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Wörth am Main: Poster from the Aschaffenburg Criminal Investigation Department (May 2022)
Photo: Nicolas Armer / dpa
Baker's apprentice Klaus Berninger from Lower Franconia died violently around 33 years ago - and the murderer is still unknown to this day. After about two years of new investigations, the police have temporarily stopped their work on the case, as the Lower Franconia police headquarters and the Aschaffenburg public prosecutor announced.
The breakthrough hoped for by the special commission did not materialize. However, senior public prosecutor Jürgen Bundschuh promised: "If there are signs of a new reopening, we will not be afraid to make another attempt to solve the crime."
16-year-old Klaus Berninger from Wörth am Main in the Miltenberg district disappeared on December 20, 1990 after visiting a youth club. Three days later, two walkers found his body in a forest near the small town on the Bavarian-Hesse state border. The teenager's body showed signs of battle. According to what was known at the time, he died as a result of being hit in the neck with a sharp-edged tool.
Notes by TV show
Since spring 2022, the police have been investigating more intensively (read more about the case here). In April 2022, she informed the public about the new investigations by a team of around 20 people and started a large-scale survey of residents. This was followed, among other things, by a search in the forest, during which a knife was found using a metal detector. It is not publicly known whether it could be used as a murder weapon. Wanted posters were also put up.
The police also asked for information about another knife that is said to have belonged to Berninger. The black switchblade bore the inscription “Super-Automatic” and was 20 centimeters long when extended. It has been missing since the teenager's death.
Last June, the police asked the general public for information via the ZDF program “Aktenzeichen XY... Unsolved”. As a result, she received, among other things, a mail-order catalog in which the Berninger knife she was looking for was shown. According to police, it cannot be ruled out that such a knife was used in the crime.
During the investigation, the police focused primarily on the Wörth region. It was always clear that there were people who knew something about the case but had so far remained silent.
There is no statute of limitations on murder, which is why investigators revisit such old cases after a while and evaluate evidence using new methods. The Berninger case is one of a series of “cold cases” that are also tackled from time to time in Bavaria.
»In close contact with Klaus Berninger's family, we were able to show that even after so many years we would not give up and did everything we could to solve the murder of their son and brother. The relatives appreciate this investigative effort,” said police officers Jörg Albert and Detlef Bub from the Aschaffenburg criminal police.
wit/dpa