A terrible crime stirred up the 3,000-inhabitant village of Senzig, south of Germany's capital city Berlin: Five dead bodies were found in a residential building on Saturday. The motivation of the crime was reportedly distressed over the discovery of a fake vaccination certificate. According to the police, the bodies had gunshot and stab wounds.
According to information from the German Press Agency (DPA), a father is said to have killed his wife and three children aged four, eight and ten - all were found with gunshot wounds.
The suspected perpetrator of the crime left a suicide note. In it, he is said to have expressed fear of arrest. In addition, according to judicial sources, he feared that his children would be taken away from him and his wife.
According to the letter, the 40-year-old had a vaccination certificate forged for his wife. Their employer had found out about this. Now the couple was afraid of arrest and the loss of the children, as senior prosecutor Gernot Bantleon told the DPA on Tuesday. He did not want to give further details. Investigators found the letter in the family's home.
How long the deceased had already lain in the house is unknown pending autopsy results.
