Phantom of Heilbronn

The Phantom of Heilbronn, often alternatively referred to as the "Woman Without a Face", was a hypothesized unknown female serial killer whose existence was inferred from DNA evidence found at numerous crime scenes in Austria, France and Germany from 1993 to 2009. The six murders among these included that of police officer Michèle Kiesewetter, in Heilbronn, Germany, on 25 April 2007.

The only connection between the crimes was the presence of DNA from a single female, which had been recovered from 40 crime scenes, ranging from murders to burglaries. In late March 2009, investigators concluded that there was no "phantom criminal", and the DNA had already been present on the cotton swabs used for collecting DNA samples; it belonged to a woman who worked at the factory where they were made.

Investigation

An analysis of the mitochondrial DNA from samples collected in Austria showed characteristics most often found among people in Eastern Europe and neighbouring Russia. This was not discovered in the German investigations, as, at the time, DNA could only be used to determine few attributes, such as sex. Since at least 2008, some officers suspected that the evidence was misleading, and the DNA presence was due to contamination, which was confirmed in 2009.

The investigations were concentrated in a special task force named Parkplatz ("parking lot") at the Heilbronn police department. In January 2009, the reward for clues regarding the whereabouts of the Phantom was increased to €300,000.