The Monika Beerle murder was the August 1989 killing of a 26-year-old Swiss dance student in her East Village apartment by her roommate and former boyfriend, Daniel Rakowitz, who dismembered her body in the bathtub, kept her remains for days, and was later accused of boiling her flesh and serving it to homeless people in Tompkins Square Park. Rakowitz was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1991 and has been held in a maximum-security psychiatric facility ever since.
Who Monika Beerle Was
Beerle was a Swiss national who had come to New York to study at the Martha Graham dance school.1Shoeleather Podcast, Columbia University. The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park She lived on the second floor of a building at Ninth Street and Avenue C in the East Village, sharing the apartment with Daniel Rakowitz.2amNewYork. Psychiatrist: Rakowitz Excited Recalling Grisly Stew She was 26 years old when she died. Little of her personal history has been widely reported; she has been largely remembered, when remembered at all, as a footnote to her killer’s notoriety.
What Happened in August 1989
On August 19, 1989, Rakowitz killed Beerle inside their shared apartment. According to police accounts and news reports, he punched her in the throat during a fight, causing her to suffocate.1Shoeleather Podcast, Columbia University. The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park He then dismembered her body in the apartment’s claw-foot bathtub.3The New York Times. Hearing Revisits East Village Killing and Dismemberment
Rakowitz later admitted keeping Beerle’s remains in the apartment for ten days, cleaning the bones and washing them in the sink.1Shoeleather Podcast, Columbia University. The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park He eventually stored the bones in a locker in Hell’s Kitchen.3The New York Times. Hearing Revisits East Village Killing and Dismemberment Reports later emerged that people in the building had seen Beerle’s body in the bathtub and her remains boiling on the stove before her death was ever reported to police.2amNewYork. Psychiatrist: Rakowitz Excited Recalling Grisly Stew
The Tompkins Square Park Soup Allegation
The most infamous claim from the case, and the one that earned Rakowitz the tabloid name “The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park,” was that he chopped Beerle’s remains into a soup and served it to homeless people in the park.4NBC New York. Cannibal Killer Back in the News At a later trial, a homeless man testified that Rakowitz served a finger, believed to be Beerle’s, in soup to a group in the park.2amNewYork. Psychiatrist: Rakowitz Excited Recalling Grisly Stew
Arrest and Confession
Rakowitz was arrested on August 31, 1989, after giving police a videotaped confession admitting he killed and dismembered Beerle.1Shoeleather Podcast, Columbia University. The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park He later recanted and has given conflicting accounts over the years, at times claiming a “deal” with others to confess, that he tried to prevent the murder, or that he only helped clean the remains.2amNewYork. Psychiatrist: Rakowitz Excited Recalling Grisly Stew
On October 5, 1989, a grand jury indicted him on two counts of second-degree murder and one count of tampering with physical evidence.1Shoeleather Podcast, Columbia University. The Butcher of Tompkins Square Park
The 1991 Insanity Verdict
Rakowitz’s trial was held in Manhattan before Justice Robert M. Haft of the New York State Supreme Court. The six-week proceeding was marked by his bizarre courtroom behavior, including loud outbursts and threats to spray the prosecutor with urine.5Seattle Times. A New Arrest in Satanic Slaying At one point he told the jury, “I hope someday we can smoke a joint together,” and extended the same offer to the judge.6Archive.org. Spy Magazine, May 1991
Under New York Penal Law § 40.15, insanity is an affirmative defense; the defendant must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that at the time of the crime they lacked the “substantial capacity to know or appreciate” either the nature and consequences of their conduct or that it was wrong.7New York State Senate. Penal Law § 40.15 After nine days of deliberation, on February 22, 1991, the jury found Rakowitz not guilty by reason of insanity, concluding he “suffered from mental disease or defect and thus was not criminally responsible” for the killing. The prosecution had called its case “overwhelming,” a characterization Rakowitz himself echoed after the verdict.8The New York Times. Man Acquitted of Killing and Boiling Roommate
Rakowitz was subsequently diagnosed with schizophrenia and committed to the Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center, a maximum-security facility on Wards Island.4NBC New York. Cannibal Killer Back in the News
The Cult Angle and a Second Arrest
In February 1992, police arrested Randy Eastherday in Pennsylvania as an alleged accomplice. Investigators linked both Rakowitz and Eastherday to a group they called the Church of the Realized Fantasy, described by police as a “loosely organized band of about a dozen devil worshipers” operating from an East Village storefront whose members experimented with psychedelics and studied Aleister Crowley.9Baltimore Sun. Man Held in Cult Slaying of Ballerina5Seattle Times. A New Arrest in Satanic Slaying
A witness reportedly told police that Rakowitz, Eastherday, and an unidentified third man took turns stabbing Beerle, butchered her body, and boiled her flesh as what they called a “satanic offering” before feeding it to the homeless.9Baltimore Sun. Man Held in Cult Slaying of Ballerina Detectives also reopened several unsolved East Greenwich Village murder cases to see whether the group was responsible for other crimes.5Seattle Times. A New Arrest in Satanic Slaying
Where Rakowitz Is Now
Under New York law, a person found not guilty by reason of insanity is subject to periodic review hearings to assess whether they remain mentally ill and dangerous. Rakowitz has repeatedly used those hearings to petition for transfer to a less-secure facility or for release.
In 1995, he argued at a sanity hearing that quitting marijuana had restored his sanity. A jury rejected the claim.2amNewYork. Psychiatrist: Rakowitz Excited Recalling Grisly Stew At a 2004 hearing before Judge Donna Mills, he testified that he had not killed Beerle but “feels responsible for her death,” blaming others. Assistant Attorney General Nancy Hornstein called it “a totally new version of the crime” that contradicted his 1989 confession. Unlike his behavior in 1991, observers noted he appeared lucid.10The New York Times. At His Sanity Hearing, Patient Recounts Dancer’s Dismemberment
Dr. Jason Hershberger, a psychiatrist from Kirby, testified that Rakowitz spoke about the killing with excitement and smiling rather than remorse.2amNewYork. Psychiatrist: Rakowitz Excited Recalling Grisly Stew The advisory jury returned a split 5-1 verdict finding Rakowitz “no longer a danger to society,” but it also found he remained mentally ill, required inpatient treatment, and was “currently so impaired as to be unable to understand the need for such treatment.” The final call rested with Judge Mills. If accepted, the verdict would have moved him to the lower-security Manhattan Psychiatric Center rather than freed him.11New York Post. Butcher’s Break: Move Madman to Low Security, Jury
As of 2010, Rakowitz remained at Kirby, with the Manhattan District Attorney’s office continuing to oppose his transfer petitions. A state Supreme Court ruling upheld that objection, and his next review was scheduled for January 2012.4NBC New York. Cannibal Killer Back in the News No publicly available reporting confirms any change in his status since then.