A 57-year-old man who fatally strangled and sexually abused a 16-year-old schoolgirl in 1993 has removed his ankle tag and gone on the run just before he was due to start his life term.
Nicole Schalla of the city of Dortmund in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia was on her way home from her boyfriend’s house when Ralf Hoerstemeier followed her as she got off the bus.
He grabbed her from behind and a struggle ensued that lasted five to eight minutes before she passed out from being strangled. He then undressed her, tearing off her underwear, before sexually abusing her.
The incident took place 30 metres (98 feet) from the bus stop and only a few hundred metres from her parents’ house in Dortmund on 14th October 1993.
Later advances in technology would match DNA found at the crime scene to Hoerstemeier of the city of Muenster, which ended with the Dortmund Regional Court sentencing him to life imprisonment in January this year (2021).
Protesting his innocence, he appealed the judgement. However, it was eventually ruled as final this Monday (20th December). He disappeared the next day.
Hoerstemeier had spent two years behind bars, but he was not taken back to prison after his appearance in court on Monday, as the judiciary ruled he had already reached his custody time limit.
He was sent away with an ankle tag to await his prison summons. However, he removed the device and left it along with his mobile phone in an industrial park at around 8.10pm on Tuesday.
The police searched all addresses linked to the guilty man, but determined that he and his fiancee had gone on the run. They now believe he had long been planning his escape.
They have alerted the public to the man’s disappearance, believing he probably fled by car or train.
Co-prosecutor Dr Arabella Pooth was quoted in German daily Bild as saying: “It is gratifying that the judgment is finally final. It was to be expected, however, that the accused and now convicted would not start life imprisonment voluntarily.
“Therefore, I still believe that Ralf Hoerstemeier should have remained in custody even after the verdict. Nor can I explain to my clients that their daughter’s killer is gone now. It’s a nightmare.”
