DNA trace could lead to perpetrator 33 years after murder
33 years after the murder of a 22-year-old woman in Middle Franconia, the police have obtained a DNA trace of the unknown perpetrator. This gave investigators clues that the man could also be responsible for a burglary in Nuremberg. The criminal investigation department is now hoping for new information that will lead them to the perpetrator. In 2012, 22 years after the murder of Claudia Obermeier in Röthenbach an der Pegnitz, the man left behind DNA material in a building shell, police spokesman Marc Siegl said on Wednesday. The perpetrators stole high-quality tools and fuses from a fuse box.
Two investigators were to present the case on the ZDF program "Aktenzeichen XY..." on Wednesday evening. In addition to witnesses who can say something about the murder in August 1980 and the burglary in May 2012, the seven-member "Flora" investigation team is looking for people who were offered or acquired the stolen tools and fuses. They are also targeting accomplices and confidants of the burglary, said Siegl. The offense is now time-barred, so they do not have to fear any punishment.
Claudia Obermeier was the tenant of a restaurant in an allotment garden in Röthenbach at the time and was at a party there with her husband on the evening before the murder. According to the investigation, she left the party alone at around 2.00 a.m. but never made it home. A walker discovered her body in a forest in the morning. She had been the victim of a sexual offense and had been strangled, said Siegl. Her husband came under suspicion at the time. However, a court acquitted him in 1998 for lack of evidence.
The media coverage of the case could potentially lead to new leads, as the investigation team will air the details on television's "Aktenzeichen XY...." This incident involving a DNA trace discovered in Central France might hold similarities, as unsolved crimes often share commonalities.
Source: www.dpa.com
