London: Police in Northern Ireland have arrested two men in the death of a German backpacker 30 years ago, after much-publicised appeals on the anniversary of the teenager’s death yielded a break in one of the region’s most notorious unsolved murders.
The men, aged 58 and 61, were arrested in connection with the death of 18-year-old Inga Maria Hauser, whose body was found in 1988 in a remote part of Ballypatrick Forest in County Antrim two weeks after she was last seen alive on a ferry from Scotland.
Genetic profile
Police have the genetic profile of a man linked to the case, but previous DNA screenings failed to produce a definitive match.
A number of years ago, in one of the largest DNA screenings ever undertaken in the UK, 2,000 samples failed to produce a definitive match.
Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray renewed his appeal for information on Monday, saying “it’s time to tell us what you know.”
Hauser, 18, from Munich, went missing after she arrived in Larne on a ferry from Scotland on 6 April 1988.
Prior to her death, Hauser had travelled through England and Scotland and, according to diary entries, intended to travel south to Dublin when she docked at Larne, Co Antrim.
But for reasons as yet unexplained, she ended up going in the opposite direction and was found dead in remote woodland two weeks later.
It is understood the IRA carried out its own investigation into the killing 30 years ago.
It is believed republican paramilitaries had considered passing information about the alleged murderer to the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) at the height of the Troubles (ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland during the late 20th century) — but did not follow through.
Arrest
Police renewed their appeal for information last month — the 30th anniversary of the murder.
Detectives said in April that they believed a number of people may have been involved — either directly in the murder or in the subsequent cover-up, and said they only need fractional pieces of evidence to bring the chief suspects to justice.
On 1 May, police said they had received the results of further DNA testing.
On Monday, Murray renewed his appeal for information.
'It's not too late'
"If there are any witnesses still out there with any further information which might help police, then I would ask them to come forward now and speak to detectives," he said.
"Even if there are people who know what happened but have stayed silent out of friendship or family loyalty, it is still not too late to come forward and tell us what you know."
"Failure to do so can be a criminal offence in itself and surely it would be better to come to police and discuss what happened rather than take the risk we will come to you."
After Monday’s arrests, the officer leading the investigation, Chief Superintendent Murray, renewed his appeal for information.
Police believe Hauser died shortly after she arrived in Northern Ireland, having been subjected to "a vicious and ruthless assault".
Murray warned the killers that the net was closing.
“We are investigators and we keep an open mind but the evidence and the information and the intelligence that we have to date has led us to focus on a very, very small number of individuals,” he told the Belfast Telegraph.
Murray confirmed that all the suspects were still alive, though he declined to confirm whether they still lived in the north Antrim area.
“They will know who they are,” he said.
About victim's family
Murray recently travelled to Munich to brief Hauser’s sister on developments. Hauser's father Josef is now dead and her mother Almut is battling illness.
“Her father died and her mother in her illness still doesn’t know who killed their daughter when she came to visit our land,” said Murray.
“At a time when a lot of people wouldn’t come – she did and she ended up paying for that with her life.”
The victim was wearing a distinctive floral dress and carrying a blue rucksack and a sleeping bag cover with a USAF badge on it.
