Freiwild - Ein Würzburg-Krimi (2008)

In a valley near Würzburg, the partially decomposed body of a young woman is found. Detectives Peter Haller and Birgit Sacher are assigned to the case, but their investigation initially makes little progress. Only when an expert examines a tattoo on the murdered woman’s back and links it to Mexico do the detectives get a lead. After the dead woman’s face is reconstructed, the detectives go through the files on Mexican au pairs registered in Würzburg and find a match. The victim is Angela Lopez, who is registered as an au pair with the Täschner family in Höchberg. Detective Haller knows the Täschner family, and he goes to their home with his colleague Sacher. When they arrive, the investigators learn that Mrs. Täschner and her children have moved out and are living in Würzburg. Mr. Täschner also tells them about a letter in which Angela Lopez supposedly announced that she was returning to Mexico. Because of the letter, which is said to be in Mrs. Täschner’s possession, they assumed that the au pair had left Germany, so no missing-person report was filed. Mrs. Täschner claims that the letter was lost during the move. When the Täschner couple become entangled in contradictions, the officers obtain a search warrant. During the search, they find the murdered woman’s diary hidden in Angela’s room. From it, they learn that the Täschner’s son, Nick, was unhappily in love with Angela. He thus becomes the prime suspect. When questioning Angela’s friends, the investigators also learn that the Täschner family’s nephew had been having an affair with Angela. When Nick suddenly disappears and Detective Haller finds his cell phone, he uses it to send a text message to Nick’s father, prompting him to go and find Nick in his hiding place. The police follow Max Täschner to Marienberg Fortress, where Nick is hiding in a cellar vault, and eavesdrop on father and son. In a flashback, viewers learn that the Täschner family’s nephew had spent a night with Angela at a hotel in Sommerhausen, where Nick surprised them. Nick’s father, who had followed his son, watched the ensuing argument between the two rivals from a hiding place. When Angela fled on foot to get away from the argument, Max Täschner followed her, caught up with her, and drove her to the Main. There, he raped the young woman and then bludgeoned Angela to death with a stone.