Lonely hearts women tortured and killed in ‘house of horrors’

At least two women may have been tortured to death by a man and his ex-wife at a house in western Germany, according to investigators. Prosecutor Ralf Meyer said a 33-year-old victim was chained and beaten after responding to a lonely hearts advertisement and moving into the house in autumn 2013. The woman died on 1 August 2014 and the body was cut up and stored in freezer, he said. Pieces were removed over time and burned in the fireplace. Last month, a second woman, Susanne F, 41, died in hospital from injuries police say were related to torture.

There was serious physical abuse - beating, being chained to a radiator, having to sleep on a cold floor.

Prosecutor Ralf Meyer

It was her death that led police to the house in Hoexter on the border of Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. A third woman may also have been tortured to death and police say there are indications others may have survived abuse at the house. A man and his former wife - identified only as Wilfried W and Angelika B due to German privacy laws - are in police custody in connection with the deaths. Mr Meyer said Angelika B, 47, had confessed but said she was under the spell of her ex-partner, who is 46. He has denied everything.

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