The fire broke out in this guard house in Melchow. Two bodies were discovered Photo: Timo Beurich
By Michael Behrendt and Timo Beurich
A gruesome crime occurred in Melchow (Barnim): An 80-year-old died of burns. Apparently he had murdered his wife of the same age days earlier and hid her in a shed.
On Sunday afternoon, fire broke out in the old gate keeper’s house. The man was recovered and later died in hospital.
Emergency services found the body of a woman in a shed on the property, police spokesman Till Justus Hille said. It is said to be the man’s wife, who had been dead for days.
As the BZ found out on site, the 80-year-old is said to have been malicious to his wife and aggressive to fellow citizens.
Pistols and rifles were found in his house, and it is said to have been prepared with incendiary devices. In the village it is assumed that the man belongs to the Reich citizen milieu.
The fire also disrupted rail traffic on the RE-3 route from Bernau to Eberswalde.
In order not to endanger the firefighters, the power to the overhead lines was switched off. Therefore, replacement buses drove between Bernau and Eberswalde for regional transport. Individual long-distance trains between Berlin and Stralsund were diverted, including ICE trains.