austrianindependent.comAn American has admitted beating an Austrian-born man to death in Berlin.
The professional tattooist, who was arrested earlier this week, admitted in police interviews he got into a violent argument with Raoul Schmidhuber after a drinking session at his girlfriend’s flat. The 31-year-old, who left Hallein in Salzburg six months ago to work as a tattooist in the German capital, died from a blunt force trauma.
The suspect, an US American citizen, remains in custody. The man has remained tight-lipped over whether he chopped the Austrian into pieces before dumping the body parts in the Spree River and a bathing lake where they were found recently. Police said that, in contrast to claims in newspapers, it was not yet clear if a chainsaw was used to separate Schmidhuber’s limbs and head from his torso.
Investigators did not reveal whether the prime suspect was a member of Hells Angels or Bandidos. The rivalling motorcycle gangs were linked to the crime by some daily newspapers as night clubs popular with their members are located close to where some of the body parts were discovered by a fisherman and police divers.
German homicide detectives teamed up with Austrian police officials to solve the murder. Reports have it that the vast majority of tip-offs came from residents of Berlin, with only little information provided by a small number of people living in Austria.
