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Section Two The Canadian Statesman, Bowman ville, Wednesday, May 25,1994 9 Max , HAINES •r K w 'Vi,.;. • ..■SiV - ' •? :.i. . • jfe. % ; ; ! ' s?|;. à '■ ; Ï ■ : v W • ! v -It ï - ■ 2 Ik : ' M k La % ¥ 1:: Crime Flashback atharinà Kornagcl lived in the small German town of Wagen im Allgaeu. The 70-year-old overweight Katharina planned to spend the rest of her life in relative tranquillity. Things didn't work out that way for her, but that's getting ahead of our story. In 1987, Katharina lived in a flat on the first floor.of her building. She had resided, there for years, ever since her mother had died and left her a small fortune. Everyone in the building liked good- natured Katharina. Maria and George Weh, who lived a couple of floors up from her, were dear friends. So was Brigitte Scherer, who often spent pleasant afternoons afternoons sipping white wane with Katharina. For the past five years, Katharina had employed 33-year-old Erwin Spengler as her chauffeur. She had decided it was too tough walking everywhere, so she purchased purchased a second-hand Mercedes and hired Erwin at the same time. She explained to her friends that both parties were happy with the arrangement. She now was able to take comfortable trips for à few days at a time and Erwin, who didn't have a vehicle vehicle of his own, could use the Mercedes when he wasn't chauffeuring his boss. Within months, Erwin, who was grossly overweight himself, was not only Katharina's chauffeur, but her best friend as well. On Jan. 18, 1988, Erwin walked into the police station in Wagen im Allgaeu and reported Katharina Kornagel missing. According to Erwin, he had driven his boss to the train station station on Dec. 11 and hadn't heard from her since. She had left for Bremen to visit relatives and friends, but it wasn't like her to stay away so long. Police decided to take a look inside Katharina's flat. What they found added credence to Erwin's concern for his employer. There was a small brown crusty stain in the front hall, which at first glance looked ominously ominously like dried blood. Plants in the flat had snivelled and died during Katharina's prolonged absence. Her washing machine was full of wet clothing. The general appearance of tlie flat indicated the occupant had left hurriedly. The stain in the hall turned out to be blood which had been there for well over a month. Laboratory technicians meticulously checked the flat. They found that someone had cleaned the bathroom with hydrochloric acid. The taps, sink and particularly the bathtub had been scrubbed with the acid. Pipes leading from the bathtub were taken up and examined. They were clean. Police estimated several gallons gallons of hydrochloric acid were used to eliminate any foreign material which might have been forced down the drain.. Whoever had worked with the acid must have worn rubber gloves and a mask. Of course, the horrible thought that someone had murdered Katharina and dissolved her body parts was uppermost in the minds of the police. Was it possible possible that a 200-pound woman could be disposed of in such a manner? Detectives studying the scene felt it was not only possible, but that Erwin Spengler was the logical suspect. Erwin was taken into custody and questioned. He admitted that up until that past December he had been extremely short of funds, but was flush with cash from around Christmas on. Erwin told his interrogators he had hit a lucky streak at the casino in Baden-Baden. Unfortunately, no one could recall a big winner of Erwin's conspicuous description description at the time he claimed to have won at the roulette wheel. Friends and relatives of Katharina's in Bremen had never expected a visit from her, nor had she arrived in their city. Erwin had to backtrack. lie now said he had dropped Katharina off at the station and had assumed she was going to Bremen. It was always possible she had gone elsewhere. Under pressure to account for his new and sudden supply of monev, Erwin admitted his winning streak at roulette was V, ; », ' ,:n" w zv: l I# \ ...... i I / ws. ! * ".'avY : ■ : V -- -■ < -L;. • ,1; St).; I WJv ! J*K \ .«,•%- 1 <». :■ : 'J.i I f" 1 •" ■ ; .. . ' A : v IT j/M 1 m ê H. x . f WÆ&r ki \' 1 ji 'I | 7 . . | I i ; û vï%qyf' t'fê v, \ |.i> '"Be'!! ,§* \\ , } i VS 1 -.. ji. Û-. ■ V ' " ' r | I t ' -» ^ # I < v À' IwWW.liü^H f# 3 'ij: ■ r: 'A" ■; i < ..... ' r ■ .v; ' 'ïr»"V • • y '.ip'" ^ . ' "'J*■ /. A ■■ ' ^. v ■ : : -- I L a fabrication. He came into his money honestly enough. Katharina had given him two signed blank cheques and he had merely filled in the amounts. She had given him the money because he needed to pay off debts. Besides, he and Katharina were very good friends. Police traced the cheques and had the signatures examined. examined. They were disappointed when the signatures on both cheques proved authentic. Police were stymied. Katharina had signed those cheques all right. If she had been forced to sign them, she could have stopped payment if she so desired. There was also the matter of a motive. Why would Erwin want to kill Katharina? He wasn't mentioned in her will, a fact he knew very well. Was the disappearance of a wealthy woman related to the e hydrochloric acid in her bathtub? While detectives were pondering how they could nail Erwin, an unsettling series of mail was received by Katharina's friends. Marfa and George Weh received a postcard postcard from Bremen, apparently signed by Katharina. Brigitte Scherer received one the following week from the Canary Islands. It too appeared to be signed by the missing woman. Other occupants of the building also received cards. The signatures were checked by police. They were all different different and none was genuine. Who was sending postcards from different places in the world to Katharina's friends? For sure it wasn't Erwin Spengler. He was resting not so comfortably in the town jail. Detectives thought perhaps (he writer was someone who had lived in Katharina's building building and had moved out or gone on a long vacation, but such was not the case. The senior citizens who occupied the flats were of the staid variety. No one had moved out and no one had taken a vacation. 1 , It was left to one officer to come up with the solution to this minor mystery. He checked out men who had been in jail with Erwin and had been released. Of the six men who fell into tliis category, four were traced. One lived in Bremen and one had visited the Canary Islands. Both men were taken into custody and both admitted they had sent the postcards. They explained that while they were in jail, Erwin had given them the names and addresses of people who had lived in Katharina's building. He had even provided them with a bit of personal information about Katharina and her neighbors so the cards would have an authentic ring to them: When Erwin was faced with this evidence, he claimed he was being framed. He said he had overheard the men planning planning a robbery. They were telling lies about him so he would be executed and silenced forever. Detectives had come to the end of their rope. They were positive their man had killed Katharina Kornagel and disposed disposed of her body down the bathtub drain with the aid of hydrochloric acid. Despite their suspicions, they had n<> :. <y and no motive. To the investigators, it appeared Erwin would be better off with Katharina alive. After all, he was gainfully employed by a generous boss and the use of the Merced* was a pleasant perq of the job. Police theorized the murder had been a spontaneous one. No doubt an argument had taken place which had culminated culminated in murder. Erwin had had over a month to clean up the evidence before strolling into the police station. Had he concentrated concentrated so much on cleaning up the bathroom area with hydrochloric acid that he had overlooked the brown stain in the hall? Murderers have been known to make such mistakes. mistakes. The unsuccessful attempt to create the impression that Katharina was alive by having his former cellmates send postcards to acquaintances was just plain stupid. Still and all, the prosecution was going to trial with a weak case -- no motive, no murder weapon, no witnesses and no body. Despite the shortcomings in the prosecution's case, the German jury brought in a guilty verdict. Erwin collapsed and had to be carried from the courtroom when he was sentenced sentenced to life imprisonment.