Cops have found seven high-value instruments and papers that potentially confirm ownership of a Stradivarius violin in the home of the murdered world-famous German palaeontologist.
Authorities successfully cracked open the safe in the home of Bernard von Bredow, 62, who was murdered along with his daughter Loreena, 14, in the city of Aregua, which is located in the Central Department in Paraguay, on 22nd October.
Volker Grannass, 58, Yves Asriel Spartacus Steinmetz, 60, and Stephen Jorg Messing Darchinger, 51, all German nationals and ‘friends’ of the victims, were arrested on suspicion of torturing and shooting dead the father and daughter, according to German daily Bild.
The suspects allegedly carried out the gruesome murders so they could steal money and a valuable Stradivarius violin from the victim, who collected antique instruments.
The suspects were not able to crack the safe that was believed to contain the violin and the papers confirming its authenticity and ownership.
The authorities have now opened the safe using welding equipment and a cutting torch, according to Bild.
The safe was found to contain seven violins of high value and several documents that could confirm the authenticity of the Stradivarius and other instruments.
The exact type of instruments and their value has not been confirmed by the authorities.
Stradivarius violins were made by the Italian craftsman Antonio Stradivari in the 17th and 18th centuries, and with just 650 left in the world, they are incredibly valuable, selling for millions.
Four violins believed to belong to von Bredow were recovered from Grannass’ house but he and the other suspects all maintain their innocence.
Grannass told Bild: “The allegations are false. Bernard was a close friend of mine. His family asked me to take valuable instruments from the unsecured home into my care after the crime. That’s why I had the violins with me.”
He added that several witnesses can testify that he was at his hacienda in northern Paraguay when the murders were committed.
Bernard von Bredow was gifted in the sciences, which he taught himself, discovering a whole giant mammoth skeleton near his hometown in Bavaria when he was just 16 years old and restoring an aeroplane at the age of 23 before going on to make violins and write songs, according to Bild.
Following his discovery of the mammoth in 1975, he even founded a prehistoric museum called the ‘Mammutheum’, in the town of Siegsdorf, in the southern German state of Bavaria.
He became an expert in mammoths and even pioneered ways that can help preserve similar finds.
The investigation is ongoing and all three suspects are being held in custody.
