Nearly three decades after finding the body of a murder victim in the waters of the island of Heligoland, German police released new information and a first photo in order to verify the identity of the man named “the master”. for his smart outfit. Investigators at Staffordshire and Plymouth Marjon universities, in collaboration with the German Police Academy in Lower Saxony and the charity Locate International, are working together on the cold case to uncover the man’s name and bring his killers to justice. Following the exhumation of the man’s body last December, they were able to isolate the full DNA profile of the 45- to 50-year-old man and are currently checking it in international DNA databases, police in Wilhelmshaven in northern Germany said on Thursday. An ongoing isotope analysis could eventually confirm whether the man lived in the British Isles before his body was dumped in the North Sea, researchers suspect. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am The body was retrieved from the sea by a border guard boat on July 11, 1994, 20 km off Eligoland, but police believe the body may have traveled in the water some distance away. “He could have been abducted by a ship or even up there [from] Great Britain, that’s definitely possible, “said Karsten Betters of the Lower Saxony Police Academy. An autopsy at the time showed signs of blunt violence on the head and upper body of a nearly 2-foot (6-foot-5-inch) man who had suffered while still alive. Each cast-iron shoe weighed 3 kilograms, police said. Photo: Wilhelmshaven Police Inspectorate Another indication of criminal activity was the two cast iron shoes, weighing 3 kilos each, which were attached to the man’s body to burden him, as revealed for the first time by the police. Made in the 1920s or 1930s, the two women’s shoes embossed the AJK, the trademark of Bristol-based AJ Jackson. Police also released the brand of the man’s tie for the first time, saying it was produced by Marks & Spencer for the English-speaking and French-speaking markets, which at the time of the man’s disappearance extended to Canada. The suspicions that the characteristic green, yellow and blue stripes indicated that the man belonged to a specific organization had not been confirmed, police said. German police are seeking further information about the man’s possible identity from the public, after receiving more than 50 pieces of information since he addressed the press in February. The striped woolen tie and leather Church & Co Ltd shoes the gentleman wore when he left the North Sea. Another reason that has been made public again is to correct the misleading nickname “owner” of the victim, which was based on his elegant dress and expensive shoes. “Against the background of the latest information, this impression must be relativized,” police said. The M&S tie was a mass-market product and the shoes had previously been repaired and may have been purchased second-hand, they said. “It cannot necessarily be assumed that the deceased was rich,” German police said in a statement.
