When familiarizing myself with a cold case, I first drew up a chronology at home based on the case and evidence file. Then I made comments and wrote down everything I noticed while reading that might lead to a reassessment of the case. The nice thing was that I had all the time I needed to concentrate fully on it."
This is how 63-year-old Franz Wirges describes his approach to dealing with unsolved cases. He was one of the 28 retired investigators who have been helping to solve long-ago capital crimes since November 2021. The Special Organizational Structure (BAO) set up at the State Criminal Police Office has solved six cases so far. This includes the attempted murder in Cologne-Ehrenfeld in 1987, where the former head of the homicide squad from Bonn police headquarters initiated the renewed investigation. The perpetrator has since been caught and brought to justice.
"The special organizational structure expired at the end of April," says Detective Chief Inspector Steffen Franke from the LKA. He is part of the Operative Case Analysis team. "Now we're moving into the second phase." The profiler sees a good chance of bringing the perpetrators to justice in 408 cases. The plan is for the "senior experts" to work with the respective criminal investigation departments in future.
The investigators are also hoping for success in two other cases from Cologne. In the so-called "carnival murder" of 1988, a young woman was killed in the city center "with massive violence to the head and upper body", reports Markus Weber, head of the Cold Cases investigation team in Cologne. In the meantime, a witness has come forward after the case was presented on the ZDF program Aktenzeichen XY and seriously incriminated a former acquaintance.
"Public relations work, including posters, is incredibly important in cold cases in order to find witnesses," says First Chief Superintendent Weber. He is supported by five officers in solving old cases. In the case of the carnival murder, the suspect is about to be charged. The evidence in the case of a girl who was raped and murdered on her way home from her apprenticeship in the cathedral city in 1991 has also become stronger. A serial investigation is currently underway to match DNA.
In the Bielefeld police department, the "Puls" case was switched from cold to hot. An elderly woman who lived on the outskirts of Vlotho in the district of Herford was stabbed to death in her home in 2014. Three foreign traces have now been discovered. One has been identified. The perpetrator was remanded in custody and took his own life there.
Pensioner Wirges explains how excellent the collaboration with Markus Weber and his colleagues in the Cologne-Ehrenfeld case was. A 50-year-old retiree had been brutally beaten in his apartment after a night out. The victim, Klaus Dieter M., was never able to fully recover from his life-threatening brain injury until his death in 2013. The perpetrator remained unidentified for decades.
"It doesn't let you rest. After studying the files, I wondered, among other things, whether anything could be found on a bowling cup and cigarette butts that were found among the evidence using today's methods," reports the agile retiree.
In the past, new attempts at an investigation have come to nothing. "We turned over every stone once again," explains MK manager Weber. Former cop Wirges had indeed had the right nose. The Forensic Science Institute (KTI) found foreign DNA on the handle of the cup and the victim's blood on the rim of the cup. "The silver pot was obviously the murder weapon," summarizes KTI biologist Dr. Dirk Porstendörfer. "The DNA profile of the suspected perpetrator was also found on two cigarette butts."
The genetic trace could be assigned. It belonged to Cemil A. and had been stored in the database for another criminal offense. The now 56-year-old confessed to having struck down the victim. Because the other man had assaulted him, he had had to defend himself, according to his explanation, which led to his acquittal in court in May. Low motives could no longer be proven, the judge justified his verdict. And the possible criminal offense of manslaughter is time-barred. The public prosecutor's office has lodged an appeal against the verdict.
"Perhaps there will be more evidence," hopes Franz Wirges. He is by no means discouraged. "The relatives now know what happened and can make their peace." But that's not all for the dedicated ex-policeman. He would also like to make his expertise available to the authorities in the future.
