- Barbara Erni
Barbara Erni (
15 February 1743 –26 February 1785 ) was aLiechtenstein woman known for stealing frominn s throughout westernEurope using aconfidence trick . Known in Liechtenstein legend as Golden Boos, Erni was the last person to be executed by Liechtenstein.Erni was born in
Feldkirch to a homeless couple. In 1779, she marriedTiroler Franz , a man with a reputation forcriminal behaviour.According the legend, the Golden Boos was a women with red-blond hair and great strength who travelled throughout the European countryside with a large
treasure chest orbackpack . Wherever she rested for the night, she would demand that her chest be locked in the best and most secure room available, since she claimed it contained a fabuloustreasure . Once the treasure was locked away and night fell, a small man would emerge from the chest or backpack and would gather the valuables from the best room, after which Erni and the man would flee during the night. The scheme worked well for Erni for a number of years, and she became wealthy. The identity of the male assistant is unknown.Erni and her male accomplice were arrested at
Eschen and imprisoned atVaduz on27 May 1784 . She was tried by Liechtenstein, and she admitted to seventeen thefts using the confidence trick. On7 December 1784 , the court found Erni guilty of being the Golden Boos and sentenced her to death bybeheading . She was beheaded in Vaduz before a public audience of approximately 1000 spectators. The fate of the male assistant is unknown.No one was executed again by Liechtenstein before it abolished the death penalty in 1984.
References
*Barbara Greene (1967). "Liechtenstein: Valley of Peace" (Vaduz: Liechtenstein-Verlag) pp. 20–21
*James Foster Robinson, "The Legend of the Golden Boos",2004-05-21
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