Gabriele (5) found dead in the channel: TV viewer remembers abuse - and gives specific names

Created: 04/16/2022, 04:52

By: Jennifer Lanzinger

The police have been looking for little Gabriele's murderer for almost 40 years.

© Police

The murder of little Gabriele from Fulda is still shocking almost 40 years later.

Investigators were guests on the TV show Aktenzeichen.

Numerous tips were received, including a very specific one.

Update from April 14, 2022:

The murder of little Gabriele from Fulda has been a mystery for investigators for almost 40 years, and the ZDF program Aktenzeichen XY could now get things moving again.

On Wednesday evening, an investigator presented the case on the TV show, and a short film showed what investigators know about the case so far.

In the course of the show, numerous calls were received for this case, including four particularly emotional viewer reports.

As Alfred Hettmer from the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office explains at the end of the program in an interview with moderator Rudi Cerne, four viewers reported that they wanted to increase the reward, which should lead to the arrest of the perpetrator, from their own pockets.

At the beginning of the program, a reward of 5,000 euros was offered for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator (see original message below).

"Wow, that's remarkable," said moderator Rudi Cerne, impressed.

But that's not all, numerous TV viewers also reported that their information could possibly help to clarify the cold case.

A prison officer reported to the TV studio during the program.

He was able to remember a case from that time and was able to make numerous statements about it.

The extent to which the information provided by the prison officer is helpful in clarifying the cold case must now be examined.

As Alfred Hettmer further explains, a former employee of a sewer cleaning company also got in touch.

His information should now be checked.

As Alfred Hettmer further explains, a viewer who claims to have been a victim of sexual abuse and humiliation has also reported.

“She also knows that he abused another girl.

She was able to tell us a name and what is very important: there is a connection to the city or to the Fulda region”.

Alfred Hettmer also explains that a few other important tips about the case have also been received.

Girl discovered dead in the sewage system: investigators are now chasing the killer of Gabriele (5) on a TV show

Original message

- For almost 40 years, investigators have been looking for the murderer of little Gabriele Schmidt from Fulda in Hesse.

The crime against the then five-year-old is still shocking, but so far the person responsible has not been identified.

With the help of the ZDF program Aktenzeichen XY, investigators are finally hoping for a breakthrough in the cold case.

Cold Case: Murder of little Gabriele from Fulda Topic in the ZDF program Aktenzeichen XY

On the afternoon of June 3, 1983, little Gabriele was playing in front of her parents' house at 27 Magdeburger Strasse.

As the police explained in a statement, the five-year-old also liked to play in the garden of her parents' house, which borders on the Galgengraben water canal.

However, when her mother wants to call her to dinner around 6 p.m., there is no trace of the five-year-old.

The parents immediately start looking for their daughter, and the police are also alerted.

That evening, the police found the child's clothes and toys in the garden.

Shortly thereafter, the dead child is discovered, a fireman had crawled into a 20 meter long dirty tube.

As the police explained in the statement, Gabriele was only "dressed in a shirt" at that time.

Her body was discovered "several meters deep in an underground part of the water channel".

A subsequent autopsy found that the then five-year-old was "sexually abused and literally beaten to death."

Gabriele from Fulda found dead in the sewage system - investigators are looking for perpetrators with local knowledge

As the ZDF program explains in advance, investigators assume that the little girl's killer must have been narrow but strong due to the narrow tube.

After the brutal act, he might have noticed his wet, maybe even blood-soaked clothing.

Investigators also suspect that the unknown man must have had good local knowledge.

Without this, he could not have known about the hidden sewage system behind the property, for example.

File number XY: investigators hope for a breakthrough - who can provide information about the cold case?

Through the ZDF program Aktenzeichen XY, investigators are now hoping for a decisive breakthrough, with a video contribution the disappearance of little Gabriele from Fulda is presented to the TV audience.

Almost 40 years after the brutal crime, murder is being investigated.

The public prosecutor's office is offering a reward of 5,000 euros for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator.

For information, the police have set up accessibility under the telephone number 0661/105-4447 or on the Internet under the e-mail address rki-fulda.ppoh@polizei.hessen.de.

In justified exceptional cases, these can also be treated confidentially.

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A woman lay lifeless on the street