Der mysteriöse ungeklärte Mord an Frauke Liebs – True Crime Podcast / Video – Ty

Hello everyone, welcome to a new episode of Lia’s Crimetime! It’s great that you’re all joining us again this time. I know many of you have been waiting for this episode, as I already announced. Today’s episode is about the unsolved murder of Frau KBS, and many of you feel the same way I do – this case is deeply affecting you.

I myself am from the Minten-Lübcke district, so I’m very close to the story. Frauke’s family also lives in the Minten- Lübcke district, which is why I know some of the locations. I ‘ve even visited some of them for you. There will be a separate video about this, and some of it will also be available in this podcast, at least on YouTube.

Here are a few short excerpts. And for those of you listening to me on podcast platforms, it’s definitely worth watching the video I’m making, which will be released separately from the podcast. It will show  the locations as they look today, not as they did back then.  Unfortunately, I can’t offer you that yet, as I was n’t as involved in the crime story at that time, but there are pictures.

What it looked like back then, which I’ll also include in my podcast episode on YouTube now, yes, my dears. I don’t want to make the intro much, much longer; it was just important to me to say a few things about it. And today’s episode really starts from the very beginning, up to the present day, as far as I know from the year 2023.

So, I’ve tried to include absolutely everything I possibly could. I’m sure  I’ve forgotten one or two things, but I hope I’ve tried to convey the most important things that are relevant in this case as best as possible. And I would say we begin now with the case of Ms. Kelbs. In 2006, Ms. Kelbs was 21 years old.

Frauke is described as a loving person. She is said to have loved animals very much, especially dogs. She wasn’t shy about chatting up strangers. She made friends easily and was open-minded and knew exactly what she wanted in life, or rather, what she didn’t. Ms. Kelbs was born on February 21, 1985, in Bielefeld.

She graduated from high school and simultaneously trained as a childcare worker. Ms. Kelbs did her practical year at a facility for people with disabilities in Bad Essen. She is said to have enjoyed the work very much. According to her ex-boyfriend Chris or Christos, she wanted to continue working with disabled people later on. However, despite a very good school leaving certificate, Frauke couldn’t find a job at the time – almost unthinkable today.

Therefore, Frauke decided to begin training as a nurse. The training began on October 1, 2005, at the St. Hospital in Paderborn. Frauke actually lived in Lübcke, a small town with about 25,000 inhabitants in East Westphalia. Frauke’s family was also very well-known in the town. Frauke’s mother used to teach at the high school in Lübcke and was also formerly the deputy mayor.

Her father was a well-known dentist in the neighboring town; today, her brother Frank is also a dentist in that practice. In short, everyone knew the family. Frauke, however, decided not to stay in Lübcke but to go to Paderborn for her training. She is said to have enjoyed life there very much; there was a lot more going on there than in the small town of Lübcke, which I can confirm.

However, to keep the rent costs down during her training, Frauke wanted to start a shared apartment.  Frauke did n’t want to go into a nurses’ residence; she still got along very well with her ex-boyfriend, Chris ( full name Christus Kaulis). At the same time, he was planning to  study to become a teacher in Paderborn. The two hadn’t been a couple for a year, but they still got along very well as friends.

Frauke’s mother, Ingrid, had actually advised Frauke against  moving into a shared apartment with Chris, since he was her ex-boyfriend. But for Frauke, that wasn’t a problem at all, and so the matter was settled. Frauke was said to be the kind of person who did n’t let anything dissuade her and really went ahead with her own thing.

So Frauke and Christ lived together in Paderborn, more precisely in an attic apartment at Borchenerstraße 56. There’s still a pub below the building. Everyone had their own room in the shared apartment, and the two of them were said to have gotten along very, very well. Christ apparently already had a new girlfriend at that time, so that was the end of it with Frauke anyway.

Borchener Straße is a very busy street, even on weekends. We were there on a Sunday, and there was an extreme amount of traffic.  I’m only mentioning this in case Frauke might have reached Borchener Straße back then before getting to the city. Frauke’s apartment wasn’t far away; it was about 1.5 km and a 15- to 20-minute walk.

