Bodies found in German flat linked to crossbow killings in hotel near Austrian border
Posted about an hour ago
The bodies of two women have been found in the German flat of one of three people who died at a hotel several hundred kilometres away, in a mysterious case involving crossbows.
Key points:
- A third crossbow has been found as authorities continue their investigation
- Autopsy results on the first three victims are expected in the coming days
- Crossbows can be purchased legally in Germany by anyone over age 18
Police said they did not immediately have details of the identity of the women found in a search of the flat in Wittingen, in northern Germany, or what had happened to them.
They are investigating possible links to
the three people found dead at the hotel Passau, nearly 700 kilometres away near the Austrian border, on Saturday.
The discovery added a new level of mystery to that case.
Investigators were still trying on Monday (local time) to determine the relationship between the three people whose bodies were shot with crossbow bolts.
Bavarian police spokesman Stefan Gaisbauer said there were no indications anyone other than those found dead were involved, but that it is not yet clear what happened.
"We assume that no other people were involved in the deaths of the three," he said.
Autopsy results were expected on Tuesday.
The dead, a 53-year-old man and two women aged 33 and 30, were all German citizens.
The man and the elder of the two women are from the village of Berod in south-western Germany, while the younger woman was last registered as living in Wittingen at the flat in which the bodies of the two other women were discovered.
Police did not release further details on their identities.
Third weapon found at hotel
The bodies at the hotel in Passau were found on Saturday morning by an employee who opened the door to their three-bed room when they did not respond to repeated knocking.
The man and the older woman were lying together in bed, while the younger woman was lying on the floor.
Passau prosecutor Walter Feiler said the couple on the bed had several bolts in them and were found holding hands.
The woman on the floor had one bolt in her body.
Two crossbows were found on Saturday and police located a third, unused crossbow inside a bag on Monday.
Crossbows can be purchased legally in Germany by all people aged 18 or older.
ABC/AP
www.abc.net.au
