Isabella Mueller (crime writer)
A heinous crime that took 30 years to solve occurred in 1988. It was January 4 when Ursula B., then 22 years old, left the Nacht-Café nightclub in Aschaffenburg at around 2 a.m. She got into her Mitsubishi Colt, where she was suddenly threatened by an unknown man who held a screwdriver to her throat. He forced the young hairdresser to drive to a remote forest area not far from Haibach, where she had to park the car in a secluded spot. He then blindfolded her with a scarf, tied her hands, and raped the young woman for over three hours. During the rape, he stabbed her upper body countless times with the screwdriver. Ursula had to scream and say obscene things to him while the man, who smelled of alcohol, cigarettes, and sweat, satisfied himself on her. At around 5 a.m., the man let go of Ursula, whose body was covered in stab wounds and blood. He then laid the young woman on the cold forest floor, where he covered her battered, naked body with leaves. He then fled in Ursula’s car. But miraculously, Ursula survived. Despite life-threatening injuries and the winter cold, she managed to free herself and drag herself out of the forest, where a motorist discovered her and took her to the hospital. Ursula underwent emergency surgery immediately, her upper body showing 22 stab wounds. Fortunately, however, the perpetrator had not hit her heart. The investigation was in full swing, but Ursula’s tormentor could not be caught. After Ursula’s ordeal, she began the long struggle to return to normality with the help of psychotherapy. But the agonizing uncertainty remained until the cold case unit of the Aschaffenburg criminal investigation department took up the case again in 2015. They ran the DNA found at the time on the back seat of the car in which Ursula had been raped through the DNA database. In fact, there was a match with a man who had been convicted of raping his wife in 2004. The man was Jürgen R., now 56 years old, 1.70 meters tall, unremarkable in appearance, and with multiple prior convictions. He led an unsettled life with frequent job changes, his childhood marked by his alcoholic father and stepfather. He had used drugs in his youth. On October 22, 2017, Jürgen was arrested in his apartment and confessed to the rape, which was long past the statute of limitations, during police questioning, but denied any intent to kill. In the subsequent trial, Jürgen claimed he could not remember anything due to a blackout caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Ursula doubted this and testified in court that although he smelled of alcohol, he knew very well what he was doing. The Aschaffenburg Regional Court agreed, sentencing Jürgen B. to life imprisonment for attempted murder. Ursula followed the verdict in the courtroom. After more than 30 years, justice had finally prevailed, albeit belatedly.
