Asunción – Was it or wasn’t it?
After the torture murder of the German scientist and violin maker Bernard von Bredow († 62, photo) and his daughter († 14, photo) in Paraguay, three German suspects were brought before the judge. They reaffirmed their innocence.
The public prosecutor considers Volker G. (58) to be the mastermind behind the double murderPhoto: NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP
“One found the bodies, another was allegedly a friend of the victim,” said prosecutor Sandra Ledesma. The investigators claim: Yves S. (60), a transsexual orchestral musician, cheated the victim of valuable violins in 2018.
In Stephen M. (51), the investigators found a firearmPhoto: NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP
Certificates kept in the vault
▶ ︎ Von Bredow confided in S., who then pretended that the instruments had been destroyed in a house fire. However, von Bredow kept certificates, without which the instruments can hardly be sold, in a safe that was in a container on his property.
Cellist Yves S. (60) is said to have cheated the victim of valuable violinsPhoto: NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP
Now, according to the public prosecutor, “four antique violins that presumably belonged to the victim” have been found in the house of Bredow’s friend Volker G. (58). In addition, “voice messages and e-mails in which he gave information about containers, the whereabouts of the violins and even maps of how to find them.” Stephen M. (51) had found a .38 caliber firearm – “ similar to the murder weapon ”.
Ledesma: “We believe the killers were looking for the certificates of authenticity. They already had the violins, but the certificates were missing. “
The police had claimed that the stolen violins included valuable Stradivaris. The suspects also vehemently contradict this. The real value of the instruments will now be determined by specialists in Buenos Aires (Argentina).