Date: Tuesday, 02 December 2025
Olpe/Koblenz. Update 5:18 p.m.: "As part of the extensive investigations by the Hagen police homicide squad, it is being examined whether the Eritrean woman's partner is connected to the crime," the Hagen police wrote in a joint press release with the Siegen public prosecutor's office: "The 41-year-old is currently abroad, outside of Europe. He was questioned with the assistance of the local police. He is in official custody at the request of the local police." According to WDR (West German Broadcasting) information, he is in Ethiopia.
Update 2:55 p.m.: On Monday afternoon, the Hagen police, together with the Siegen public prosecutor's office, issued a joint press release regarding the case of the disembodied hands on the A45 motorway, referring to previous information from the Koblenz police.
As previously reported, the body of a woman was found on Friday afternoon in a wooded area near Monreal (Mayen-Koblenz district in Rhineland-Palatinate).
According to a press release, a passerby found the body, which, according to the Hagen public prosecutor's office, is missing both the hands and the head. Extensive evidence was collected at the scene. "The head has not yet been found," the investigators wrote.
In close cooperation between the Koblenz police and the Hagen police homicide squad, as well as through a forensic medical examination, it is currently being investigated whether the body is that of the 32-year-old Eritrean woman whose hands were found on the A45 motorway on November 17th.
Forensic examinations in Bonn revealed that the 32-year-old woman's hands had been severed after her death. A DNA comparison is currently underway to determine whether the woman's body is that of the 32-year-old. The results are still pending.
As part of the extensive investigations by the Hagen police homicide squad, it is being examined whether the Eritrean woman's partner is connected to the crime.
The 41-year-old is currently outside of Europe. He was questioned with the assistance of the local police. He is in official custody at the request of the local police.
Update 2:30 p.m.: Following the discovery of two hands belonging to a 32-year-old woman on the A45 near Olpe, the woman's partner has been arrested abroad. This was announced by investigators, according to dpa. A female body without hands and head was discovered in a wooded area near Koblenz on Friday. Police are investigating whether the body is that of the 32-year-old woman.
The severed women's hands were found on the A45 motorway two weeks ago and identified as belonging to the woman through her fingerprints.
As investigators further announced on Monday afternoon, it is now known that the woman's hands were severed after her death. "As part of the extensive investigations by the Hagen police homicide squad, it is being examined whether the Eritrean woman's partner is connected to the crime," dpa quoted police and prosecutors as saying. "The 41-year-old is currently abroad, outside of Europe. He was questioned with the assistance of the local police. He is in official custody at the request of the local police," the statement continued.
Update 2:05 p.m.: A woman's body was found in a wooded area near Monreal in Rhineland-Palatinate on Friday afternoon around 3:15 p.m., according to the Koblenz Criminal Investigation Department. Investigators began their work at the scene on Friday, as the Koblenz Police Headquarters announced on Monday afternoon.
According to the authorities, they are currently investigating whether there is a connection to two incidents on November 16 and 17, 2025 in Hesse and near Olpe.
At that time, two severed hands were discovered in the area of the A45 near Olpe. Almost simultaneously, a three-month-old child was also found in a stroller in front of a monastery in Waldsolms, according to previous publications by the Hagen police and the Siegen public prosecutor's office.
The body that has now been discovered is missing both hands and the head. Police say that a definitive identification and a possible comparison with the aforementioned cases are only possible through molecular genetic testing. The results of the DNA comparison are expected in the coming days.
Initial report 1:50 p.m.: Following the discovery of two hands on the A45 near Olpe, police in Rhineland-Palatinate have, according to dpa information, discovered a female corpse that could belong to the severed body parts.
According to a dpa report, the Koblenz police investigating the case declined to comment and referred to a press release that is expected to be published later today.
The severed women's hands were found on the A45 motorway two weeks ago and identified as belonging to a 32-year-old woman through fingerprints.
Her three-month-old baby was found unharmed in front of a monastery in Waldsolms, Hesse. Initially, police did not know if the woman was still alive. Now, according to information from the German Press Agency (dpa), her body has been discovered, but it still needs to be confirmed whether it is indeed that of the 32-year-old woman.
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