The police have found the remains of a woman in the basement of her ex-boyfriend, who was jailed for life for her murder two and a half years ago.
Anna Smaczny’s corpse was found behind a second basement wall in the building of her former partner Michael S., aged 48, in the German city of Krefeld, in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on Monday, 14th March.
Michael S., who was found guilty of her murder, had already served 11 years for murdering a previous partner, his wife, in 1998, and the German authorities had launched an extensive search for his last known victim Anna after he offered to reveal the location of her corpse in exchange for being allowed to be present when it was recovered and during the autopsy. His offer was refused.
The 35-year-old woman from the German city of Gelsenkirchen and Michael S. met via a dating portal and maintained an on-and-off relationship since summer 2018.
The two reportedly often argued, as Anna refused to agree to a monogamous relationship with the 48-year-old man.
She was last seen before heading to his apartment in the city of Krefeld, after which she was reported missing, in June 2019.
Michael S., who was the prime suspect, despite the police’s failure to locate the victim, initially denied the crime.
However, he was sentenced to life in prison after authorities found video footage of him defiling her body on his hard drive in December 2020.
The footage, in which Anna’s head was covered with a bag, also showed her half-naked corpse lying on the floor.
The German newspaper Bild revealed that a few weeks before her body was discovered, the murderer had contacted Anna’s relatives and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
He then offered to reveal the location of the corpse, but only if the authorities allowed him to be present during the recovery and the autopsy.
His request and offer were refused by Essen Public Prosecutor Dr Sonja Huppe, who ordered a detailed search of his premises, with Anna’s body being found on Monday, 14th March 2022.
After recovering the woman’s body and determining that she had most likely been choked to death, Huppe said yesterday (Tuesday, 15th March): “Today’s autopsy has confirmed the identity of the missing woman.”
The convicted murderer had previously served 11 years for killing his ex-wife, name not reported, after stabbing her 120 times to death after she left him in 1998.