SZ-Magazine: Mr. Dudzus, tell us about the case of your life?
Stefan Dudzus: A woman came to my office in West Berlin in 1986. Let’s call her Mrs. A. Her companion was her lover. A famous Berlin lawyer from the Schicki Micki scene. Let’s call him Mr. S. They were super excited and willing to pay me any amount. They said that Ms. A.’s children had been kidnapped. From their father. We call him Mr. W.
Who was this Herr W.?
A celebrity dentist from Berlin. He had lost custody to his ex-wife A. At that time it was customary for the mothers to receive sole custody. But Mr. W. did not want his children to be exposed to the influence of their new husband, the lawyer Mr. S. So he kidnapped the children.
Why did he want to protect his children from S.?
Mr S. was a notorious lawyer and building contractor in Berlin. He was later involved in a corruption affair and is said to have even commissioned a murder. In West Berlin he was known for crooked things. Once I was in his living room. There was a bowl full of cocaine on the table to greet the guests. But of course I didn’t know any of that when I accepted the job.
“A little illegality can
help to restore legal conditions«
Where did your first lead lead you?
The trail to the child’s father led to the Münsterland. I got a tip that he was in the hospital over there. Apparently he had fallen ill while fleeing with the children. I drove west via the transit route and snuck into the hospital. There Mr. W. lay with a drip in his arm. It was probably just a routine operation. But that’s how I knew he was out of action for now.
Now you had found the kidnapper. But where were the children??
I tracked down Mr W.’s mother. She lived near the clinic where her son was being hospitalized. In Münster I bought a doctor’s coat. I had a sign made by a locksmith that said “Dr. Dudzus” was written. I drove to his mother and pretended to be a doctor. I made up something about his condition and casually asked about the children.
That’s pretty unscrupulous.
In any case. Being a detective is an emotionally tough job. Sometimes you just have to be unscrupulous. A bit of illegality can help restore legal conditions. That’s part of the job. However, Mr. W.’s mother later sued me for this deception, and I had to pay 5,000 Deutschmarks. Rightly so, as I find it today.
Where does this change of heart come from?
From the experience of more than 40 years of investigative work.
Are there things you wouldn’t do?
Families often come to me and say their daughter ran away. Then I always ask first how old the daughter is. Often the answer comes: Over 18. Then I say: I will find your daughter. But then I won’t bring them back to you. If the daughter agrees, then I set up a meeting on neutral ground where I am present. Then father and daughter can talk. But only if the daughter wants it.
Where else do you draw boundaries?
It always depends on the legitimate or legal interest of the client and on the context. People come to me who have seen someone they like. Then they want me to track down this crush. I do. But never say where this person is, where they work or live. The client can write a letter. With a photo of yourself. I’ll hand that over. unique. If nothing comes back, then the customer has had bad luck. Then the other person just doesn’t want any contact and it stays that way. I leave her alone and don’t dig any further. For no money in the world. After all, detectives don’t want to encourage stalkers.
Back to the case of Mr. W. and Mrs. A. Did you find the children through the grandmother?
She told me that the child was in a hospital in Ahlen. So the child had also fallen ill while fleeing. I went. But I was late. After my visit, the grandmother called her son, Mr. W., so she knew that I wasn’t a real doctor. Mr. W. was at the hospital in Ahlen before me and picked up the child. I was back to zero.
Where did you finally track down the children?
My co-workers and I monitored the father and researched his circle of friends. Then we got the information that the children are in Bremerhaven. At the same time, the Picture back then a whole page with the case. Mr. S., the mother’s lawyer and lover, had used his contacts. Then tips came from the public. The police then picked up the children. Mr. W. was later given a suspended sentence for child abduction.
She tracked down the perpetrator at the same time as the police. How are you today with this case?
Mixed feelings. Sure, you can’t kidnap children, not even your own. But in the end things often turn out very differently. The children were brought back to Mrs. A. After two weeks, Mr. S. and her life as parents became too boring. They took the children to their grandparents and didn’t take care of them anymore.
How did you know?
I got to know Mr W. later. He was a serious, hard-working man with an absolutely responsible attitude. He told me his view of things and also reported how his children lived with their grandparents and mother. This was the page I hadn’t seen before. Today I always investigate my clients first so that I don’t get hitched to the wrong cart.
How did things go with those two?
Mr S. fled to South America because of his machinations. Ms A. was picked up in Copenhagen with 250,000 Deutschmarks that she wanted to send him. A few years later, a BKA target search squad found Mr. S. on the Copacabana in Brazil and brought him back to Berlin.
How did things go with the children?
No idea. Once I tracked her down, my case ended.
Why was this case so formative for you?
When I later met Mr. W. in person and we talked, I began to ponder for the first time. Did the court make the right decision to punish Mr W.? Had I contributed to the children being snatched away from an actually good father? Today I am sure: He would have taken good care of her. As far as I know, the mother didn’t do that. Back then I always thought there was right and wrong. He kidnapped the kids, so he was wrong. Today I see the world in a more differentiated way, more in shades of gray, no longer just black and white. In the meantime, I only decide from the children’s point of view who I will hire.
Do you also have cases with happy endings?
Yes, of course. A woman was afraid that her husband was cheating on her on an annual business trip. Every year he flew to the island of Gomera, for the past nine years. I flew after him and observed him. Checked in at the same hotel. Already on the second evening I happened to see him at dawn on his balcony, fully dressed in leather, clamps in his nipples, playing SM games with another woman. His clerk from the tax office, as it turned out later.
Then what did you do?
I traveled back to Berlin and told my client that her husband likes the harder pace of sex and lives it out on Gomera. For her, a world collapsed at first. However, I was able to reassure her and together we devised a plan to save the marriage.
And who was?
We picked her husband up at Tegel Airport together. She wore a complete SM outfit. Her husband’s eyes popped out. Then she said dryly: »We are now waiting for your girlfriend.« When the clerk came out of the airport security, my client greeted her with the words: »I thank you that my husband has always recovered so well in your care, but keep your hands off him from now on. The torments he loves so much he will receive from me in future.« Then she took his hand and said: »We are going to a place that you will like.« The two then have a complete SM under their roof -Location set up – from the St. Andrew’s Cross to the cage. I always say that people need to talk to each other and overcome inhibitions. Unfortunately, many men are too cowardly to do so.
»I fight for the children. It’s okay with me that I’m putting my health at risk.”
Even today you mainly clear up child kidnappings. In addition, on YouTube you are currently calling for donations for a client whose child is believed to have been kidnapped to Albania. Why?
The boy is now four years old. The mother abused him as a child and kidnapped him in March 2022. She is extremely attachment disorder and controls every step of the child. The father is down to earth, a chimney sweep, and desperate. I tracked down the kid in Albania. But the father ran out of money while looking for the child. He can no longer pay the court costs. Now I’m helping him raise funds.
How do you manage not to let these stories get too close to you?
Not at all. I have eleven heart catheters behind me. I’ve already had 19 stents placed. These stories really get me. I fight for the kids. I’m okay with putting my health at risk.
But why do you want to live like this?
There are people who need help, and I’m just pretty good at my job as a detective. It’s like playing chess with an opponent who is already five moves ahead with the white pieces. I love the challenge. I feel needed and when I have successfully completed my job, that fulfills me. That’s why I don’t want to stop just yet.
When did you first think: I want to be a detective?
This is not a decision you make when choosing a career after high school. I cleared up my first unnatural death when I was twelve years old. I grew up in a housing estate in Berlin Wedding. One day there was a dead cat in front of our house. That pissed me off. I wanted to know who ran her over. My brother and I put on corduroy vests, grabbed flashlights and played Sherlock Holmes.
Were you successful?
We roamed the settlement for two days. We checked the tires of each car. And then we found a wagon covered in blood and bits of animal fur.
Did you then tell your parents about the success of your search?
No. We busted the valves and let the air out of the tires. The thrill and adrenaline in blood can be addictive.