Dortmund District Court - Thirty-three years ago: Defendants remain silent at trial beginning
One of the oldest unsolved murder cases in the Ruhr area still engages the Dortmund Regional Court today. More than 33 years after the violent death of a decorator, the prosecution has charged a 60-year-old man and a 62-year-old woman with murder. Both are accused of breaking into the victim's house in Dortmund in February 1991 to steal valuable items. When they were allegedly surprised on the scene of the crime, they are said to have decided to kill the houseowner.
The victim, who was 28 years old at the time, was strangled and severely wounded with a knife. She died at the crime scene. The two defendants and an unidentified accomplice are said to have fled the scene in the victim's car. The vehicle was later found by the French police.
The indictment is mainly based on DNA traces found at the crime scene, which can be attributed to the two defendants. Initial investigations in January 2024 first drew the attention of investigators to the 60-year-old German. He was eventually arrested in Mönchengladbach in April. The alleged accomplice was also a German national. Both defendants remained silent about the accusations at the start of the trial.
The case of homicide in Dortmund, which has remained unsolved for over three decades, is now being handled by the Public Prosecutor's Office in North Rhine-Westphalia. The 60-year-old man and his female accomplice, both charged with Murder, faced the Sworn Court in Dortmund. Their alleged act of homicide, committed in 1991, resulted in the death of a decorator in a housebreak attempt. The District Court will review the criminality associated with this Tod (death). Despite the severity of the charges, Ms. Defendant remained silent during her court proceedings.
