Phantom of Heilbronn

Commemorative marker near the site of Officer Kiesewetter's murder

The Phantom of Heilbronn, often alternatively referred to as the "Woman Without a Face", was a hypothesized unknown female serial killer whose existence was inferred from DNA evidence found at numerous crime scenes in Austria, France and Germany from 1993 to 2009. The six murders among these included that of police officer Michèle Kiesewetter, in Heilbronn, Germany on 25 April 2007.

The only connection between the crimes was DNA, which as of March 2009 had been recovered from 40 crime scenes, ranging from murders to burglaries. In late March 2009, investigators concluded that the "Phantom" criminal did not exist, and the DNA recovered at the crime scenes had already been present on the cotton swabs used for collecting DNA samples; they belonged to a woman who worked at the factory where they were made.[1]

The events were fictionalized in the 6th season episode "Dead Reckoning" of CSI: NY and the 15th season episode "Death Has No Dominion" of Silent Witness.

Investigation

An analysis of the mitochondrial DNA from the samples collected in Austria showed that it was most often found among people in Eastern Europe and neighbouring Russia. This was not discovered in the German investigations as the analysis of DNA may not be used in criminal proceedings to determine personal attributes of a suspect other than sex.

The investigations were concentrated in a special task force "parking lot" at the Heilbronn police department. In January 2009, the reward for clues regarding the whereabouts of the person was increased to €300,000.[2][3]

The existence of the Phantom had been doubted earlier, but in March 2009, the case took a new turn. Investigators discovered the DNA sequence on the burned body of a male asylum-seeker in France - an anomaly, since the sequence was of a female. They subsequently came to the conclusion that the mysterious criminal did not exist and that the laboratory results were due to contamination of the cotton buds used for DNA probing. Although sterile, the swabs are not certified for human DNA collection.[4]

The cotton swabs used by many state police departments were found to have been contaminated before shipping. It was found that the contaminated swabs all came from the same factory, which employs several Eastern European women who fit the type the DNA was assumed to match. Bavaria, although a region central to the crimes, obtained their swabs from a different factory. They had no reports of crimes committed by the Phantom.[5]

Associated crimes

The DNA attributed to the "Phantom" was found at the scene, as well as purportedly at the sites of the following crimes:

Literature

References

  1. ↑ 'DNA bungle' haunts German police (28 March 2009) BBC. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  2. ↑ ""Phantom von Heilbronn" hat es nie gegeben" (in German). News von Morgen. 2009-03-26. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  3. ↑ Q-Tip-Off - Police Fear 'Serial Killer' Was Just DNA Contamination Der Spiegel. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  4. ↑ Himmelreich, Claudia (2009-03-27). "Germany's Phantom Serial Killer: A DNA Blunder". TIME. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  5. ↑ Yeoman, Fran (2009-03-27). "The Phantom of Heilbronn, the tainted DNA and an eight-year goose chase". The Times. Retrieved 2009-03-28.(subscription required)
  6. ↑ Weitere DNA-Spur der "Phantommörderin" (8 April 2008) Rheinische Post (german). Retrieved 15 August 2012.
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