Murder trial begins 41 years after the crime in Ulm

More than 41 years after the violent death of a woman, the trial against the alleged perpetrator begins next week in Ulm. The 70-year-old will be in front of the regional court from Tuesday. The public prosecutor's office accuses him of murder, the court announced. In 1985, the defendant is said to have raped and killed the then 31-year-old woman. The case remained unsolved until new evidence and a comparison of genetic traces confirmed the suspicion against the now accused last year.

According to the investigation, the man took the woman in his car and drove her to a forest path near Deggingen (Göppingen district). He is said to have choked his victim during the rape. He then allegedly hit her in the head several times with a stone. In addition, it cannot be ruled out that he ran over the woman with his car, according to the public prosecutor's office.

The woman's body was naked and her legs were tied. Walkers discovered them next to a forest path in Deggingen. The crime remained unsolved for decades.

Extensive investigative work then led to a breakthrough in the unsolved case. A DNA trace secured in 1985 may have been decisive. At the beginning of November 2025, there was a search at the suspect's home during which, according to the public prosecutor's office, numerous pieces of evidence were confiscated.

Their evaluation, a reassessment of existing evidence, a forensic medical report and the comparison of the DNA traces supported the suspicion.

According to the prosecution, the 70-year-old was arrested in mid-April without resistance. On the same day, a judge ordered pre-trial detention. Six days of hearings are scheduled for the trial. A verdict could come on November 11th.