TV manhunt: 19-year-old cold case on "Aktenzeichen XY": Who killed Josef H.?

It is a slow and cruel death that pensioner Josef H.

TV manhunt: 19-year-old cold case on "Aktenzeichen XY": Who killed Josef H.?

It is a slow and cruel death that pensioner Josef H. from Flörsheim am Main in Hesse has to die in the summer of 2003. In an attack, the 86-year-old is tortured to death. To date, the perpetrator or perpetrators have not been caught. But his death should not go unpunished and that is why, almost two decades later, the police are still looking for the person or persons who killed his life.

Josef H. lives alone and withdrawn in his house on Heinrich-Heine-Strasse. The 86-year-old is twice widowed. He used to be an assembly line worker at Opel. Today he is supported in everyday life by neighbors, relatives and a caretaker. On that fateful August 15, 2003, his doorbell rang sometime after 6 p.m. Josef H. is considered very suspicious, which is why the perpetrator or perpetrators probably trick the old man into opening the door for them.

Josef H. is first overpowered in the hallway on the ground floor and then tied up with cable ties on his hands and feet as well as in the neck and mouth area. He is also stabbed in his right breast with a kitchen knife. The pensioner dies in agony from the high blood loss caused by the stab wound and the gag-like and strangling effect of the cable tie. The perpetrator(s) search the apartment and flee. However, it cannot be determined later whether they took anything with them.

On Wednesday evening (8:15 p.m.) the case will be discussed in the ZDF program “Aktenzeichen XY”. The State Criminal Police Office in Wiesbaden hopes that the broadcast will provide new information. Rewards of 23,800 euros have been offered by private individuals and the public prosecutor's office for information leading to the investigation of the crime. Information is accepted under the telephone number 0611/83-8300.

Watch the video: When the police get stuck in a murder case or new approaches are sought in a cold case, Andreas Müller and his team often come into action. He heads the operative case analysis at the LKA NRW. At Crime Day 2022, Müller explained how he reconstructs crimes and creates criminal profiles.

Sources: Hessian Police, Hessian State Criminal Police Office

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