The body of Alexander Meisner was discovered 600 metres away from where he murdered a family of three. Photo / Supplied
A clown mask-wearing grandfather murdered a German family of three after breaking into their home.
Alexander Meisner, a 61-year-old Kazakh national and self-styled survivalist, entered the house of the Schulze family in the Rhineland village of Weitefeld in the early hours of April 6, armed with a knife and a firearm.
He killed Nadine Schulze, a 44-year-old employee of a local butcher, after she screamed down the phone for help from police at 3.45am.
Her body was found afterwards, with those of Kai, her 47-year-old husband, and Kilian, the couple’s 16-year-old son. Some of the family members were reportedly found bound with cable ties.
An autopsy revealed that the victims suffered fatal injuries from both gunshot and stab wounds.
Meisner’s body was found 600m away from the crime scene, partially underwater in a river, this week, bringing to an end a four-month-long manhunt.
A firearm, possibly used to commit the murders, was found next to Meisner’s remains.
Detectives said that because the body was badly decomposed, the cause and exact time of death can no longer be determined.
Police do not yet know if Meisner took his own life, died from injuries sustained during the crime, or whether there was another cause of death.
But they do believe they have their killer.
Meisner, who has been nicknamed the “Westerwald Killer” by the German press, was believed to have fled through a window and was the focus of an international manhunt for nearly four months.
Videos on social media of Meisner show him maniacally laughing behind a clown mask in a video posted online on April 26, nearly three weeks after the murders.
Another video posted the same day shows him stripped to his underwear and pouring buckets of ice water over his head.
It is unclear whether the TikTok account was run by Meisner himself or posted on his behalf.
Meisner, a father of five, had previously spent time in prison after headbutting and stabbing his ex-wife.
A spokesman for Koblenz Police said: “Since the overwhelming evidence clearly points to the person who has been sought for months as the perpetrator, and there are no indications of other perpetrators, the investigation comes to an end with the death of the only possible suspect.”
Mario Mannweiler, senior public prosecutor, added: “The fact that the whereabouts of the suspected perpetrator remained unknown for months has troubled us.
“The fact that the suspect is no longer alive was an obvious option for many reasons, but without a body, other options had to be pursued. In any case, I’m relieved that this has now come to an end.”
The body was found on swampy farmland between Weitefeld and Neunkhausen in Altenkirchen, a west German district near the city of Cologne.
Police had issued an arrest warrant for Meisner with a reward of up to €10,000 leading to his capture.
Interpol confirmed that a Red Notice had been issued for his arrest after a request by German authorities. The notice listed his place of birth as Nowokusminka in Kazakhstan.
A physical description issued by authorities described Meisner as 5ft 7in tall, weighing 75kg, of Kazakh descent, with blue-grey eyes, brown hair, scarring on his arms and face, and a tattoo on the back of his left hand that spells “Katja” in Russian.
In 2011, Meisner was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison after attempting to murder his ex-wife, Theresa.
According to reports, during a heated argument 14 years ago, he headbutted her, then pulled a knife from the knife block and stabbed her in the back.
Meisner is said to have run into a shed to grab a second knife and resume the attack, but was stopped by one of his sons.
Theresa managed to escape with non-life-threatening injuries.
His mother, Alwina, 82, who lives in a neighbouring town to Weitefeld, said in an interview three days after the attack that her son had likely gone to ground nearby.
She told Bild newspaper: “Alexander built a house here, he has five children and ten grandchildren. He’s been to prison before. I don’t know what’s going on in his mind.
“No, I won’t let him in if he’s standing at the door and ringing the bell. But I’m almost certain he’s hiding somewhere nearby.”
Melanie Hoechtlen, the suspect’s 46-year-old neighbour, recounted being harassed by Meisner.
She told Bild: “I moved here with my husband in October 2023. I thought he deserved a second chance. He ambushed my dog and me on the path. Then he came close and asked if he could lick me.
“I reported him back then. He said he had been a lone fighter in his homeland of Kazakhstan and knew how to survive in the forest for weeks. I told the tip line that they should search the forest.”
A tribute to the family published by relatives in a council newsletter in May reads: “Incredibly incomprehensible, none of us can and will ever understand. Voices that were familiar to us are silent.
“The people who were always there are no longer here. What remains are happy memories that no one can take away from us.
“In the name of all members of the Sigismund family and the Schulze family. The funeral, with subsequent urn burials, took place in the presence of the closest family and friends.”