The shock of the rare burst of violence was multiplied by its odd circumstances: In a picturesque and normally placid little German city, three bodies lay in a hotel room, each one killed with a
Crossbows, five bodies, two crime scenes and a mystery in Germany
Yesterday, police officers went to search the apartment of the younger woman, in Wittingen, a town in northern Germany. There they found the bodies of two other women, whose ages and causes of death have not been released.
Authorities have not identified any of the five people killed.
Initial autopsy results from the crossbow victims in Passau showed that none of the three had been drinking alcohol or taking other drugs at the time of their deaths. There were no indications that they had offered resistance, Walter Feiler, spokesman for prosecutors in Passau, said.
The crime scene evidence indicates that "the couple in bed were each killed by a shot to the heart," and then more crossbow bolts were fired into their bodies, Feiler said. "The third person, in front of the bed, was killed with a shot to the neck."
The younger woman appeared to have shot the others, prosecutors said, before turning the weapon on herself. Two letters, apparently written by the couple found on the double bed, indicated that the killings may have been a joint suicide, the prosecutors added.
Investigators were trying to determine whether the five deaths were related, and if so, how. Autopsy results for the two women in Wittingen were expected today NZT.
Crossbows are listed as a sporting weapon in Germany and can be bought by anyone 18 or older.
Written by: Melissa Eddy
© 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES