The Phantom of Heilbronn , often also referred to as "Woman Without a Face", is an unknown hypothetical female assassin whose existence is inferred from DNA evidence found in many crime scenes in Austria, France and Germany. 1993-2009. Six murders among these include the police MichÃÆ'¨le Kiesewetter, in Heilbronn, Germany on April 25, 2007.
The only link between the crime is DNA, which in March 2009 has recovered from 40 crime scenes, ranging from murder to theft. At the end of March 2009, the researchers concluded that the "Phantom" criminals did not exist, and the DNA found at the scene was already on the cotton used to collect DNA samples; they belong to a woman who works in the factory where they are made.
The event is fictional in Season 6 episode "Dead Reckoning" from CSI: NY and the 15th episode of "Death Has No Dominion" from Silent Witness .
Video Phantom of Heilbronn
Investigation
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA from samples collected in Austria suggests that it is most commonly found among people in Eastern Europe and neighboring Russia. This is not found in German investigations because DNA analysis can not be used in criminal proceedings to determine some personal attributes of a suspect other than sex.
The investigation was concentrated in a special "parking lot" task force in the Heilbronn police department. As of January 2009, the prize for guidance on the person's whereabouts was increased to EUR300,000.
The existence of Phantom has been in doubt before, but in March 2009, the case took a new turn. The researchers found a sequence of DNA on the burned body of male asylum seekers in France - an anomaly, because the sequence is female. They then came to the conclusion that the mysterious criminal was absent and that the laboratory result was due to contamination of the cotton buds used for probing DNA. Although sterile, swabs are not certified for human DNA collections.
Cotton swabs used by many state police departments are found contaminated before shipment. It was found that contaminated swabs all originated from the same plant, which employed several Eastern European women who matched the type of DNA deemed suitable. Bavaria, although the area that became the center of crime, obtained swabs from different factories. They have no reports of crimes committed by Phantom.
Maps Phantom of Heilbronn
Related crime
The DNA associated with "Phantom" is found on the scene, as well as in the following crime sites:
- on a cup after the murder of a 62-year-old woman from 25-26 May 1993 in Idar-Oberstein, Germany (DNA analyzed in 2001)
- in a kitchen drawer after the murder of a 61-year-old man on March 21, 2001 in Freiburg, Germany
- on a syringe containing heroin in October 2001 in a wooded area near Gerolstein, Germany
- on the remains of a cake in a trailer that was forcibly opened on the night of October 24, 2001 in Budenheim, Germany
- on a toy pistol after the 2004 Vietnam jeweler robbery in Arbois, France
- on projectiles after a fight between two brothers on May 6, 2005 in Worms, Germany
- on the stone used to break the window, after the theft on October 3, 2006 in SaarbrÃÆ'¼cken, Germany (DNA found and analyzed only in 2008)
- after the March 2007 robbery at an optometrist shop in Gallneukirchen, Upper Austria
- after 20 robberies and the theft of cars and motorcycles between 2003 and 2007 in Hesse, Baden-WÃÆ'¼rttemberg and Saarland, Germany; Tyrol, Austria; and Upper Austria
- on a car used to carry the bodies of three Georgian killed on January 30, 2008 in Heppenheim, Germany (DNA analyzed on March 10, 2008)
- after the theft on the night of March 22, 2008 in an unused public swimming pool in Niederstetten, Germany
- after four cases of home invasions in Quierschied (twice), Tholey and Riol, Germany in March and April 2008;
- after a break-in apartment in Oberstenfeld-Gronau on the night of 9 April 2008
- after a woman's robbery on May 9, 2008 at a club in SaarhÃÆ'¶lzbach
- in a helper car found dead in late October 2008 near Weinsberg, Germany
Literature
- Michel Ferracci-Porri: * Le FantÃÆ'Â'me de Heilbronn ("Phantom of Heilbronn Affairs") Normant Edition, France 2009
References
External links
- The prize for 'ghost killer' reached a record of EUR300.000 , The Local, January 13, 2009
- Allan Hall: 'Woman Without A Face' leaves the German police in the dark, The Age, November 17, 2008
- Ned Temko: The German hunt for the killer known as the 'faceless woman' , The Guardian, 9 November 2008
- Hints of DNA in the hunt for a faceless serial killer , The Daily Telegraph, April 14, 2008
- Tristana Moore: Germany hunts killer ghost , BBC, April 11, 2008
- Phantom of Heilbronn: the killer hunt that leaves the instructions and body (subscription required) The Times, April 10, 2008
- Allan Hall: Police increase search for serial killer, 'faceless woman' , The Scotsman, April 10, 2008
- Roger Boyes: Junkie needles can lead to female serial killer, Irish Independent, June 29, 2007
- Frank Krause: Das Phantom, das vielleicht gar keines ist , Stuttgarter Nachrichten, March 25, 2009
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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