Bielefeld (dpa / lnw) - Almost nine years after the violent death of an 84-year-old in Vlotho-Exter, the police arrested a suspect. According to a joint statement from the public prosecutor's office, the police and the State Criminal Police Office in Düsseldorf, a 38-year-old from Herford has been in custody in Bielefeld prison since Tuesday.
The State Criminal Police Office took a closer look at the previously unsolved case from 2014. The police had then reported several times in the past few weeks about the case and new DNA evidence. According to the announcement, the arrest was made by re-evaluating microtracks at the crime scene. They led to the 38-year-old's DNA material, which was available to investigators from another process. A police spokesman declined to provide further details as the investigation is still ongoing.
The man's home was searched on Tuesday. According to the statement, the accused has not yet commented. The arrest warrant is for treacherous murder out of greed.
In February 2014, the 84-year-old was stabbed to death in her home by an unknown person. After the bell rang, the woman went to the door with her walker and opened it. Investigators believe the victim may have known his killer. The woman was attacked in the hallway with an extremely long, narrow and sharp knife. The instrument of the crime was never discovered. The perpetrator searched the house for loot, but did not find anything.
In 2014, the investigators assumed that word had gotten around in the woman's immediate vicinity that she had around 40,000 euros in cash in the house. At the time of the crime, however, the money had been taken from a secret hiding place in the apartment to a safe deposit box. The victim was found by nursing staff.
