DNA Advances Bring PSNI 'Closer' To Catching Backpacker's Killer

A detective investigating the murder of a German backpacker in Northern Ireland in 1988 has said police are closer than ever to identifying her killer.

Inga Maria Hauser's body was found in a remote part of Ballypatrick forest on 20 April 1988. The 18-year-old's neck was broken. She had arrived in Larne on 6 April on a ferry from Scotland and it is believed that she died shortly after she arrived in Northern Ireland.

Detective Superintendent Raymond Murray said he could not rule out the possibility that more than one person was involved in her murder and that new strands of work on a DNA profile obtained from the crime scene are being progressed.

The DNA profile belongs to a male person who has not been identified.

Detective Superintendent Raymond Murray, commented: "DNA science is evolving rapidly. We are now looking at a type of DNA known as Y-STR, which refers to the male chromosome. Overall, more than 2,000 samples of various types of DNA have been prioritised and checked. Voluntary DNA screening continues and a small number of the analysed samples are inconclusive in ruling people out of our inquiries about the crime scene stain material, so more work needs to be done around these individuals."

DS Murray also said police had a report that a man in the rural area east of Ballymoney was seen soon after the murder with scratches on his face and there had been concern in the community that he was involved in the killing.

New house-to-house enquiries will also be conducted in that specific area.

DS Murray added: "I am asking for information, as opposed to statements or formal evidence. The important thing is that we bring this investigation to a successful conclusion, primarily for Inga Maria and for her family who have suffered too much for too long, but also for the people of north Antrim who will continue to have this lengthening shadow hanging over them until the killer or killers are caught."

(JG/KMcA)