Germany- James Patrick Dempsey, 66, form. U.S. soldier, extradited from Oneida, N.Y., for 1978 S.A. & murder of Bärbe Gansau, 35, *DNA ident., 2024*

[dotr]

Army vet charged in cold case after 1 in 270 quadrillion DNA match

The murder took place more than 45 years ago.

www.armytimes.com

''A rape and murder that took place in Ludwigsburg, Germany, in 1978 went unsolved for 45 years, but a near-impossible DNA match found in 2021 has connected a former U.S. soldier to the killing.

James Patrick Dempsey, 66, who served with the Army in Germany in 1977 and 1978 before being discharged that same year, is now being extradited from his home in Oneida, New York, in connection with the murder of a woman named Bärbel Gansau.''

''New technology led investigators to reopen the cold case. A fingerprint left behind on Gansau’s window was found to be a match for a man in an American database, leading the FBI to Dempsey, who was put in the system after a domestic drunk driving incident in 1979.''

 

[dotr]

By Caitlin O'Kane February 19, 2024 rbbm.

DNA from trash links former U.S. soldier to 1978 murder in Germany, investigators say: "Match was 1 in 270 quadrillion"

Investigators say evidence found at the crime scene decades ago matched the DNA of James Patrick Dempsey.

www.cbsnews.com

''Dempsey is accused of stabbing and killing 35-year-old Bärbel Gansau in her apartment in Ludwigsburg, Germany. She was found dead in her bed with 37 stab wounds.''

'' Investigators collected fingerprints from several soldiers whom Gansau knew, but all of them had an alibi. Dempsey was not part of the original investigation.''

''Dempsey, who was 20 years old at the time of the murder, was from central New York, according to Syracuse.com.
As part of its extradition treaty with Germany, the U.S. filed a complaint seeking a warrant for Dempsey's provisional arrest on Feb. 9. He was arrested on Feb. 13 and is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
The U.S. requested that Dempsey be held without bail until he is extradited, arguing that he "poses a flight risk and a danger to the community."

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Bärbel Gansau was found dead in her apartment in Ludwigsburg, Germany on June 11, 1978.courtesy of court documents
Oneida, N.Y. – A Central New York Man who was accused earlier this year of the 1978 murder and rape of a German woman after his DNA was linked to the scene is being released from custody after eleven months.

James Patrick Dempsey, 67, is getting out of jail after a judge Friday sided with defense attorneys that the evidence presented by prosecutors lacked probable cause to hold him, Federal Public Defender Lisa Peebles told Syraucuse.com | The Post Standard.

Dempsey was arrested after his DNA was matched to a sample of semen found on the bedsheets at the scene of Bärbel Gansau’s murder, prosecutors said in an extradition complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. A fingerprint matching Dempsey was found on the window that investigators believed the perpetrator used to enter the apartmen

Central NY man charged in 1978 German cold case of murder and rape released due to lack of evidence

Prosecutors will have one more opportunity to collect more evidence, a federal public defender said.

www.syracuse.com