In the town of Walldürn in the Neckar-Odenwald district, a 37-year-old man and his 23-year-old brother are said to have raped at least three women and held them hostage in his house.
The public prosecutor's office in Mosbach (Baden-Württemberg) suspects that the alleged multiple offender could have taken other women into his power and raped them.
Rudiger Soldt
Political correspondent in Baden-Württemberg.
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“We are investigating at least three cases of particularly serious rape, hostage-taking and dangerous bodily harm.
We don't yet know how many cases there are in total," a spokesman for the Mosbach public prosecutor's office told the FAZ on Friday.
One reason for assuming that it could be a multiple offender is the suspect's professional activity: he worked as a mentor and personality coach and organized "boot camps for personality development".
He is also said to have advertised his sauna as an "oasis of well-being" and given tips on how to improve a disturbed sex life in couples.
He could have met many women through his professional work.
"After our searches and our testimonies, it cannot be ruled out that there could be several more victims," said the spokesman for the public prosecutor's office.
As of October 19, the prime suspect has been in a psychiatric hospital after the magistrate issued a detention order.
His brother is in custody for being an accessory.
The investigative authorities became aware of the case after one of the alleged victims had made an emergency call to a friend on the night of October 19.
The police initially did not make the case public.