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You’ve probably heard the name "The Ice Cream Killer." It sounds like something pulled straight from a low-budget slasher flick, but for the residents of Vienna, the case of the deadly double was a chilling reality that unfolded in the basement of an ordinary ice cream parlor. This isn't just a story about a woman who killed; it’s a bizarre study in psychology, obsession, and the lengths someone will go to "clean up" a life they no longer want. Estibaliz Carranza didn't just kill once. She did it twice. She used a .22-caliber Beretta. Then, she used a chainsaw.
It's heavy stuff. Honestly, when the news first broke in 2011, people couldn't wrap their heads around how a polite, "delicate" business owner could be hauling bags of concrete and human remains into her cellar while serving strawberry swirls upstairs.
The First Victim: Holger Holz
Let's look at the first husband, Holger Holz. They married in 2002. By all accounts, the relationship was a train wreck. Carranza later claimed he was verbally abusive, lazy, and refused to leave their apartment even after they divorced. This is where the case of the deadly double begins to take its dark shape. In 2008, while Holz was sitting at his computer, Carranza shot him in the back of the head.
She didn't panic and call the police. She didn't flee. She stayed.
She bought a chainsaw. She bought a deep freezer. Because the ice cream shop, Schleckeria, was undergoing renovations, she realized the basement was the perfect place to hide her problem. She literally cemented her ex-husband into the floor and walls of the cellar. It's a level of cold-blooded pragmatism that still baffles forensic psychologists today. She told neighbors he had joined a cult or moved to India. People believed her because she seemed so "normal."
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Manfred Hinterberger and the Second Act
Fast forward two years. Carranza is in a new relationship with an ice machine salesman named Manfred Hinterberger. History, unfortunately, has a way of repeating itself when the underlying pathology isn't addressed. She wanted kids; he reportedly didn't. She felt he was being unfaithful. On a night in 2010, after a heated argument about his alleged infidelity, she waited until he was asleep.
Three shots. Again, with the .22 Beretta.
The case of the deadly double became official at that moment, though the world wouldn't know it for another year. She repeated her grisly ritual: the chainsaw, the concrete, the basement. She even reportedly took a task-oriented approach to the dismemberment, treating it like a chore that simply had to be finished so she could move on with her life. There's a specific kind of dissociation required to do that twice.
The Gruesome Discovery in the Basement
Maintenance workers are often the unsung heroes of true crime discoveries. In June 2011, workers were trying to fix a dampness problem in the basement of the building that housed the Schleckeria ice cream parlor. They found a plastic tub. They found bones. Then they found the heads.
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Carranza didn't stick around to explain. She hailed a taxi and fled to Italy.
The manhunt was brief but intense. She was eventually captured in Udine after a local street musician noticed her looking distressed and called the authorities. By this time, she was two months pregnant—not by either of the men she had killed, but by a new boyfriend. The layers of complexity in this case just kept piling up.
Understanding the "Deadly Double" Psychology
Psychiatrists who examined Carranza, including the renowned Dr. Adelheid Kastrun, described her as "dangerously abnormal." She wasn't legally insane in the sense that she didn't know right from wrong. She knew. She just had a profound "personality disorder with schizoid elements." Basically, she saw people as obstacles to her own happiness. If you weren't fitting into her vision of a "perfect life," you were a problem to be deleted.
Why the Case Still Fascinates Us
- The Contrast: A pink ice cream shop sitting atop a tomb. It’s the ultimate juxtaposition of sweetness and depravity.
- The Planning: This wasn't a crime of passion in the heat of the moment; the second murder showed a learned behavior.
- The Gender Bias: Many people struggled to believe a woman of her stature could physically carry out such a gruesome task alone.
The trial in 2012 was a media circus. Carranza was sentenced to life in a psychiatric hospital. She later wrote a memoir titled Meine Zwei Leben (My Two Lives), attempting to explain her actions, though many view it as a self-serving narrative.
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Actionable Insights and Critical Takeaways
When we look back at the case of the deadly double, there are real-world lessons about domestic red flags and the failures of social observation. This wasn't a "snap" decision; it was a series of choices.
1. Recognize the patterns of extreme isolation. Carranza’s victims were often people who had been somewhat alienated from their wider social circles, making their disappearances easier to explain away.
2. Trust the physical evidence. The "dampness" and "smells" reported by neighbors were ignored for months because Carranza was well-liked. Character should never outweigh physical red flags.
3. Understand the role of "The Mask of Sanity." High-functioning individuals can harbor deep-seated violent tendencies. The ability to run a successful business or maintain a polite social presence is not an indicator of mental health.
If you are researching this case for academic or legal purposes, focus on the court transcripts regarding "diminished responsibility" vs. "premeditation." The Austrian legal system's handling of her psychiatric confinement remains a landmark study in how European courts balance punishment with mental health treatment.
To truly understand the legal aftermath, look into the 2017 transfer of Carranza to a male prison facility that had a specialized psychiatric unit—a controversial move that highlighted the difficulties in housing "atypical" violent offenders. Monitoring updates from the Austrian Ministry of Justice is the best way to track her current status and any potential parole hearings, though a release is highly unlikely given the severity of the crimes.