Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
In September 1994, dentist Marion R. was out walking her dog when she discovered a human skeleton wrapped in a carpet at the Zwenkau open-cast mine near Leipzig. She immediately alerted the police. The forensic pathologist determined that the remains belonged to a man approximately 1.85 metres tall, aged around 35, who had been killed by three shots to the head and must have been lying there for two years. But who was this man? A plate bearing the inscription ‘nrw 119’ was found in the man’s left lower leg, which had been inserted during an operation. Yet despite this clue, the Leipzig Homicide Squad remained baffled as to the identity of the deceased. Until one of the homicide detectives met the American Vice-Consul at a champagne reception, who offered him the assistance of the FBI. So the skull, together with the investigation files, was sent to the Body Farm in Washington D.C. There, in a specialist laboratory, a soft-tissue model was created to reconstruct the deceased’s appearance. Using this composite sketch, the Leipzig Homicide Squad appealed to the public with the help of the Central German media, and indeed a former friend recognised the victim. At last, the deceased could be identified as 33-year-old Matthias Banek. He was born in Chemnitz in 1958 and had already come to prominence during the GDR era due to his criminal activities. Matthias Banek, who had no fixed abode, was a member of a six-person gang, including two women, who committed robberies and burglaries. Following a break-in at a Vietnamese carpet warehouse in April 1992, he threatened to expose the gang, as he believed the loot had been divided unfairly. The other gang members, with the exception of one of the two women, subsequently decided to get rid of Matthias. The murder was to be carried out by Mike, who was only 23 years old. Matthias was shot dead by Mike in his flat in Lindenau between 2 and 3 am on 19 April 1992 whilst he was asleep, with three shots to the head, and was buried on 20 April 1992, wrapped in a carpet, at the Zwenkau opencast mine. In the spring of 2000, the trial of the defendants began at the Leipzig Regional Court. On 17 June 2000, four gang members were convicted of the joint murder of Matthias Banek, even though only Mike had fired the shots, as they had planned the crime together. The sentences ranged from 10 to 12 years. This finally solved the mystery surrounding the skeleton.
