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Karaoke Crook's Smash and Grab Raid Comes to a Grimm End

DW staff (nda)January 19, 2006

Brothers Grimm fairytales are the staple of most German children's upbringing but one grown-up thief will be kicking himself that he didn't remember aspects of the story of Hansel and Gretel.

https://p.dw.com/p/7oEq
Follow that feather!Image: dpa

After making the bizarre choice to steal a karaoke machine from a shop in the western city of Bochum, the bungling thief managed to rip open his winter coat in the hurried raid. As he fled the scene of the crime with his booty, he didn’t notice that his duck-down jacket was leaking feathers.

Just as the lost children in the Grimm tale used breadcrumbs to line their route into the forest, so the thief made a trail of feathers all the way to his front door.

Hänsel und Gretel in Erfurt Märchenoper Hänsel und Gretel von Engelbert Humperdinck
The trail didn't lead the cops to a gingerbread house but the result was just as sweet.Image: dpa

Unfortunately, while Hansel and Gretel found that their route back had disappeared due to greedy birds, the fleeing crook had no such luck.

Trail of feathers lead cops to crook

On one of the more mild and still days of wintery January, the feather trail stayed put, giving the police a solid lead. After being alerted by an eyewitness, the police followed and arrested the shocked 36-year-old at his home.

"Luckily they were able to act before the next story was played out -- 'Gone with the Wind'," said Bochum police spokesman Frank Plewka. "All they had to do was follow the feathers."