45 years after the violent death of a young woman from Kolitzheim in southern German Bavaria, the possible perpetrator has been found with the help of DNA material. A 69-year-old man from Nebraska has been arrested in the United States. This is reported by the public prosecutor in Schweinfurt. At the time, the suspect was stationed in Bavaria as a 24-year-old soldier.
In April 1978, the body of an 18-year-old woman was found on a hill near Kolitzheim, a municipality of 5,000 inhabitants. The body of student Cornelia Hümpfer showed no less than 14 stab wounds in the back and neck. The suspicion that the perpetrator could be from the US military arose early on: a witness had seen a vehicle with an American license plate near the location.
Yet the case remained unsolved for decades. For a long time, detectives had their sights on a man who had had an affair with Hümpfer, Tommy Molina. He was questioned five days after her body was found, but denied having anything to do with the case. He said he was with his wife that evening, who incidentally could not remember anything about that evening. The fact that the description of the spotted car matched the Fiat 124 that Molina owned at the time did not help either.
In 1995, Molina’s third wife contacted the US Army because – according to her – he had confessed to murder several times while drunk. Molina allegedly told his wife to have killed a German girl with a knife. The girl was pregnant by him and threatened to tell Molina’s wife at the time. After the warning from Molina’s third wife, he was arrested in 1996. However, during interrogations he continued to deny, after which he was released due to lack of evidence. However, the file of Hümpfer’s murder was never closed.
Thanks to advances in forensic technology, experts from the German State Criminal Investigation Department succeeded in isolating DNA traces on Hümpfer’s clothing. Molina then had to donate blood for the research in 2020. It led to a match with the victim’s tracks. The American former soldier was then arrested in Nebraska on June 21 on the basis of an international arrest warrant. He is now awaiting extradition to Germany.
If Molina is extradited, he must answer to the judge for the murder. If found guilty, he could face at least 15 years in prison. However, a date for his hearing has not yet been set.
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