Hockenheim
A Ukrainian woman was murdered – now police divers have found the body of her wanted mother
A police diver searches for the body of a woman who is believed to have been killed in a body of water. The body of the mother of a woman found dead on the Rhine near Hockenheim has now been discovered.
© René Priebe / DPA
Around two weeks ago, a passerby discovered the body of a 27-year-old Ukrainian woman on the banks of the Rhine near Hockenheim. Her baby and her mother were also missing – until today.
After a dead woman was found near Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, the woman’s mother was also found dead. The police searched intensively for her. Emergency services discovered a body in a lake near Bad Schönborn (Karlsruhe district), which “apparently” was the 51-year-old mother, the police and public prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday. Based on what we know so far, it can be assumed that she was also killed with violence. The “Badische Neuesten Nachrichten” had previously reported.
Around two weeks ago, the 27-year-old’s body was found on the banks of the Rhine Hockenheim (Rhein-Neckar district) was found, after which the investigators looked for the mother and the then five-week-old baby of those killed. The 27-year-old – a Ukrainian refugee – had lived with her mother and baby in a refugee accommodation in the Rhein-Neckar district.
Suspects of the crime near Hockenheim are now in custody
Two suspects were arrested last week. According to the statement, based on current knowledge, they come from the personal environment of those killed. There is therefore an urgent suspicion of “communal treacherous murder to cover up a crime”. According to their own statements, the investigators assume that the two killed the baby’s grandmother on the evening of March 6th and the baby’s mother a few hours later.
The 43 and 44 year old suspects are in custody. When the police arrested her, they had the woman’s baby with them. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the girl, who was just a few weeks old, was unharmed. It is now in the care of the youth welfare office.
Neither the police nor the public prosecutor’s office wanted to confirm a report in the “Bild” newspaper on Saturday that those arrested were a married couple. According to the report, the two had been telling neighbors and work colleagues in recent months about the supposedly impending birth of their own daughter. They are said to have killed the woman in order to pass the baby off as theirs.
A passer-by discovered the dead woman on Thursday two weeks ago near the banks of the Rhine at a so-called NATO ramp. After an autopsy, it was determined that the 27-year-old died from external violence. The spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office initially did not provide any information about the possible course of the crime or a possible weapon.
60 police officers are currently working on the case. Investigators also noticed a mysterious fireplace near where the body was found. According to their own statements, the police believe that the fire is connected to the woman’s killing. A police spokesman initially did not provide any further information.