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Crime

German police say headless 'human corpse' was just a doll

April 17, 2018

A woodsy stroll took a gruesome turn when what appeared to be a human body was spotted lying beside a stream — without its head. When a path was finally cleared to the "body," the find did not confirm first impressions.

https://p.dw.com/p/2wBOE
Headless figure dressed in a striped top and jeans, lying face down with bound legs in the grass
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Kohls/Sueddeutsche Mediengesellschaft

Police in the German state of Baden-Württemberg said a passerby walking in the Rems river valley reported late Monday having seen a human body lying at the edge of a stream. A police patrol responding to the emergency call assumed the discovery, which was apparently covered in blood, was a human body and cordoned off the area.

The location of the "body" — in the usually tranquil Remstal countryside east of Stuttgart— was inaccessible to the officers, so firefighters were called to carve out a way to retrieve the body. When they reached the site, it was confirmed that the suspected headless human body was, in fact, just a doll. 

Read more: Germany: Man finds €8 million fake bills in trash, turns it in to police

A police spokesperson said the headless figure had been dressed in striped top and jeans and had been placed with bound legs in the grass. Red spots on the clothing initially looked like blood.

Police remain uncertain as to why the doll was lying in the woods. Investigators have appealed for more information about the doll and its origins. However, they have made clear that they will not put as much effort into the case as they would have had the find actually been a headless corpse.

Read more: German police thwart 'crime' during Berlin Half Marathon

kw/rc (AP, dpa)