Seewen murder case
Encyclopedia
The Seewen murder case was one of the biggest Swiss
crime cases and is the biggest Swiss murder case. 5 people were killed, and the suspect remained unknown after the 20 year time bar expired in 1996.
weekend of 1976, in a weekend house named "Waldeggli" located in a small allotment garden
. The allotment garden stood in a protected forest
in Seewen
, Dorneck
, Solothurn, Switzerland
. Five were killed during 13 rounds of shooting with a Winchester rifle
. 11 of the shots hit the head region of the victims while the other 2 shots landed in the chest region of the victims. Robert Siegrist, the son of two of the victims Eugen and Elsa Siegrist-Säckinger, wrote in his book Der Mordfall Seewen that one of the victims was shot four times in the hit, with each shot hitting the victim with precision.
The 5 victims were:
The crime was discovered on June 6, 1976 by a female pedestrian. When the police arrived, they found four corpses in the house with the fifth wrapped in a carpet on the terrace. It is suspected that only Elsa and Eugen Siegrist-Säckinger were meant to be killed, but the killer was surprised at the presence of the other three people and killed them as well.
s. However, there was little hope of finding the culprit until the fall of 1996, when a Winchester rifle was found hidden in the walls of a kitchen of a house belonging to a woman with the name Doser. The gun, which belonged to Carl Doser, was an Italian Winchester imitate with a short barrel. It was identified as the weapon used to kill the 5 victims.
It was discovered that Carl Doser was a loner
living in Basel
. He had legally bought the rifle in 1973 from Hofmann & Reinhart Waffen AG. He had earlier been interviewed by the police, but he lied, telling them he had sold the gun on the flea market. However, Doser was not charged because a clear motive for killing the victims could not be found, with no recorded meeting between Doser and the victims. However, the majority of the Swiss population still believe Doser was the killer.
.
The ammunition
was bought three weeks before the crime from R. Mayer AG at the Basler Steinenvorstadt, and was likely to have been bought by Johnny. The shop assistant at R. Mayer AG recalled that the man who bought the ammunition had asked for two packages of Kal. 38 Spez ammunition, with each package containing 50 rounds each. The customer had asked for ammunition with extra heavy lead bullets, and had asked if the rounds would fit in his Italian Winchester rifles. He had mentioned that he was obtaining the ammunition for someone else.
Johnny was described as being occasionally irascible, and styropore heads that had been shot through were discovered in his flat. It is suspected that his motive for killing the victims was related to his relationship with the victims. In addition, Johnny, who was 1.5m tall and had a voice that sounded like a woman's voice, had an inferiority complex which could have played a part in his motive for killing the victims. It was also suspected that he wanted revenge against the Siegrist-Säckinger couple for having nicknamed him "Dölfeli", which is a belittling name for "Adolf", and "Globi
", which is the name of a Swiss children's book's protagonist. He was arrested temporarily, but died in the mid-1980s.
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
crime cases and is the biggest Swiss murder case. 5 people were killed, and the suspect remained unknown after the 20 year time bar expired in 1996.
Course of events
The killings took place during the PentecostPentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
weekend of 1976, in a weekend house named "Waldeggli" located in a small allotment garden
Allotment (gardening)
An allotment garden, often called simply an allotment, is a plot of land made available for individual, non-professional gardening. Such plots are formed by subdividing a piece of land into a few or up to several hundreds of land parcels that are assigned to individuals or families...
. The allotment garden stood in a protected forest
Protected forest
A protected forest is a specific term to denote forests with some amount of legal, and / or constitutional protection in certain countries, besides being a generic term to denote forests where the habitat and resident species are legally accorded protection and are protected from any further...
in Seewen
Seewen
Seewen is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. Baslerweiher is a pond above the village.- Seewen murder case :...
, Dorneck
Dorneck (district)
Dorneck District is one of the ten districts of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, situated to the north of the canton. Together with Thierstein District, it forms the Amtei of Dorneck-Thierstein. Ithas a population of...
