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i "Scugog's Community Newspaper of Choice" 18 - PORT PERRY STAR - Wednesday, May 25,1994 io Teen slaughtered his family for the money CRIME FLASHBACK Max HAINES Crime Flashback hoever coined the phrase that crime doesn't pay never heard of the Metzmann case. Let's go back to 1987, to the famed German wine country on the eastern slopes of the Palatinate Mountains, to the tiny village of Lambrecht. Among the wealthiest inhabitants of Lambrecht was the Metzmann family. Willi, the head of the family, was a self- made millionaire. He had started out as a mechanic and ended up owning a prosper- ous welding equipment company. Willi's wife of 26 years, 48-year-old Renate, worked at her husband's business, as did their 19- year-old son Kai and 25-year-old daughter Silke. They all lived in a luxurious home, complete with expensive cars in the drive- way and an extensive riding stable. The tranquil life of this successful family was shattered forever on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 24, 1987. On that bitterly cold morning, Kai Metzmann lurched into the village's police station and blurted out, "My folks are all dead." The boy was near col- lapse. Officers comforted the lad as best they could before rushing out to the Metzmann residence. Once there, they real- ized their limitations in handling the first multiple murder ever to take place in their village. They summoned experienced homi- cide detectives from the closest city. Inside the Metzmann residence, police found Willi's body in the master bedroom about 12 feet from the bed. On the bed lay the body of his wife Renate. Silke's body was found in the study. Renate had been shot in the forehead with a 30-calibre rifle. After death she had been stabbed three times with a sword and eight times with a kitchen knife. She had then been beaten about the head with a rifle butt. Police believed Renate had been shot and attacked while she slept. Willi had been shot six times with the same weapon and stabbed with a sword which had gone directly through his body. Silke had been shot twice in the chest, after which she had received a total of over 40 stab wounds inflicted by knife and sword. The estimated time of death for all three victims was between mid- night and two in the morning. Detectives examining the murder scenes and the entire house found large sums of money and jewellery lying about. Obviously robbery had not been the motive for the triple murder. Kai told investigators that he had arrived home from a party in Neustadt in the morn- ing and had walked in on the slaughtered remains of his entire family. Detectives were sympathetic, but were taking nothing for granted. They noted the names of the other young people who had attended the same party as Kai. Within hours, at least a half dozen teenag- ers told police that Kai and his best friend, Jurgen Lischer, hadn't left the party until 8:30 in the morning. Apparently, the party had been quite a blast, with drugs and liquor available in seemingly unlimited quantities. At least 50 young people had attended. The statements of the party goers, some of whom didn't know Kai that well, effectively eliminated him as a suspect in his family's murder. Detectives learned that on the way up the entrepreneurial ladder, Willi Metzmann had stepped on a few toes. Boris Andower, a for- mer competitor in the welding business, held a grudge against Willi. He had gone into bankruptcy some years carlier and had always blamed his rival for the demise of his business, although as far as the police could ascertain, Willi had nothing to do with Boris' business failure. Another man, Karl Bursch, had been a foreman in Boris' firm. When the business closed down, he lost his job. He too blamed Willi for his misfortune. Both men were thoroughly investigated. Although they admitted threatening Willi, they swore they were not involved in the murders When Boris' home was searched, police found a 30-calibre rifle with blood on the stock. Boris explained away the blood with the unlikely tale that he had killed a chicken in his garage and no doubt had gotten blood on the stock at that time. The weapon was confiscated and the blood analyzed. Well, son of a gun, the blood on the stock turned out to be chicken blood. In time Boris Andower and Karl Bursch were absolved of all complicity in the crime. Officials believed that it was quite possible that the murders would never be solved. The motive was a mystery. Nothing had been taken from the home. The two men who might have sought revenge, no matter how unfounded, were innocent of any involvement. The murder weapons -- sword, kitchen knife and rifle, had been in the house at the time of the murders and had been carried away by the killers. Police couldn't figure out why they would take away the weapons. Detectives reconstructed the crime. From the evidence, it appeared that two killers were involved. They either had a key to the house or had picked the lock to one of the doors. All the occupants had been asleep. The killers entered the master bedroom and shot Renate as she slept. Willi jumped out of bed and was brought down as he attempted to advance towards his adversaries. The intruders must have pounced on the already dead victims with sword, kitchen knife and rifle butt. Silke, in her bedroom down the hall, must have heard the shots. She ran out of her bedroom into the study and locked the door. While she frantically attempted to phone police, her killers broke down the door and shot her dead. When found, she was beside the telephone, which was lying out of its cradle. The killers then left the house, removing all the murder weapons. The reconstruction was no doubt accurate, but did little to reveal the identity of the kill- ers. More in desperation than for any other reason, investigators decided to recheck Kai Metzmann. After all, he stood to gain his parents' complete fortune. The young people who had been at the wild party were questioned again. This time, several admitted that by 10 p.m. eve- ryone was so high on drugs that they had no idea if Kai or Jurgen had been at the party between 11:30 p.m. and 2:30 a.m. Originally, they had been asked if the two suspects had left the party. At that time they had truth- fully stated that they hadn't seen Kai or Jurgen leave. Now, with their negative statements, police realized that both young men could have left the party, committed the murders and returned to the party with- out being missed. Kai was picked up and questioned. His main interest was to confirm that under the German Juvenile Criminal Code the maxi- mum sentence for murder for a 19-year-old was 10 years imprisonment with the distinct possibility of parole after five years. Once assured of the law, Kai confessed, implicat- ing his friend Jurgen. They had left the party, killed the Metzmann family, and had returned to the party. They were not missed. The motive was cold, hard cash. Kai was tired of working for his father. He wanted his freedom from family ties and his par- ents' money in order to live as he saw fit. Jurgen confessed and corroborated Kai's version in every detail. He had agreed to take part in the murders in return for a por- tion of the inheritance. The two killers led police to the Speyer River, where they had tossed the rifle, sword and knife. All the weapons were recovered. In Jan. 1988, Kai Metzmann and Jurgen Lischer pleaded guilty to premeditated mur- der and were sentenced to 10 years juvenile detention. Both have since been paroled. Kai Metzmann, released at the age of 24, is the richest young killer in Germany. RT ETC GE ee eS SR a Ro i 1 hi