey explained, noting the importance of the medical examiner’s report.

CBS6 News Director Stone Grissom revealed the interview only happened because Kraus himself sent an email including his contact information. Within an hour, Kraus appeared at the station, where law enforcement monitored him throughout the exchange to ensure public safety. Anchor Greg Floyd, a veteran journalist, described it as unlike anything he had ever experienced in his 45-year career.

Neighbors had long assumed Franz and Theresia Kraus had returned to Germany, never suspecting their remains were buried just steps away. The chilling confession has left the quiet Albany neighborhood rattled, while the wider public grapples with the bizarre downfall of a man who once chased political notoriety and now faces life in prison.