After spending the night with an acquaintance, the 54-year-old disappeared in October 2023. That same acquaintance confessed to the police yesterday that he had buried the woman in a forest. According to the public prosecutor’s office, she died of natural causes in his apartment “without any third-party intervention” and the man wanted to make the body disappear.

He had taken pills and alcohol at the time and was therefore in an impaired state. “He was extremely uncomfortable with the idea that the dead woman might be found in his apartment, so he took her to the nearby forest,” says prosecutor Ulrike Breiteneder. During the interrogation at the time, the man claimed that Christa P. had left his apartment in the morning. During the search, the police did not find any incriminating material, such as large traces of blood.

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Interrogation by the police

Shortly after the crime, the 43-year-old confided in an acquaintance, and recently told another person in his personal circle about the incident. This is how the police found out about it, and they questioned the suspect yesterday. The man confessed and led the officers to the place where he had buried the woman.

Since it is unclear whether the 43-year-old could have contributed anything to saving the woman, he is being charged with “abandoning an injured person” while still at large. He may also be charged with “disturbing the peace of the dead” by burying the body, says Breiteneder. However, this will need to be clarified by more detailed investigations.

For Christa P.’s relatives, the discovery represents sad certainty. An autopsy in the coming days is expected to provide clarity about the exact cause of death.