, Solothurn, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Five were killed during 13 rounds of shooting with a Winchester rifle
Winchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
. 11 of the shots hit the head region of the victims while the other 2 shots landed in the chest region of the victims. Robert Siegrist, the son of two of the victims Eugen and Elsa Siegrist-Säckinger, wrote in his book Der Mordfall Seewen that one of the victims was shot four times in the hit, with each shot hitting the victim with precision.
The 5 victims were:
- Siegrist-Säckinger, Elsa Clara (aged 62 at the time of death)
- Siegrist-Säckinger, Eugen (63) , husband of Elsa Siegrist-Säckinger
- Westhäuser-Siegrist, Anna (80), sister of Eugen Siegrist
- Westhäuser Emanuel (52), son of Anna Westhäuser-Siegrist
- Westhäuser Max (49), son of Anna Westhäuser-Siegrist
The crime was discovered on June 6, 1976 by a female pedestrian. When the police arrived, they found four corpses in the house with the fifth wrapped in a carpet on the terrace. It is suspected that only Elsa and Eugen Siegrist-Säckinger were meant to be killed, but the killer was surprised at the presence of the other three people and killed them as well.
Carl Doser
The criminal investigation department followed many leads and systematically searched for owners of Winchester rifleWinchester rifle
In common usage, Winchester rifle usually means any of the lever-action rifles manufactured by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, though the company has also manufactured many rifles of other action types...
s. However, there was little hope of finding the culprit until the fall of 1996, when a Winchester rifle was found hidden in the walls of a kitchen of a house belonging to a woman with the name Doser. The gun, which belonged to Carl Doser, was an Italian Winchester imitate with a short barrel. It was identified as the weapon used to kill the 5 victims.
It was discovered that Carl Doser was a loner
Loner
A loner is a person who avoids or does not actively seek human interaction or prefers to be alone. There are many reasons for solitude, intentional or otherwise, and "loner" implies no specific cause. Intentional reasons include spiritual and religious considerations or personal philosophies...
living in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
. He had legally bought the rifle in 1973 from Hofmann & Reinhart Waffen AG. He had earlier been interviewed by the police, but he lied, telling them he had sold the gun on the flea market. However, Doser was not charged because a clear motive for killing the victims could not be found, with no recorded meeting between Doser and the victims. However, the majority of the Swiss population still believe Doser was the killer.
Adolf "Johnny" Siegrist
A man named Hans Blaser felt that his business acquaintance Adolf "Johnny" Siegrist, who was related to the murdered couple, was the main culprit, with Doser assisting in the murder. Blaser, a combat shooter, claimed that Johnny had asked Blaser for a machine pistolMachine pistol
A machine pistol is a handgun-style, often magazine-fed and self-loading firearm, capable of fully automatic or burst fire, and normally chambered for pistol cartridges. The term is a literal translation of Maschinenpistole, the German term for a hand-held automatic weapon...
.
The ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
was bought three weeks before the crime from R. Mayer AG at the Basler Steinenvorstadt, and was likely to have been bought by Johnny. The shop assistant at R. Mayer AG recalled that the man who bought the ammunition had asked for two packages of Kal. 38 Spez ammunition, with each package containing 50 rounds each. The customer had asked for ammunition with extra heavy lead bullets, and had asked if the rounds would fit in his Italian Winchester rifles. He had mentioned that he was obtaining the ammunition for someone else.
Johnny was described as being occasionally irascible, and styropore heads that had been shot through were discovered in his flat. It is suspected that his motive for killing the victims was related to his relationship with the victims. In addition, Johnny, who was 1.5m tall and had a voice that sounded like a woman's voice, had an inferiority complex which could have played a part in his motive for killing the victims. It was also suspected that he wanted revenge against the Siegrist-Säckinger couple for having nicknamed him "Dölfeli", which is a belittling name for "Adolf", and "Globi
Globi
Globi is a Swiss cartoon character often referred to as Switzerland's Mickey Mouse. He is pictured as an anthropomorphic blue parrot with a yellow beak wearing a black beret and a pair of red and black checked trousers. He was created by the Swiss cartoonist Robert Lips, as an advertising character...
", which is the name of a Swiss children's book's protagonist. He was arrested temporarily, but died in the mid-1980s.