North Rhine-Westphalia: File number XY: Mysterious robber in the rectory in Marl

Mainz/Marl (dpa/lnw) - On the afternoon of April 23, 2021 at around 5 p.

North Rhine-Westphalia: File number XY: Mysterious robber in the rectory in Marl

Mainz/Marl (dpa/lnw) - On the afternoon of April 23, 2021 at around 5 p.m., the doorbell of a rectory in Marl rang. When the priest opens the door, he looks into the muzzle of a pistol and is pushed back into the house by a hooded figure. This Wednesday (ZDF/8.15 p.m.) the TV show “Aktenzeichen XY... unsolved” deals with the mysterious case in the Recklinghausen district in the northern Ruhr area – very close to Herne, the hometown of moderator Rudi Cerne.

The stranger, armed with a pistol and pepper spray, threatened the priest and demanded money from the safe of the parish office. But the pastor has no key for it. He knows the intruder from previous encounters, when he had asked him for money several times under the name Wolfgang Schmidt. This time the man says that he has three children and was being blackmailed by Russians. They would cut off his finger if he didn't pay.

Finally, the pastor gives him 100 euros from his private coffers. But instead of calling the police, he makes an appointment with the 50-year-old robber, who is described as "tall and chubby", for a later date. The pastor wants to know more about his emergency situation. But the robber does not appear at the meeting point.