Wilfried Kalitz was a man found dead in a gravel pit in Rheurdt-Schaephuysen, Germany. He was identified in 2019.
Case[]
On 8 December 1996, a man's nude body was discovered near and abandoned sand pit in Rheurdt-Schaephuysen, Germany. He had been beaten to death, most likely with a steel pipe, anywhere from a few days to two weeks before he was found. He had not been killed at the location. A sketch of the unidentified man was circulated at the time, but no leads came about from it.
In 2019, a new digital reconstruction was created, the broadcast of which led to more than 50 tips. One of the tipsters recognized the man as 43-year-old Wilfried Kalitz of Würselen. The match was promptly confirmed with DNA. Wilfried, a divorced father of two children, had last been seen by family in 1996. At the time of his disappearance, Wilfried was in debt, and was believed to have left the country as a result.
In late September 2020, a suspect was arrested in connection to Wilfried's murder. The suspect, along with an accomplice, demanded 5000 DM from Wilfried. When he refused to pay, the suspect killed Wilfried in his workshop before dumping the body near the sandpit. The accomplice had been killed in a motorcycle accident in 1997. On 11 May 2021, the defendant, now 51, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Gallery[]
Sources[]
- Wilfried Kalitz at the Doe Network
- World Today News
- RP Online (German)
- FAZ (German)