Murder of a 23-year-old in North Rhine-Westphalia: 35 years later, his DNA is fatal to the perpetrator
Created: 04/26/2022, 21:07
By: Yasina Hipp
Thanks to modern DNA analysis methods, Claudia Otto's murderer was apparently caught after 35 years.
© picture alliance/dpa/Marcus Brandt
In 1987, the then 23-year-old Claudia Otto was murdered.
New DNA analysis methods have now revealed the identity of the perpetrator - and he is no stranger.
Bonn/Lohmar - Almost 35 years ago, a horror scene must have taken place in the country hotel "Naafshäuschen" in Lohmar (Rhein-Sieg district), about 15 kilometers north-east of Bonn.
On May 7, 1987, the body of the then 23-year-old Claudia Otto was found in the apartment above the inn.
The young woman had been strangled.
For a long time, the murder remained a cold case until 2017 when the investigations in North Rhine-Westphalia regained momentum.
Now, around five years later, the culprit from back then seems to have been found.
Murder of 23-year-old as a cold case: investigation results from 2017
Five years ago, the suspect was targeted by investigators.
He was arrested in December 2017 after a DNA analysis method revealed his genetic fingerprint.
At that time, however, the burden of proof against him was not sufficient.
According to a spokesman for the Bonn public prosecutor's office, a further, apparently relevant trace of an unknown person was discovered at the time.
Due to these circumstances, the police had to release the now 66-year-old.
In the meantime, however, this mysterious stranger has been identified: The trace belongs to a former employee of the State Criminal Police Office, who was involved in the trace analysis at the time.
So now the investigators are certain: the man who was already suspect in 2017 seems to be the murderer of Claudia Otto.
Murder of Claudia Otto: suspected perpetrator already with life imprisonment
The police and public prosecutor's office in Bonn confirmed the arrest of the man in Detmold and the placement in a prison.
He only left prison in 2020 after serving a 32-year sentence, as reported by the
dpa
, among others .
In 1989, the now 66-year-old was apparently sentenced to life imprisonment for two counts of murder and particular guilt.
Only a year after the alleged murder of 23-year-old Claudia Otto, he appeared to be masked and armed and entered a strange house.
He killed the family's grandmother and kidnapped the 15-month-old son to extort money.
He also killed the toddler at the time.
New information is also gaining momentum in other cold cases.
For example, in the case of Klaus Berninger in the Bavarian town of Wörth am Main, new clues have emerged after 31 years.