Murder of trans person in 1983: 61-year-old before Hamburg regional court
After more than 43 years, a 61-year-old man is facing trial at Hamburg regional court for a murder committed in 1983. He denies all allegations.
Cold case from Hamburg: defendant rejects murder allegation after 43 years
According to Google News DE — Crime (de), a 61-year-old man from Finkenwerder is currently facing trial at Hamburg regional court, charged with a murder that is said to have been committed in 1983. The case is considered the oldest cold case in which Hamburg police have been able to identify a suspected perpetrator. In November 2025, the defendant was arrested at his flat. He is deaf; two sign language interpreters provide translation in the courtroom.
According to the indictment, the then barely 19-year-old is said to have got into the car of a trans person near the Reeperbahn and driven her to her caravan in Hammerbrook. There he is alleged to have shot her three times and subsequently fled with 200 D-Mark in cash. At the time, police secured DNA traces at the crime scene — only through new technology could these be evaluated decades later, leading to the now-accused man.
At the trial's opening on 17 April, it also emerged that the man was under suspicion once before in the 1980s: in connection with another murder of a 21-year-old woman as well as an attempted murder of a hotelier. In both cases he was acquitted. On Tuesday, the defendant denied all allegations in court: he had never killed anyone.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)