Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
A truly heinous murder, which still raises many questions to this day, took place on May 15, 2006, in the penthouse above the Isarparkhaus at Baaderstr. 6 in the Bavarian capital of Munich. On that day, 59-year-old Charlotte Böhringer, a well-known, multimillionaire businesswoman who also owned the Isarparkhaus and other properties in Munich, planned to head out in the evening to her regulars’ table at the legendary Weißes Bräuhaus im Tal tavern. But that never happened. Because when Charlotte Böhringer left her penthouse apartment, a man forced her back inside from the doorway. There, the man struck Charlotte Böhringer on the head at least 24 times with a heavy object, causing severe skull and brain injuries that led to her death. Her body was discovered the next day in the penthouse. Investigators quickly turned their attention to her nephew Benedikt Toth, better known as Bence Toth, whose DNA traces were found throughout the penthouse. This was not initially suspicious, as Benedikt Toth often visited his aunt. However, according to investigators, he had the perfect motive, as he and his brother Mate Toth were set to inherit the entire estate of their aunt Charlotte Böhringer. Benedikt Toth was also set to take over management of the Isarparkhaus, as he was Charlotte’s favorite nephew. But Benedikt Toth had dropped out of law school and allegedly kept this a secret from his aunt, who might have disinherited him as a result. The homicide division and the district attorney’s office saw this as the motive for the murder of Charlotte Böhringer. A 3D reconstruction of the crime scene was conducted, which revealed that the perpetrator was right-handed. However, Benedikt Toth, who had no alibi at the time of the crime because he was in bed with a cold, is left-handed. According to a neurologist’s expert opinion, however, he could also have struck the fatal blow with his right hand using the object—presumably a hammer—which was never found. According to a witness, Charlotte Böhringer had also had a visitor shortly before her death—an unknown person who had apparently been drinking white wine. This was supported by an almost empty wine bottle and a glass found in Charlotte Böhringer’s dishwasher, on which a DNA trace from an unknown male was discovered, matching the traces in the Ursula Herrmann case. On September 15, 1981, 10-year-old Ursula Herrmann had been abducted near Lake Ammer. Her body was found on October 4, 1981, in a box in the woods between Schorndorf am Ammersee and Eching am Ammersee. In 2010, her heavily indebted neighbor was convicted of the murder in a circumstantial evidence trial and sentenced to life in prison. Benedikt Toth vehemently maintained his innocence. However, the circumstantial evidence was sufficient to charge him with the murder of his aunt, Charlotte Böhringer. Thus, in addition to the missing Albi, he was charged with leaving DNA traces in his aunt’s apartment, as well as possessing four 500-euro bills found in Benedikt Toth’s wallet after his aunt’s murder—which, in the judges’ view, he had stolen from her. He himself claimed to have received 1,000 euros from his aunt to buy a bicycle. In addition, he had visited his aunt on May 14, 2006, one day before her murder, for Mother’s Day. His trial began on May 2, 2007, at the Munich I Regional Court and concluded after 93 days, with Benedikt Toth being sentenced to life imprisonment with a finding of particularly grave culpability. An appeal against the Munich I Regional Court’s ruling of August 12, 2008, was rejected by the Federal Court of Justice. Since then, Benedikt Toth and his family have been fighting for a retrial. In addition, the citizens’ initiative Pro Bence was founded, which is relentlessly committed to ensuring that justice is served for Benedikt Toth. What do you think—was Benedikt Toth his aunt’s murderer? The justice system was convinced of it—are you too? Nothing is as it seems, or is it?
