German Businessman’s Daughter Killed In Botched Kidnapping: Kidnappers Found After Police Raid [Video]
The daughter of a German businessman was killed in a botched kidnapping, authorities said today. The daughter, known only as Anneli-Marie R., disappeared around 7:30 p.m. on August 13 while walking her dog and riding her bike. According to the Daily Mail, the kidnappers contacted her father at 7:57 p.m., demanding a 1 million Euro ransom. However, after negotiations fell apart, authorities believe the teenager was killed, citing that the men panicked because they were caught on camera without masks.
While talking to the kidnappers, and pleading for his daughter’s life, the unfortunate businessman heard the screams of his terrified daughter before she was killed. The businessman, whose name hasn’t been revealed, also wrote a letter to the kidnappers holding his daughter hostage, writing, “You should know we will fulfil your demands in order to be able to take our child in our arms again.”
Body of missing German teen found after kidnappers demand $1.2 million #Dateline http://t.co/eTcvS3fFo1 pic.twitter.com/Tic05l273V
— Dateline NBC (@DatelineNBC) August 18, 2015
The following day, August 14, the kidnappers contacted the businessman again, demanding the businessman to transfer the money to an online bank account. The family did not hear from the men again. The businessman waited four days for his daughter to return safely, telling her, “Anneli, we miss you, we are with you.” The Mirror reports that despite the best efforts by German police, who hunted for Anneli using sniffer dogs and a heat-seeking helicopter, she was discovered to have been killed.
Her body was found Monday in a forested area. Dresden police president Dieter Kroll told reporters, “All the prayers and hopes went unanswered and she is indeed dead.” The teen’s distraught parents are being cared for by a police psychologist, reports the Mirror.
Erste Festnahme im Entführungsfall der 17-jährigen Anneli-Marie R. http://t.co/HsIGWDgcl8 pic.twitter.com/nqpIb1M5pE
— sächsische.de (@saechsischeDE) August 17, 2015
The two people believed to have kidnapped and killed the daughter are now in police custody after a raid by armed authorities. The Mirror reports that one man was in Dresden, while the other was in a town in Bavaria. One alleged kidnapper, named Markus B., is 39 and unemployed, while the other man, Norbert K., is a 61-year-old factory worker. Both have been charged with murder, and, according to the Daily Mail, one of the men has admitted “he bundled her into his car last Thursday evening.” In accordance with German law, the full names of the victim and her killers have not been released.
Authorities assert that the daughter was not chosen randomly. In fact, at least one of the men probably knew her by sight after studying Anneli’s Facebook page, reports the Daily Mail.
[Image credit: Johannes Simon/Getty Images]
