Thomas Selmayr

Timeline

• March 21, 2011 — Police investigated the deaths of two girls, aged eight and 11, after their bodies were found at home by their mother early Thursday morning in the Bavarian town of Krailling.
• March 23, 2011 — Anette left her two daughters Sharon and Chiara alone in their home in Krailling to work in a nearby pub.
• March 24, 2011 — The Krailling double homicide occurred; two sisters, 11-year-old Sharon and 8-year-old Chiara, were found dead by their mother and her partner at their home in Krailling, Bavaria.
• April 2, 2011 — Authorities were expecting to charge the uncle of the two sisters with their murder; the 50-year-old uncle was arrested after DNA tests linked him to the flat in Krailling.
• January 17, 2012 — The murder trial started in Munich.
• April 16, 2012 — Thomas S. was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Background

Anette S. lived separately from husband and father in Krailing, Bavaria, together with her daughters Sharon and Chiara. Despite the separation, the two girls saw their father regularly. Anette’s new partner ran a pub in the town where she regularly worked. She had previously worked as a waitress in a pub.

Thomas S. was the husband of Anette’s sister. Thomas had taken his wife’s name after marriage. In 2010, Thomas, his wife, and their four children moved into an unfinished house in Peißenberg. They were not able to repay loans, and Thomas tried to force his wife’s sister Anette S. to sell a flat the two sisters owned together and give his family the money; she denied.

Thomas wanted to kill his sister-in-law and his nieces so his wife would be the sole heir of the flat, another flat Annette S. owned, and the heritage of the 98-year-old grandmother. He hoped that this way the family would be able to pay back their loans and would be able to help one of their children who was disabled. Media narrative during the case also stated that Thomas had argued with the girls’ mother over financial matters.

At the time Thomas was being taken to trial, it was announced that Thomas’ wife had filed for divorce, and that he would face the jury alone.

The offence

On March 23, 2011, Anette left her two daughters Sharon and Chiara alone in their home in Krailling, to work in a nearby pub owned by her new partner. The door of the house was not locked because the mother feared the girls were not able to save themselves from fire if the door was locked. Thomas knew this.

Investigators reconstructed that the murderer invaded the house and killed the nieces around 02:00 and 02:30 a.m. They found that Chiara was first strangled with a rope. Sharon woke up and went to her sister’s room. The murderer left the unconscious Chiara alone and chased Sharon through the house. In the kitchen, Sharon was attacked with a barbell. After hitting Sharon two times onto the head, the murderer took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed her. The autopsy later counted five wounds, as far as 17 centimeters (6,7 inches) deep.

Chiara woke up from her unconsciousness and overheard the mortal agony of her sister. In fear, she tried to block the door, but the murderer pushed her away, smashed her head with the barbell and cut her carotid artery. Both bodies were also scattered with hematomas. The autopsy stated it was not able to found the fatal wounds of the girls and said that there was a mixture of fatal wounds.

The investigation described that the perpetrator planned to drown their mother in the bathtub so it would have looked like an extended suicide of the mother, but the plan changed because Anette did not come home early enough and he feared it would not be possible to cover the crime as dawn approached. At 5:00 a.m., Annette and her partner came back home and found the bodies of the two girls.

The police spokesman at the time of the initial investigation described the case as a “double homicide” investigation. It was also stated that one report said circumstances of the girls’ deaths remained unclear, and the spokesman declined to comment on news reports that one of the girls had been alive when the mother returned home.

Investigation

After the police arrived on the crime scene, Bavarian police and the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (Bundeskriminalamt) started their investigation. The investigation stated that the murderer wounded himself federal times during his slaughter, so DNA-material was found. The case shocked Bavaria and was a topic of the German and Austrian medias for days, with local people providing help. The investigation checked 141 potential clues which had come in from the public, and interviewed 100 people. Police testing included 91 saliva samples given voluntarily from local people.

Authorities said that DNA samples linked the uncle to the flat and led to his arrest. Investigators also said the killer seemingly injured himself during the attack and left a blood trace at the scene.

After testing 91 saliva samples, Selmayr was arrested only nine days after the murders. At the same time, in Krailling the two girls were buried.

Earlier reporting described that police sealed off the area around the second-floor apartment, gathered evidence, and interviewed potential witnesses, with about 35 officers involved and a helicopter used to search the surrounding area.

Arrest

One week after the Krailling double homicide, the uncle, Thomas S., was arrested on suspicion of their murder because of DNA profiling. Authorities expected to charge him on April 2, 2011, and it was stated that he was 50 years old. It was stated that although there were inconsistencies between his first and second interrogation, he had not admitted their murders. The suspect was described as having made a “distanced and disinterested impression,” and Markus Kraus, head of the murder commission in Munich, said this on Saturday. Spokeswoman Andrea Titz said she would not comment on a possible motive.

Trial

The murder trial started in Munich on January 17, 2012. At the start of the trial, the accused attempted to explain his blood on the crime scene by saying it was due to a nose bleed he had during an earlier visit, which he cleaned up with Sharon. When the court asked how a large amount of his blood was found all over the house as a result of a nosebleed, S. answered:

"Da müssen sie Sharon schon selber fragen!" ("Ask Sharon if you want to know!").

In another part of the trial, S. claimed that his blood on the crime scene had been put there by criminal officiers in order to frame him. This claim was refuted by the fact that the blood had been found and analysed before S. was under suspicion. It was also stated that at last, even his defense lawyers distanced themselves from their client.

Sentencing

On April 16, 2012, S.

Outcome

Thomas Selmayr was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Other details

Anette S. and her daughters Sharon and Chiara lived separately from husband and father in Krailing, Bavaria. Anette’s new partner ran a pub in the town where she regularly used to work. Neighbours described that the girls’ mother had been separated from the girls’ father and worked as a waitress in a pub, and that the partner with her when she arrived home was the landlord of the pub. They also said that although the women was separated from the girls’ father, he still saw his daughters regularly.

Post-mortem reports stated the girls were subjected to “many violent acts of different kinds,” using a knife and part of a barbell. There was no indication of sexual abuse. The girls were buried on Friday after the arrest and statements made on April 2, 2011.