Cold case solved: US soldier in court for the murder of a student!

Cold case solved: US soldier in court for the murder of a student!

Almost five decades after a cruel crime that left the whole of Germany in suspense, the legal clarification is getting closer. A former US soldier is the focus of the investigation into the murder of 18-year-old student Cornelia Hümmer. Her tragic fate occurred on April 20, 1978 in Kolitzheim, where she was killed with 14 stab wounds. A case that remained in the dark for many years and could only be revived through modern DNA technologies, as Radiogong reports.

The defendant, now 70 years old, has been charged in the Schweinfurt regional court since January 2023. The prosecution is demanding a life sentence and points to incriminating DNA evidence found on the victim's clothing. This evidence is considered crucial to the case, which gained new momentum when the investigation was reopened in 2009. At that time, the victim's stockings were sent for forensics, which allowed the defendant's DNA to be successfully identified decades later.

A fateful secret

The relationship between the defendant and Cornelia Hümmer is often described as an affair. According to reports, the young student threatened to tell her family and the accused's wife about her pregnancy, which may be seen as a motive for the murder. The defendant himself has been married several times since then, and one of his ex-wives is said to have revealed to him in the 1990s that he was involved in the murder, further underlining the seriousness of the allegations [InFranken].

The case is an example of how cold case programs around the world can help solve mysterious crimes. The latest developments in DNA analysis make it possible to obtain valuable results even with older and supposedly unsuitable traces. This has led to successful investigations not only in this specific case, but also in other violent crimes, as highlighted by the National Institute of Justice.

The path to justice

The process has already begun and includes a total of six days of negotiations. The co-prosecution, which represents the victim's family, agrees with the position of the public prosecutor's office, while the defendant vehemently denies all allegations and has not yet commented on the allegations. Today's hearing will provide evidence in the assessment of the case. As more details come to light, it becomes clear how difficult it is to achieve justice for victims of cold cases.

It remains to be seen how the process will continue and whether a final resolution of the case is within reach. One thing is certain: the murder of Cornelia Hümmer casts a long shadow, and the search for answers has never completely stopped, despite the decades.