German police arrest suspected killer of 2 senior citizens

BERLIN

A suspect in the murder of two senior citizens and the robbery of a third in southwest Germany has been arrested by police, local media said Wednesday.

The man, said to be a 31-year-old Serbian, was arrested last Friday, daily Bild reported.

The man is under strong suspicion of having killed an 89-year-old woman in Michelbach an der Bilz last week and a 77-year-old woman last December in nearby Schwabisch Hall, both in the state of Baden-Wurttemberg.

"Numerous pieces of the puzzle have led to the identification of the perpetrator," police chief Reiner Mueller told a press conference.

The bodies of the women were discovered at their homes. A murder weapon was found in the field surrounding the crime scene in Michelbach, said police.

The Schwabisch murder has been connected to the theft of a sum of money, police added.

DNA traces are said to have been found, and a sketch of the alleged perpetrator is also said to have helped investigators.

The suspect has so far made no statements on the allegations, senior prosecutor Harald Lustig told the press conference.

According to his own statements, the accused entered Germany with his wife and two children at the beginning of last December. He does not have a registration address in Germany.