Several pensioners were killed in Schwäbisch Hall and the surrounding area.
The police have now arrested a suspect.
A robbery should also go to his account.
Serial killers in Baden-Württemberg?
Several pensioners were killed in Schwäbisch Hall.
Police arrest suspects: Other crimes against seniors possible.
No motive yet: Suspected serial killer arrested.
Update from February 2, 10:01 a.m
.: The 31-year-old, who is said to have killed two senior citizens in Schwäbisch Hall and the surrounding area, remains silent on the allegations made against him.
This was announced by a police spokesman on Thursday on request.
The suspect is charged with murder and manslaughter.
Update from February 2, 8:42 a.m
.: The investigations continue in Schwäbisch Hall, even the day after the arrest.
"Many questions are still open," said a spokesman for the Aalen police.
Traces and clues still have to be checked and findings compared.
The man is accused of murder and manslaughter and is said to have committed a robbery.
Speculations in the
Bild newspaper
that the arrested man's wife worked as a cleaner have not been confirmed.
Schwäbisch-Hall: Residents remain cautious after the arrest
Update from February 2nd, 8:20 a.m
.: The day after a suspected serial killer was caught in Baden-Württemberg, the residents are not yet relieved.
"I no longer go out alone with the dogs in the dark," a resident of Schwäbisch Hall told
focus.de
.
An elderly lady reports that she has not even opened the door for the postman for a long time.
It is a queasy feeling to walk past the house of the suspect who has now been arrested, my walkers.
The residents of the same high-rise building in particular were in shock.
Since the person who has now been arrested is only a suspect, many residents initially wanted to remain cautious, reports
focus.de
.
Phantom image led to success in the search: man is in custody and is silent
Update from February 1, 4:27 p.m
.: In Schwäbisch Hall, the relief after the murder of senior citizens is probably great.
A 31-year-old suspect has been arrested.
The man from Serbia is in custody and is silent on the allegations.
Among other things, DNA traces and a phantom image of the alleged perpetrator led to the success of the search.
An identikit was made after an attempted robbery in Ilshofen.
An 83-year-old man was threatened with a gun and struck down in his apartment in January.
"Numerous puzzle pieces have led to the identification of the perpetrator," said Aalen's police chief Reiner Möller.
Neighbors were questioned and around 350 traces, including DNA traces, were evaluated, added Chief Detective Jörg Meinhardt.
After an 89-year-old was discovered dead in her apartment in Michelbach an der Bilz, the investigators checked a connection with an act of violence against a 77-year-old in December 2022. The crime scene was very close by.
The Soko "Höhe" was then increased from 55 to 75 officers - supported by specialists from forensic medicine, the forensic institute of the State Criminal Police Office and forces from the police headquarters.
The Soko remains even after the arrest.
It will also be checked whether the suspect is responsible for other crimes.
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Schwäbisch Hall serial killer arrested
According to the police, DNA traces and a phantom image led to the success of the search.
© Friso Gentsch/dpa/Police
Update from February 1, 1:35 p.m .:
The 31-year-old suspect is in custody, the police said on Wednesday.
The man is strongly suspected of having killed an 89-year-old in Michelbach an der Bilz last week and a 77-year-old in Schwäbisch Hall last December.
In the case of the deaths in Schwäbisch Hall, the public prosecutor's office assumes murder out of greed.
There, the suspect is said to have stolen a low to mid-three-digit amount of money.
In the case of those killed in Michelbach, the investigators spoke of manslaughter.
The death of the elderly has unsettled people in the Schwäbisch Hall region.
The death of a 94-year-old senior whose body was found in Schwäbisch Hall in October 2020, very close to the apartment of the dead 77-year-old, has also not been clarified so far.
Here, too, the police are assuming a homicide.
In September 2021, the public prosecutor initially closed the investigation file because there was no further information.
Alleged pensioner serial killer caught in BaWü: police are now announcing details
Update from February 1, 11:42 a.m .:
There is still no knowledge of the motive for the crime, this is because the suspect did not provide any information.
The police did not want to say what the crime tool was about at the moment.
The suspect is a Serbian citizen.
According to his own statements, he has been in Germany since the beginning of December 2022.
He traveled with his family, his wife and two children.
It has not yet been clarified whether he stayed in Schwäbisch Hall the whole time.
An investigating judge opened the arrest warrant for him on Wednesday, in which one of the two homicides was rated as murder and the other as manslaughter.