Frauke, Sowi, and Chris both had cars, but they probably did n’t always use them, at least Frauke didn’t, presumably to save money. Or if she’d been drinking and was in town, she could walk back. In Paderborn, Frauke quickly met new people. One of them was her later friend Isabella. The two met through their training at nursing school.

They went to classes together and sometimes spent their free time together. Like any young woman, Frauke also enjoyed going out to parties, which she often did with Isabella, for example, at the Capitol in Paderborn, which is also not far from the city center.  Frauke was a frequent visitor to the Capitol before her disappearance in May, three times in total, and attended a university summer festival on June 8th, just a few days before her disappearance.

That’s why I’m telling you this now.  I’m mentioning this explicitly, who knows if it might be important in this case, but Frauke has also maintained very good contact with her family. She has two siblings: a brother, Frank Liebs, who is ten years older and whom I just briefly mentioned. He’s a dentist and now works in the practice.

Her younger sister, Karen, who I believe has now finished her dental studies and also works as a dentist, or perhaps she’s currently on parental leave. Frauke’s mother also took  a better job back in 2006 – we’re going way back now, of course – and  she worked in Badriburg, about half an  hour from Paderborn. Ingrid Libs was the headmistress of the Badriburg Municipal Gymnasium until it closed in 2017.

Frauke’s mother’s former workplace could also be very important in this case, which is why I  mentioned it again. Through Isabella, Frauke also met someone who preoccupied her at the time, as she later told her mother. Frauke was struggling with something back then; she was learning…  Nils knew each other.

Nils was a friend of Isabella’s whom Frauke had met just a few weeks before her disappearance.  He was going through a deep crisis at the time. Nils’ best friend, Thomas, had also taken his own life on Nils’ birthday. The two had seen each other shortly before and were planning to celebrate Nils’ birthday together, but his best friend left before midnight and then took his own life, presumably just a few hours after this meeting on Nils’ birthday.

Initially, there was a search for Thomas, and his parents were very worried until his body was found. Nils, who lived in Höwelhof in the north of Paderborn at the time, fell into a deep depression, and Frauke couldn’t understand how such a young person could take his own life. Frauke had met Nils while out celebrating with Isabella, and Isabella introduced Nils to Frauke.

However, Isabella asked Frauke not to mention his friend’s death to Nils, but Frauke, being such an open, communicative, and helpful person, did so anyway. Nils was supposed to be… Frauke was shy, but very open – actually a good combination. She even pulled him onto the dance floor once, even though he wasn’t in the mood. At that time,  Frauke also wrote Isabella little notes in class, as was still common practice back then.

She wrote to Isabella, for example, that she had a very dear friend – so she was obviously referring to Nils. She added that being a man was very complicated for her, but Frauke didn’t actually think Nils was that shy. Shortly before her disappearance, Frauke spent a day with Nils. She wanted to take his mind off things.

The two went for a picnic at a campsite and then arranged to meet on Tuesday, June 20, 2006, to watch football together with Isabella and her boyfriend at the pub “The Old Triangle.” You can see the pub in the photos; it’s still there today and hasn’t changed much externally. It’s located below the Libori Gallery in Paderborn.

However, on that day, Nils was working the late shift as a machine technician, and it didn’t end until 2:15 pm. He said in advance that he wouldn’t be able to join them until 11 pm. That evening, England was playing against Sweden, so they had arranged to meet at the PAP (Pilgrimage Center for the World Cup) to watch the        match. And so it came to pass that June 20, 2006, a day that the Liebs family, Frauke’s friends, and her acquaintances have never forgotten. I believe this day will never be erased from the Liebs family’s lives because their entire lives changed. On that

Tuesday, however, Frauke didn’t go to the World Cup match at the PAP first. Instead, Frauke met up with her mother. The two of them had arranged to have dinner, and Frauke’s roommate, Chris, was also there. It was supposed to have been a nice evening with normal conversation, Frauke’s mother later recounted.

Chris talked a bit about university, and Frauke talked about her life. Around 9 p.m., the three of them finished eating. Isabella had already sent Frauke a few text messages saying that the view of the screen at the PAP was good and that she was looking forward to Frauke joining them. Chris did n’t want to go to the PAP because he wanted to study a bit more and talk to his new girlfriend on the phone.

