Unexpected twist in a Leipzig cold case
Almost eight years after a gruesome rape in Leipzig's Rosental valley, a burglary has set the investigation in motion. On August 31, 2017, a 69-year-old jogger was attacked in the park, brutally raped and critically injured. Despite intensive investigations, the perpetrator remained undetected - until now.
On February 9, 2025, a burglary at a DIY store in Leipzig-Seehausen triggered an alarm. A man was found on site - with stolen items and hidden between pallets. He gave a saliva sample for identification purposes. This led to a DNA match in an old rape file.
The 33-year-old German is now suspected of having committed a total of five sexual offences - including three offences in Rosental within a few days in August 2017. In addition to the rape, he is alleged to have sexually harassed a woman and assaulted a pensioner. Two further assaults in Leipzig in 2016 and 2017 are also attributed to him.
Missed opportunities and false leads
A special "Rosental" commission investigated until 2019, but was unable to identify the perpetrator. Contradictory descriptions of the perpetrator and a fruitless dragnet let him slip through the net. It was only the cold case commission, which was restarted in 2024, that was able to revive the case - indirectly through the DIY store burglary.
The suspect had previously only attracted attention for shoplifting. An arrest warrant was issued on May 21 and he was arrested the following day. Whether there are other previously unknown victims is currently being investigated.
After the crime in 2017, the police greatly increased their presence in Rosental and advised women not to go jogging alone.
