The 47-year-old strangled his wife, dismembered her body and hidden her in luggage. He threw the suitcase into the Geeste River, which flows through Bremerhaven and flows into the Weser.
The defendant's mother, who was only listed as a witness, surprisingly took the blame several times and stated that she had killed her son's partner. The mother's statements contradicted the rest of the evidence and constituted a "rescue attempt" to save her son from conviction.