By Jörg Bergmann and Maren Wittge
An idyllic single-family house settlement next to a large forest area in Berlin-Köpenick. The neighbors know each other, it’s peaceful. The body of a pensioner (85) was discovered in her house on Wednesday evening.
Why did the nice old lady have to die, who killed her? The investigators of the 3rd Murder Squad are still puzzled. One thing is clear: Doris S. was killed at home. The police and public prosecutor’s office have not yet said how their killer did it for reasons of investigation tactics – perpetrator knowledge.
A patrol car in front of the elderly woman’s house. Doris S. was killed there Photo: Joerg Bergmann
It was a neighbor who found Doris S., who was living alone, in her pretty house on the road in the forest around 8:40 p.m. She alerted the police and emergency services. Sebastian Büchner, spokesman for the Berlin public prosecutor’s office: “The finding situation indicated that the old lady fell victim to a homicide.”
Forensic technicians secure tracks at the family home at night Photo: Spreepicture
On Thursday morning, homicide detectives and patrol officers were out and about in the street in the forest, questioning neighbors. They were looking for witnesses who made suspicious observations between 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Accordingly, the elderly woman must have been killed during this period. So far there is no trace of the perpetrator.
Doris S. had lived in her yellow-painted house for decades. After the death of her husband, however, she became more withdrawn, and her son had long since left the house. She used to work as a secretary at Humboldt University, her husband was a professor there.
Neighbors tell of a partner with whom she is said to have been together for more than ten years and who often visited her at home. She was frail, and an ambulance stopped in front of the house several times.
Around 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, Doris S. was taken to the forensic medicine department for an autopsy. The investigations are ongoing.