Frauke’s mother left the pub around 9 pm, and then wanted to drive Chris home. As they were on their way, he realized he did n’t have his house key.  I assume they called Frauke, who then came out of the pub and gave Chris her house key. Chris promised to stay up until Frauke came home so he could open the door for her.

Frauke stood briefly in front of the pub, looked up towards the car, and waved to her mother and Chris as they drove off. Frauke’s mother still has this image in her mind: Frauke in her red T-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers—the last image of her daughter while she was still alive. But first, Frauke spent the evening at the pub. Kick-off was at 9 pm.

According to her friend Isabella, the pub was packed. Many Brits were there to watch the football, but they still managed to get a table. Frauke was n’t alone with Isabella; Isabella’s boyfriend was also there, I think.  She was still there, and Frauke was supposedly sitting in the middle. She wasn’t really focused on the game, though; she was kind of caught up in the World Cup atmosphere.

She   enjoyed watching, but the atmosphere was somehow more important. She was texting Nils the whole time. The two of them were having fun with it, along with Isabella. But he said that the evening they had planned to meet at the pub  at 11 pm, after his late shift, would be too late for him. He wanted to do something with his colleague, and it wouldn’t be worth driving to Paderborn at 11 pm.

But they still texted each other a bit. Frauke and Isabella tried to change Nils’ minds, but it was no use. Eventually, Frauke’s phone battery died at the pub, and the texting stopped. Frauke had a Nokia 6230 back then, and with the phones of that era…  Back then, it was still quite easy to swap batteries in cell phones, so Isabella, who apparently had the same one as Frauke, swapped her battery with hers.

Then Frauke and Niils were able to text a little longer. However, when the game ended around 11 p.m., Frauke, who was very tired and had school the next day, wanted to slowly make her way home. She paid for her coffee. She supposedly only had one drink at the PAP (presumably a local pub) and then had very little money left in her purse, according to Isabella.

I only mention this because you wouldn’t expect Frauke to have taken a taxi, since she didn’t have enough money for one. Frauke’s car was parked on Borchener Straße, so it was n’t at her place; her mother had dropped her off at the PAP. After Frauke paid, Isabella and Frauke hugged each other again, and Frauke said “see you tomorrow morning” to Isabella and went out the door.

Isabella says she didn’t see which way Frauke supposedly went.  The PAP (presumably a specific location or site) was very crowded both inside and outside, with many people, and she simply couldn’t see. However, there are four possible routes home. Frauke had about 1.5 km to go, and I would like to briefly explain these routes here.

The first route Frauke could have taken led her through the pedestrian zone on Westernstraße and then directly to Borchenerstraße. The second route would have led her to Liboriberg, a fairly busy street in Paderborn. From there, she would have reached Borchener Straße without any detours. Then there are two more routes that would have led Frauke through residential areas, which were, of course, hardly busy at 11 p.m.

and perhaps a bit dark. So, it is assumed that Frauke, if she didn’t get into a vehicle immediately in front of the PAP, might have taken a busy route. But regardless of which route Frauke took on June 20, 2006, she never arrived at her apartment, or at least it is not assumed that Frauke was forced into a vehicle there.

The incident occurred on June 21, 2006. Almost two hours later, at 12:49 a.m., Frauke’s roommate Chris received a text message from her. He had wanted to wait for her since she hadn’t had her key with her. The text from Frauke said, “The game was fun. Not against England. Love you so much. See you later.” Frauke meant in the text not against England, as Chris and Frauke had previously discussed that Sweden would have been the easier opponent, then later against Germany.

It was already almost 1 a.m., and it was unusual for Frauke, even on a weekday, to keep Chris waiting so long and awake. Chris was starting to get a little annoyed because he really wanted to go to sleep. His attempts to reach Frauke on her cell phone failed. Chris, of course, didn’t know at that point that Frauke’s cell phone battery was dead.

Perhaps it was just enough that evening to briefly turn the phone on and off—sometimes possible with older phones—and then maybe send him the short text message, but it probably wouldn’t last much longer.  It was n’t enough, or this text message was sent much later because it got stuck in the outbox. That ‘s also a possibility.

