DE03 - The burned body in the forest

Case name: The burned body in the forest
Case code: 2023-DE03

Facial reconstruction of victim

Aerial photograph of the course of the "Hemecker Weg" road through the wooded area "Bergfeld" in Altena

Tooth jewellery in the form of a diamond-like rhinestone (mass product) with a diameter of approx. 2 mm (on the upper right incisor, tooth 12)

Facial soft tissue reconstruction dated 1998 (further variants of the reconstruction are shown below and might more closely resemble what the unknown woman actually looked like)

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• Date of death (estimated): 1 June 1997
• Date of discovery:  2 June 1997
• Location: Germany: Altena forest area, Altena-Bergfeld, Hemecker Weg.
• Sex: Female
• Estimated year of birth: 1975 - 1979
• Estimated age: Between 18 and 22 years old
• Height: Petite figure, 153-157 cm and weighing about 45 kg
• Skin tone: Fair
• Hair colour: Red-brown to dark
• Eye colour: Dark
• Clothing: The woman was wearing no clothing when she was found. Blue and grey cotton fibres were found which could have belonged to the woman but it is not sure. The woman’s shoe size was 33-35.
• Tattoos, birth marks, scars: Unknown
• Jewellery: On one of the upper incisors (tooth 12), a round adhesive surface was found, which had been professionally applied after etching. The victim probably wore a tooth gem in the form of a diamond-like rhinestone (mass-produced article) with a diameter of approx. 2 mm. Traces in the adhesive surface indicate that the stone was most likely removed as part of the crime.

The case

On Monday 2 June 1997, a naked female body was found in a wooded area in Altena-Bergfeld. The victim had been raped, strangled and then set on fire.

The place where the body was found is not consistent with the place where the crime was committed so it is believed that the victim was moved from an unknown location.

The perpetrator tried hard to eliminate any chance of identification. Checks of the fingerprints taken from the victim were negative.

Characteristics

The woman probably wore a tooth gem, a diamond-like rhinestone (commercially available mass product) on her right upper incisor (tooth 12). It cannot be ruled out that she wore braces until the age of 12. The victim's toenails were painted red.

Contact
If you have any information regarding the possible identity of this person, please contact the German national police via the form below.

You can also contact them and view this case on their national police website.

Identify Me: DE03 - The burned body in the forest

If you have any information regarding the possible identity of this person, please contact the national police.

Contact the German national police