In the summer of 1989, two couples were murdered several weeks apart in the Göhrde State Forest, a roughly 75-square-kilometer woodland in Lower Saxony, West Germany. Police concluded early on that the same person committed both double murders, based on parallels between the crime scenes, the theft of distinctive items from each pair of victims, and the abandonment of the stolen cars near railway stations on the same line. An unusual heatwave that summer accelerated decomposition of the bodies, complicating efforts to determine cause of death.
On 21 May 1989, Ursula Reinold, 45, and her husband Peter Reinold, 51, of Bergedorf, drove to the Göhrde to walk and, investigators believe, to picnic. They were killed in a forest clearing, and their bodies were hidden in a nearby depression. The offender took the couple's picnic basket and car keys, later abandoning their car near the train station in Winsen an der Luhe. The Reinolds were reported missing; blueberry pickers found their partially mummified, partially undressed remains seven weeks later, on 12 July 1989. Investigators could not determine whether the undressing occurred before or after the killings, or establish an exact cause of death, though strangulation and shooting were both considered.
The same day the Reinolds' bodies were found, Ingrid Warmbier, 46, of Uelzen, and Bernd-Michael Köpping, 43, a district manager for the German Lotto and Totoblock from Hanover, were killed roughly 800 meters away while walking in the forest; the two were having an affair and were each married to other people. Investigators believe the offender bound the pair's hands and feet before strangling and shooting Köpping, and beating and shooting Warmbier, then stole Köpping's Polaroid camera and car, later abandoning the vehicle near a spa clinic in Bad Bevensen. Police, already in the Göhrde investigating the first killings, discovered the bodies by chance on 27 July 1989.
A 40-member special commission interviewed roughly 10,000 people and issued a facial composite, but the case went unsolved for decades; a reported parallel with a similar double murder in Wales was never confirmed. The commission was later dissolved, and by 2014 police said the case would not be reopened for lack of resources. In 2002, Wolfgang Sielaff — a retired Hamburg police chief and the brother of Birgit Meier, a Lüneburg woman who had disappeared on 15 May 1989 — began a private investigation, eventually persuading Lüneburg police to form a new commission focused on Meier's case in 2015.
That investigation centered on Kurt-Werner Wichmann, whom Meier had previously met and who was charged with her murder in 1993 after a search of his house turned up firearms, a soundproofed room, and a car buried in his backyard. Wichmann died by suicide in custody ten days after his arrest, and the investigation against him was discontinued. In December 2017, Lower Saxony police announced that DNA evidence from one of the Göhrde victims' stolen cars — separate from earlier hair samples — identified Wichmann as the prime suspect in both double murders. A post-mortem announced in January 2018 found that Meier had been shot. Investigators believe Wichmann may have had an accomplice and have examined possible links to other unsolved killings.
The Göhrde murders remain formally unresolved: Wichmann's death means he can never be tried, and no second suspect has been identified. In the German press, the forest was dubbed "Totenwald" ("Death Forest"), and many hikers avoided the area for years afterward. The case has drawn sustained attention in Germany, including repeated segments on Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst and a 2020 dramatization, Das Geheimnis des Totenwaldes.
Key facts
- Victims
- Peter Reinold, Birgit Meier, Bernd-Michael Köpping, Ursula Reinold, Ingrid Warmbier
- Date
- 1989
- Location
- Göhrde State Forest
- Case status
- cold
Case timeline
1989-05-15
Birgit Meier, whose case would later be linked to the investigation, disappears from Lüneburg.
1989-05-21
Ursula and Peter Reinold are killed while visiting the Göhrde State Forest.
1989-07-12
The bodies of Ursula and Peter Reinold are found by blueberry pickers; the same day, Ingrid Warmbier and Bernd-Michael Köpping are killed elsewhere in the forest.
1989-07-27
The bodies of Ingrid Warmbier and Bernd-Michael Köpping are discovered by police investigating the first killings.
1989-12
The case is broadcast on the West German television program Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst.
1990-01
The case is broadcast again on Aktenzeichen XY… ungelöst.
1993
Kurt-Werner Wichmann is charged with the murder of Birgit Meier; a search of his house turns up firearms, a soundproofed room, and a car buried in his backyard.
1993
Wichmann dies by suicide in custody ten days after his arrest, and the investigation against him is discontinued.
2002
Wolfgang Sielaff, Meier's brother and a retired Hamburg police chief, begins a private investigation into the case.
2009-07
Police consider new DNA testing methods for two unidentified hairs recovered from the Reinolds' car in 1989.
2014
Police state the Göhrde case will not be reopened for capacity reasons.
2015
Sielaff's efforts lead Lüneburg police to form a new special commission to investigate Meier's case.
2016
Handcuffs linked to the case are found at Hannover Medical School; testing finds a DNA match to blood evidence.
2017-12
Lower Saxony police announce Wichmann as the prime suspect in the Göhrde murders, based on DNA found in one of the victims' stolen vehicles.
2018-01-19
A post-mortem announced by Hannover Medical School finds that Birgit Meier had been shot.
2020
Das Erste airs Das Geheimnis des Totenwaldes ("Dark Woods"), a miniseries based on the murders.
Best coverage
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People
Peter Reinold
VICTIMKilled with his wife, Ursula Reinold, in the first Göhrde double murder on 21 May 1989; their bodies were found on 12 July 1989.
Birgit Meier
VICTIMDisappeared from Lüneburg on 15 May 1989; a January 2018 post-mortem found she had been shot. Evidence developed in her case led police to name Wichmann as a suspect in the Göhrde murders.
Wolfgang Sielaff
LAW ENFORCEMENTRetired chief of the Hamburg State Criminal Police and Birgit Meier's brother. Began a private investigation in 2002 that led Lüneburg police to form a new commission in 2015 and ultimately identify Wichmann as a suspect.
Bernd-Michael Köpping
VICTIMKilled with Ingrid Warmbier in the second Göhrde double murder on 12 July 1989; their bodies were found on 27 July 1989.
Ursula Reinold
VICTIMKilled with her husband, Peter Reinold, in the first Göhrde double murder on 21 May 1989; their bodies were found on 12 July 1989.
Ingrid Warmbier
VICTIMKilled with Bernd-Michael Köpping in the second Göhrde double murder on 12 July 1989; their bodies were found on 27 July 1989.
Kurt-Werner Wichmann
CHARGEDCharged in 1993 with the murder of Birgit Meier. Named by Lower Saxony police in December 2017 as the prime suspect in the Göhrde murders based on DNA evidence. Died by suicide in custody in 1993, before trial.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Places
Common questions
- What happened to the victim?
- In the summer of 1989, two couples were murdered several weeks apart in the Göhrde State Forest in Lower Saxony, West Germany, in killings investigators attributed to the same person. The case remains formally unresolved; in December 2017, police named Kurt-Werner Wichmann — a suspected serial killer who died by suicide in 1993 — as their prime suspect.
- Where did the murders happen?
- Göhrde State Forest.
- What is the current status of the case?
- Status: cold.
Related cases
View all cases
Sources
- ENCYCLOPEDICGöhrde murdersWikipedia · 2026-07-12
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — ndr.dendr.de · 2026-07-12
- PRESSContemporaneous coverage — zeit.dezeit.de · 2026-07-12
Record history
- First published
- JUL 13, 2026