Isabella Mueller (crime writer) 
After more than 16 years, the murder of Heidrun Pursche from Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen—previously considered an “unsolved case”—has finally been solved. According to witness statements, the 57-year-old cleaning lady, who worked at a clinic in Bad Krozingen, was on her way to work on the morning of January 17, 2003, when she was dragged into her small car by a masked man on the street, who then drove off with her. Two months later, in March, her body was found in a wooded area near Ehrenkirchen, just a few kilometers from Bad Krozingen. The autopsy revealed that Heidrun Pursche had been stabbed to death. A sexual assault could be ruled out. The police investigated intensively and followed up on several hundred leads. In addition, a mass DNA test was conducted, in which more than 900 men from the region provided saliva samples. But this proved just as unsuccessful as an appeal on the ZDF program “Aktenzeichen XY … ungelöst.” There was no trace of the perpetrator, who, after kidnapping Heidrun Pursche, had withdrawn money from an ATM using her bank card, as evidenced by a surveillance camera photo. Years passed before a witness came forward who recognized the backpack of the masked man in the published photos as belonging to an acquaintance. This hot lead pointed to 55-year-old trade show builder Thomas W. from Buggingen in the Markgräflerland region. Since his youth, he had suffered from mental health issues, self-harmed, and written diary entries in his own blood. During police questioning, he made a full confession. He had abducted Heidrun Pursche in her own car on the morning of his birthday because his partner had had an argument with her. She was his supervisor, and the couple simply did not like her work schedule. He wanted to confront the woman and get her to change his partner’s work assignments. For this trivial reason, Heidrun Pursche had to die. When she resisted and threatened him with legal consequences for his misconduct, he stabbed her with a 40-centimeter-long knife. He then buried her body at the edge of the forest in Ehrenstetten. Afterward, he parked her car at the highway rest stop near Neuenburg. For the brutal killing of Heidrun Pursche, Thomas W. was found guilty of murder by the Freiburg Regional Court and sentenced to life in prison.
