Appeal for witnesses launched

Body without a head had been lying in a Viennese cellar for 25 years

This is what the victim was wearing 25 years ago at the time of the murder. The police are asking for information.

(Bild: LPD wien)

It was a huge shock for the construction workers who discovered human remains in a plastic bag during a cellar renovation in Vienna-Margareten in the spring. They found the head under a 20-centimeter layer of rubble. It has now emerged that the body was buried here 25 years ago. 

A gruesome discovery gave people the shivers in April. During renovation work in a cellar in Bräuhausgasse in Vienna-Margareten, workers noticed a black plastic bag with a penetrating stench coming from it. Inside was a decomposed corpse without a head. They alerted the police. A short time later, the crime scene experts discovered the skull under a 20 centimeter high protective layer.

Investigators from the Vienna State Office of Criminal Investigation reconstructed the possible course of events. According to them, there is said to have been a fierce fight between the victim and the murderer. Deep cuts on the arms and hands indicate signs of defense. The killer had also stabbed his victim numerous times in the neck from behind. These were ultimately fatal.

1.70 meters tall and slim
The Vienna State Office of Criminal Investigation, LEHNER Group, has been conducting extensive investigations into the case since the body was found. Since then it has been established that it was a man aged 30. He is said to have been 1.70 meters tall and had been in the cellar for 25 years. According to the police, the unknown victim also had perfect dentition.

(Bild: LPD Wien)

(Bild: LPD Wien)

(Bild: LPD Wien)

However, the criminalists are still in the dark as to the motive and identity of the dead man. Despite international police cooperation and database checks, the identity of the unknown man could not be established. The criminal investigation department is now appealing for information from the public. By order of the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, pictures of the man's seized clothing have been published.

"In this context, we are asking for information that can be linked to a previously unexplained disappearance or a (questionable) absence of a person who matches the above facts and description. In particular, people should also be contacted whom the unknown perpetrator may have confided in in the years since the crime," the Vienna police said on Tuesday. 

Relevant information is requested (also anonymously) directly from the Vienna State Criminal Police Office on 01-31310-33800 and will be accepted at any police station.