Two women were tortured to death in “house of horrors" before one was cut up and burnt
AT least two women were tortured with one’s body stored in a freezer then burnt inside a “house of horrors” after she answered a lonely hearts ad.
At least two women were killed in the house after being tortured
The woman, named as 33-year-old Annika E, is thought to have died in 2014 but her death only came to light after the death of another woman in the house, a 41-year-old named only as Susanne F.
A husband and his ex-wife, identified only as Wilfried Max W, 46, and Angelika W, 47, due to german privacy laws, were arrested in connection with the horrific crimes.
German prosecutor Ralf Meyer said Susanne died in hospital from blunt trauma wounds to her head, but it thought the victim suffered up to two weeks of physical abuse at the hands of her captors.
Police said her injuries were consistent with torture.
Her death led police to the house in the German town of Hoexter, on the border of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The address where the couple lived was discovered to be the scene of Annika’s death, as Angelika revealed the gory details of the woman’s demise.
One woman is thought to have been lured to the house after reading a lonely hearts ad
[They] put the body in a freezer and later burnt the body parts in a fireplace
Annika responded to a lonely hearts ad in the local newspaper in autumn 2013, and was another wife of Wilfried’s.
She was held captive chained to a radiator, and beaten.
Police believe more women may have been tortured inside the house
After her death in August 2014, her body was cut up and put in the freezer, where over time parts were removed and burnt in the fireplace.
Speaking to local media, Mr Meyer said Angelika recounted she and her ex had: “Put the body in a freezer and later burnt the body parts in a fireplace.”
He added: "There was serious physical abuse - beating, being chained to a radiator, having to sleep on a cold floor.”
The pair continued to use her phone to send texts to her elderly mother long after she had died, they added.
One woman was cut up after her death and her body burnt
Mr Meyer said Angelika had confessed, but was under the ‘spell’ of her former partner.
The motive for the crimes does not appear to be sexual, he continued, but the duo were driven by a need to “exert power”, adding: "There are indications of sadistic tendencies.”
Ralf Oestermann, chief of the homicide division in the nearby city of Bielefeld, said Angelika had been “massively abused” by her ex.
Wilfried has denied the accusations.
A third woman may also have been tortured death, police said, and added there were indications others may have survived the abuse.
Police, who have sealed off the macabre house, dubbed it a “house of horrors”.