Mass DNA testing launched after attacks on homeless people

Lauda-Königshofen – After a brutal attack on a homeless woman in Lauda-Königshofen (Main-Tauber district), around 800 men from the area are being called up in the next few days in a DNA test, a saliva sample hand over.

With the voluntary mass test, investigators hope to be able to solve the violent act committed by a 62-year-old woman in the Unterbalbach district.

Those selected all came from the Unterbalbach area and were only chosen because of where they lived, Jürgen Engel from the Tauberbischofsheim Criminal Police Office (Main-Tauber district) told SWR. There is no concrete suspicion of a crime.

The DNA sample was collected because traces were found at the crime scene on the clothing, on the victim himself and on objects that could have had something to do with the crime.

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According to a police spokeswoman in Heilbronn, the samples will be taken by next Monday. The investigators assure that the DNA collected will only be compared with the traces from the crime scene and that there will be no comparison with a database and no storage of the DNA sequence. Submitting the sample is initially voluntary – but anyone who refuses will be checked, explained Engel.

The search is on for one or two male suspects. According to police, the crime near a sports field was not a sexual offense. The woman, well known in the area, was found with life-threatening injuries and helpless under her shopping cart. Her belongings are scattered on top of her and around her. According to the public prosecutor’s office, she has been paralyzed since the crime.