Erzgebirgskrimi - Der Tote im Burggraben (2021)

At Hartenstein Castle, near Zwickau, a body is discovered during excavation work. Chief Inspector Robert Winkler and his colleague Karina Szabo are called in. According to forensic pathologist Charlotte von Sellin, the male corpse had been lying in the castle moat for 20–30 years. It has three bullet holes, so the case is being treated as a murder. Sellin estimates that the victim was 75 years old when he was killed. After some investigation, the man is identified as Ernst-Rudolf von Schöneck, a former SS official and descendant of the castle’s original owners. He appeared in town shortly after German reunification and demanded the return of his family’s estate, which had been confiscated from him at the end of the war. A short time later, Schöneck suddenly disappeared. The weapon used to shoot him leads to Peter Klamroth, who years earlier had come under suspicion of killing his violent father. Klamroth says that at the time he handed his pistol over to Mayor Gerd Steigerwald, who supposedly forwarded it to the district office immediately after receiving it. Anneliese Schulte, now 94, worked as a secretary at the district office then and confirms to the inspector that the mayor properly handed in the weapon. Nevertheless, some uncertainty remains, since the mayor had the pistol in his possession for a short time and could have used it. After all, the castle’s return to its former owners would have meant the end of the children’s home that had been established there at the end of the war—a development the mayor would not have welcomed. There is also a witness: Anneliese Schulte’s daughter overheard a conversation between Steigerwald and his deputy, Karl-Heinz Fromm, during which Fromm said it would be best if Schöneck were dead. One day after Steigerwald is confronted with this incriminating evidence, he is found shot dead near the Sosa Dam. Footage from wildlife cameras identifies Peter Klamroth as the likely perpetrator. Klamroth admits that he had a confrontation with Steigerwald after learning that the mayor had once denounced him as a patricide simply to eliminate him as a rival in the mayoral election. Enraged at having been wrongly convicted, he then shot Steigerwald. Klamroth is arrested, but the “Schöneck” case is still unresolved. It takes a new turn when Inspector Winkler learns that Ernst-Rudolf von Schöneck was married in 1945 and also had a child. Winkler does the math and estimates that the wife would now be over 90. The only person in town who fits that description is Anneliese Schulte. The inspector tries to find out why she never claimed the castle for her daughter and learns that Heidi Schulte is not Schöneck’s daughter. Heidi’s father was conscripted on Schöneck’s orders and murdered by the SS. To give her unborn child a future, Schulte agreed to marry Schöneck. Only later did she learn that Schöneck had been largely responsible for the death of the love of her life. When he suddenly reappeared years later, all those memories came back. Both Heidi and Anneliese Schulte now admit to having shot Schöneck, since they had access to the revolver at the office. Winkler will report this to the prosecutor and leave it to him to decide whether to believe the women’s account and bring charges.