Searching for FW Murnau's head - died 1931, head stolen 2015

[avbeee]

Hi all! I’m looking into a strange case involving the remains of filmmaker FW Murnau. He directed the 1922 vampire film Nosferatu, and has a big following in the occult and goth scene.

In 2015, somebody broke in his tomb in a cemetery on the outskirts of Berlin and stole his head. If you understand German, you can read about the case here (or by simply googling “FW Murnau’s head stolen”).

To date, no one knows what happened or who the culprit is. Due to the remnants of candle wax left at the scene, it’s assumed that some sort of ritual may have taken place, or possibly the culprit(s) forgot torch batteries. His body was embalmed, and at the time of the theft his head still had skin and hair, so it possibly could still be identified. <modsnip - no link>

I don’t necessarily expect to “solve” the case, but I would love to chat to someone who knows something, anonymously if needed. I know it’s extremely unlikely, but I’d still like to try!

I’ve been putting posters up around Berlin with a QR code that directs to a website where people can leave anonymous tips, and running social media ads throughout Germany and Europe. I’ve been in contact with collectors and dealers of macabre oddities and curiosities, no one has heard of this case, but a few have shown interest and are asking around on my behalf.

So I’m wondering what else I can do. A few people have suggested looking into the dark web, but if I search “body parts” there I’m pretty sure I’m going to see some things that I won’t be able to un-see.

By the way, I’ve been in contact with relatives of Murnau, and have their enthusiastic support.

So yeah, anyone have any ideas on how I could pursue this?

Thanks!

Alex

 

[SouthEnd]

Kudos for your campaign! Is there any publicly available information from LE? Did they share any leads? I suppose trying to schedule a meeting with the police and see what they are willing to share would be a step, especially with the support/presence of the family.

I had two thoughts: if the ppl committing that crime were juveniles back then, they might be scared to come forwards. Is there a "drop off" point you can publicise that can guarantee an anonymous hand off?

Additionally, if all else fails, I'd go back to the beginning. Who was most likely to have done it? Maybe a witchy fanclub of Nosferatu? I'd go back online in the wayback machine, see if there weren't any forums in Berlin or Europe dedicated to Nosferatu, if someone hadn't mentioned that idea in 2013 or 2014. For such a legendary director, it is likely the person who've committed it talked about it online before, or after.

Just my own suggestions, wishing you all the luck!

 

[avbeee]

Kudos for your campaign! Is there any publicly available information from LE? Did they share any leads? I suppose trying to schedule a meeting with the police and see what they are willing to share would be a step, especially with the support/presence of the family.

I had two thoughts: if the ppl committing that crime were juveniles back then, they might be scared to come forwards. Is there a "drop off" point you can publicise that can guarantee an anonymous hand off?

Additionally, if all else fails, I'd go back to the beginning. Who was most likely to have done it? Maybe a witchy fanclub of Nosferatu? I'd go back online in the wayback machine, see if there weren't any forums in Berlin or Europe dedicated to Nosferatu, if someone hadn't mentioned that idea in 2013 or 2014. For such a legendary director, it is likely the person who've committed it talked about it online before, or after.

Just my own suggestions, wishing you all the luck!

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll try looking through forums with the wayback machine, that's a great idea.

LE have unfortunately been unhelpful, I've tried over and over again to set up a meeting but it's now a cold case and not a priority for them. One news report mentioned a person of interest who was questioned, but I have no idea who this was. There was a detective assigned to the case originally, but this person has since retired and they're unwilling to share contact info. Murnau's family have had no contact with LE at all, they found out about the crime through the media like everyone else.

So I haven't totally given up on the police, but it seems unlikely at this point.

I'll report back here if I turn up anything with the wayback machine.

Thanks!