The baker's apprentice Klaus Berninger was killed in Lower Franconia in 1990. The case remains unsolved to this day. The new investigations are not only intended to convict a perpetrator, but also to put an end to the family's uncertainty.
Wörth am Main (dpa / lby) - About half a year after the start of new investigations in the Klaus Berninger case, the police have further starting points to clarify the death of the young person. "There are still new indications," said a police spokesman in Würzburg. "In the main, references relate to the course of the evening of Klaus Berninger's disappearance." The investigators believe that the many new clues have significantly increased the pressure on the perpetrator or perpetrators. "At the present time, the two old case investigators are very satisfied with the current status of the investigation."
Whether the police officers are now relatively close to the perpetrator or only have suspicions, they do not want to reveal so far. Among other things, this concerns the question of whether the knife found at the suspected crime scene has anything to do with the case. "We ask for your understanding that we cannot yet announce the results of the forensic examinations as further follow-up examinations are pending." During the investigation into the origin of the knife, other questions also arose, which will soon be answered by calling witnesses again.
16-year-old Klaus from Wörth am Main (Miltenberg district) disappeared on December 20, 1990. Three days later, two walkers found his body in a forest near the small town on the Bavarian-Hessian border. The police assume that the teenager was killed. With new techniques and evaluation methods, she finally wants to convict a perpetrator. According to what was known at the time, the young man died as a result of violence with a sharp-edged tool against his neck.
Murder does not become statute-barred, and so old cases, so-called cold cases, are rolled up again and again. In April, the police informed the public about the new investigations by a team of around 20 and started a large-scale resident survey. Among other things, a search operation in the forest followed, during which the knife was found with the help of a metal detector. In addition, wanted posters were put up - also in Turkish - because the proportion of Turkish-speaking people in the region is very high.
Police are also still looking for the owner of a jewelry pendant with a Libra symbol that was found near the crime scene. "We have received information about this as well, but the owner has not yet been identified."
A mail-order catalog from 1990 should also help the investigators. The Schneider catalog could provide new clues to objects that Klaus Berninger had ordered there shortly before the crime and which have not been found to this day. "Various copies of the Schneider catalog have already been brought to the criminal police. However, the required copy, which is still of great importance for the investigation, was not among them."
