The article is free to read until tomorrow in the Telegraph <modsnip>
Three men 'tortured and killed archaeologist and teen daughter over rare Stradivarius violins'
The suspects allegedly broke into Bernard von Bredow's house to force him to give up authenticity certificates for the valuable instruments
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of brutally murdering a famous Bavarian archaeologist and his 14-year-old daughter in Paraguay over a set of valuable Stradivarius violins.
The three Germans are believed to have tortured acquaintance Bernard von Bredow, 62, to death last month in order to force him to turn over certificates of authenticity for four of the rare musical instruments, which could be worth as much as $16m (£11.8m) each.
Von Bedrow’s body was discovered covered in burns and bruises lying on a table with a gunshot wound to the back of his head on Oct. 22 in the town of Aregua, near Asuncion. The body of his daughter Lydia/Loreena was found in a bath full of water with a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Police initially suspected they had been the victims of a robbery that went wrong. But yesterday (WED) they announced the arrest of three German expats: Volker Grannass, 58, Yves Asriel Spartacus Steinmetz, 60, and Stephen Jorg Messing Darchinger, 51.
Paraguay has a sizeable German expat community, and von Bredow - who became world-famous at the age of 16 by discovering a woolly mammoth skeleton near his home in Bavaria - made a living restoring valuable antique musical instruments.
A renowned expert on the Ice Age, he had previously travelled the world and taken part in digs from New Zealand to the UK, where he worked for the National Museum in Cardiff and helped unearth the remains of three mammoths from a gravel pit in Shropshire.
He moved to Paraguay five years ago, around the same time as the three suspects and they all became friends, according to prosecutors.
<modsnip>
A number of stolen Stradivariuses remain missing to this day, including the Karpilowsky, which was stolen in 1953.
Three men 'tortured and killed archaeologist and teen daughter over rare Stradivarius violins'
Three men 'tortured and killed archaeologist and teen daughter over rare Stradivarius violins'
The suspects allegedly broke into Bernard von Bredow's house to force him to give up authenticity certificates for the valuable instruments
Three men have been arrested on suspicion of brutally murdering a famous Bavarian archaeologist and his 14-year-old daughter in Paraguay over a set of valuable Stradivarius violins.
The three Germans are believed to have tortured acquaintance Bernard von Bredow, 62, to death last month in order to force him to turn over certificates of authenticity for four of the rare musical instruments, which could be worth as much as $16m (£11.8m) each.
Von Bedrow’s body was discovered covered in burns and bruises lying on a table with a gunshot wound to the back of his head on Oct. 22 in the town of Aregua, near Asuncion. The body of his daughter Lydia/Loreena was found in a bath full of water with a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Police initially suspected they had been the victims of a robbery that went wrong. But yesterday (WED) they announced the arrest of three German expats: Volker Grannass, 58, Yves Asriel Spartacus Steinmetz, 60, and Stephen Jorg Messing Darchinger, 51.
Paraguay has a sizeable German expat community, and von Bredow - who became world-famous at the age of 16 by discovering a woolly mammoth skeleton near his home in Bavaria - made a living restoring valuable antique musical instruments.
A renowned expert on the Ice Age, he had previously travelled the world and taken part in digs from New Zealand to the UK, where he worked for the National Museum in Cardiff and helped unearth the remains of three mammoths from a gravel pit in Shropshire.
He moved to Paraguay five years ago, around the same time as the three suspects and they all became friends, according to prosecutors.
<modsnip>
A number of stolen Stradivariuses remain missing to this day, including the Karpilowsky, which was stolen in 1953.
Three men 'tortured and killed archaeologist and teen daughter over rare Stradivarius violins'
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