Pensioner murderer: Police arrest suspects in Schwäbisch Hall
Update from February 1, 11:39 a.m .:
At the press conference of the police headquarters in Aalen, the murders of the elderly in the vicinity of Schwäbisch Hall are now being clarified.
Police President Reiner Möller explains: "Yesterday morning we were able to arrest a 31-year-old suspect".
The “Soko Höhe” continuously investigated.
"Numerous pieces of the puzzle were brought together" during the investigation.
In addition, the man is strongly suspected of having attacked an 83-year-old with a firearm.
A possible connection with a homicide in 2020 is also being examined.
Male DNA was found during the investigations.
The murder weapon could also be assigned to the man.
Update from February 1st, 10.30 a.m .:
Manhunt success in Schwäbisch Hall?
According to information from Bild
, the alleged serial offender was
arrested at Hagenbacher Ring 147, only about 150 meters from the first two crime scenes.
According to dpa information on Wednesday, the man is suspected of having killed several pensioners.
Serial killer caught in Baden-Württemberg?
Witness reports arrest – police are keeping a low profile
Update from February 1, 7:17 a.m .:
The alleged serial offender from Schwäbisch Hall, who is suspected of robbing and killing three pensioners, could be caught.
The police headquarters in Aalen and the public prosecutor's office in Schwäbisch Hall have invited to a press conference for Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
The results of the investigation are to be presented there, reports the
picture
.
According to the
Stuttgarter Zeitung
, there was a major police operation in Schwäbisch Hall's Tullauerhöhe district on Tuesday.
Officials had secured evidence in a dumpster in a block of flats.
An eyewitness told the newspaper that a man was taken away from the house in handcuffs.
The police only confirmed a connection between the operation and the Soko "Höhe", but not an arrest.
Baden-Württemberg: series of murders in Schwäbisch Hall?
Two elderly women dead in a short space of time
First report from January 29, 2023:
Aalen – Is a serial killer targeting elderly women?
The "Soko Höhe" has now taken over the investigations in another case, the police in Aalen (Baden-Württemberg) and the public prosecutor's office in Heilbronn announced in a joint press release.
It's a crime in Schwäbisch Hall that's probably related to a series.
An 89-year-old was found dead in her apartment in Michelbach an der Bilz (Schwäbisch Hall district) on Wednesday evening (January 25).
"During the death investigation by the criminal police, there were indications that the woman died violently," the police said.
The senior was last seen alive around 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
An autopsy is planned for Friday, it said.
Is this the latest in a series of murders?
In December 2022, shortly before Christmas, an elderly woman (77) was found dead in her apartment in Schwäbisch Hall.
The "Soko Höhe" was founded after the homicide.
There may be a connection between the two acts, say the police and prosecutors.
The "Sokohöhe" has been increased in terms of personnel.
The special commission is now being supported by specialists in forensic medicine, the forensic institute of the State Criminal Police Office and forces from the police headquarters.
Murder cases of pensioners in Baden-Württemberg: the public prosecutor speaks of parallels
Prosecutor Harald Lustig said on SWR that such an accumulation of homicides is unusual for the Schwäbisch Hall area.
Also, there are parallels.
Both victims are elderly women and both crime scenes are close together.
As the SWR reports, the authorities had investigated an unexplained homicide from 2020.
At that time, a 94-year-old brewery heiress was brutally murdered very close to the crime scene of the 77-year-old from Schwäbisch Hall.
Baden-Württemberg: did the series of murders begin in 2020?
In 2020, a 94-year-old woman was brutally murdered in the Schwäbisch Hall district.
On December 23, 2022: A 77-year-old woman is found dead in her apartment in the Hagenbach district of Schwäbisch Hall.
The 77-year-old was seen alive in the afternoon when she was on her way home from the supermarket with her walker.
On January 25, 2023 - the youngest case: An 89-year-old woman was found dead in her apartment in Michelbach an der Bilz (Schwäbisch Hall district) on Wednesday evening.
“Soko Höhe” is investigating – the police are urgently looking for witnesses
The "Sokohöhe" asks for help from the population and asks.
In the Mittelbach case, did you notice people or vehicles that seemed suspicious or strange to someone?
The police emphasized that clues or perceptions that are not initially associated with the crime could also be important.
The discovery of a woman's body in the trunk of a car made headlines in 2022.
The car was parked in an industrial area in Sinsheim (Baden-Württemberg).
(ml)
