Dunkle Wasser (2023)

The body of 17-year-old Elena Burgstaller is recovered from Lake Mattsee. Chief Inspector Rafael Dorner grew up in the town of the same name and takes charge of the case. He has repeatedly come under criticism since a traumatic incident at work, so Inspector Alexandra “Alex” Fink is assigned to work with him and keep an eye on him. At university, Fink attended Dorner’s lecture on hate crimes, which used case studies, but the lecture was later discontinued. The dead girl is the daughter of Dorner’s childhood friend, Franziska Burgstaller. Fink is wary of Dorner’s closeness to those involved, though it also has its advantages. Elena’s boyfriend, Lukas Schober, last saw her on Friday. Later, she planned to visit former town doctor Dr. Anton Siebert, and on Saturday to go to a concert with her best friend, Caro Fellner. Caro, however, says she did not go to the concert with Elena. Siebert had cared for Elena’s father when he was seriously ill. Siebert’s granddaughter Anna died five years ago, but at the time there was not enough evidence to prove that a crime had been committed. Dorner suspects petty criminal and drug dealer Max “Cosy” Kozak, whom he also believes was Anna’s killer. Kozak threatens his friend Robert Auer, warning that he will go to prison with him if he gives the police any information. Based on the wrinkling of her skin from immersion, forensic pathologist Dr. Gappmaier determines that Elena died at around 11:30 p.m. on Friday; she was still alive when she was thrown into the water. Fink also orders a drug screening. Lukas Schober, however, claims that he spoke to Elena on the phone the following Saturday. Fink considers Lukas the prime suspect and suspects jealousy as a motive, since Elena was pregnant. Lukas says he knew nothing about the pregnancy. In fact, someone used Elena’s phone on Saturday, but it is unclear who made the call. Caro tells Fink that a few weeks earlier Kozak had tried to rape Elena in his shop. Caro witnessed it and interrupted the attack. She suspects Kozak had drugged Elena. Fink searches Kozak’s cabin by the lake, where forensic investigators find traces of blood. Fink says Kozak may have been murdered, but his body is missing. The viewer sees that Kozak fell and hit his head during a fight with Dorner. Dorner disposed of the body in a car compactor. Traces of DNA found in a boat belonging to Siebert, which is lying by the lake, resemble Dorner’s DNA. Dorner believes he has no family left in Mattsee. When Dorner asks Siebert about it, Siebert says he is not Dorner’s grandfather. However, he shows Dorner his father’s diary. In it, Dorner is supposed to learn how the Schobers came by their wealth. On April 7, 1945, the SS turned up at the Dorners’ carpentry shop after their journeyman, Schober, informed them that his employer was hiding a Jewish family in the house. The carpenter Dorner was shot dead. On March 21, 1946, Cecilia Dorner gave birth to a child, though the father was unknown. Under pressure, Cecilia Dorner had to sell her business to the Schobers at a very low price, laying the foundation for their prosperity. Fink tells Dorner that she has read his file and that he should stop blaming himself for the suicide of his colleague, who had been depressed. Dorner finds nude photographs of Elena in Magnus Schober’s studio. Magnus says Elena wanted the photos for his brother Lukas. A DNA comparison shows that the blood sample from Siebert’s boat matches Magnus Schober’s DNA, meaning Magnus and Dorner are related. The Schobers’ lawyer gets Dorner removed from the Elena investigation because he is too close to the family. Dorner nevertheless continues investigating on his own. He confesses to Fink that he saw Elena on the night she died: she had argued with Lukas and wanted Dorner to pick her up from Salzburg. While under the influence of drugs, the two had sex. Dorner tells Magnus that Lukas confessed to sinking Elena’s body in the lake with Magnus after she stopped breathing at a drug party. Magnus initially denies it, saying that his DNA in Siebert’s boat proves nothing. Later, he claims it was an accident and nobody was to blame. When Fink tries to arrest Magnus for Elena’s murder, Franziska Burgstaller shoots him dead. Viktor Schober, Magnus’s father, rushes over to mourn his son’s death.