Later, it was discovered that the text message was sent at 0:49 from Niheim-Trup in the Höxter district. Throughout the video, I will occasionally show you the exact data of the cell towers and their ranges. From Paderborn to Nieheim, it’s about 40 minutes by car, and on foot, and in the dark, this distance would have been absolutely impossible.

Sometime during the night, Chris fell asleep. The next morning at nursing school, Isabella wondered why Frauke wasn’t there yet. She also asked the teacher if Frauke had called in sick, which wasn’t the case. Later during the break, Isabella tried to reach Frauke on her cell phone, but it was still switched off.

Since Frauke and Chris also had a landline in their apartment at the time, Isabella tried that way, and Chris, still half asleep, answered the phone. He thought Frauke had stayed overnight at Isabella’s. He did check Frauke’s room, but the bed was made. The room was empty, but he had n’t let Frauke in, so she couldn’t possibly be lying in her room, perhaps asleep.

Maybe he was just a little spaced out that morning and that’s why he  checked her room. Isabella immediately got a very, very uneasy feeling. Frauke hadn’t come home; where would she even go? She was already very, very tired that evening. Chris could n’t let it go either. He called the hospitals in the area and drove around Paderborn hoping to see Frauke.

They both knew Frauke very, very well and knew perfectly well that it wasn’t like her to just stay out like that.  Frauke’s mother was also informed by the headmaster, as Isabella was becoming quite anxious. She, too, had a bad  feeling from the start. She knew her daughter, and Frauke was known for  going to work the next morning, even if she had been out partying, or at least properly checking out at school or work.

Frauke’s mother, Ingrid, called Frauke’s friends and acquaintances, but just like Chris, she did n’t get any news that…  Frauke might have found shelter somewhere, so Frauke’s mother eventually decided to go to the police in her second home, Badrieburg. Initially, Frauke’s mother was turned away in Badrieburg; Frauke was considered an adult who could determine her own whereabouts.

However, they did check whether there had been an accident, which turned out not to be the case. The police could only take the missing person report from June 22nd onwards, around noon the following day. However, they also had to check whether the police in Paderborn, Frauke’s place of residence, were responsible. And that’s how it all came about.

The case was  transferred to the police in Paderborn on June 22, 2006. Her care class searched for Frauke. Together with Frauke’s mother, they printed flyers without police assistance and distributed them in downtown Paderborn. The sooner they started looking for Frauke, the more people might remember her. But even then, they received no further leads.

Frauke’s family and friends were all very worried. Frauke’s cell phone was still switched off; there was still no sign of life from her. Chris was so distraught that he decided to go home to his parents in Lübcke. He apparently did this often when he didn’t have to go to university because he simply didn’t have any friends in Paderborn.

His life revolved around Lübcke. He was sitting outside on the steps at his parents’ house when he received a call from Frauke at 2:25 a.m.: “Hello Christos, I wanted to say that I’m okay and I’ll be home soon. Tell Mom, Dad, and the others.” Chris didn’t even get a chance to ask Frauke where she was or what had happened.

He hung up immediately afterward, at least according to the account Chris later gave of this call. What Chris noticed, however, was that Frauke didn’t speak as usual; she sounded very dazed, almost like she was on drugs. Frauke only called Chris “Christos” when things were really serious, when she wanted to tell him something he really needed to listen to, or when there was some kind of problem, or when she was angry with him.

It’s now assumed that Chris was chosen as the caller because Frauke’s mother did n’t always have her cell phone with her or even turn it on at that time. After Frauke disappeared, however, Ingrid Liebst kept her cell phone permanently switched on, either next to her at work or very close to her. Of course, Frauke could n’t have known this.

But the fact that Frauke had just called her ex was a bit strange. Someone must have had a charging cable for Frauke’s phone—in this case, the perpetrator— or perhaps the same phone, and they simply swapped the batteries, because according to Isabella, Frauke’s phone was dead when she left the PAP. Frauke’s sister Karen, like Chris, was relieved after the first call from Frauke; it was always a sign of life, because they had been with After the phone call, Frauke’s family waited for her at their shared apartment, expecting the worst.

They really thought she was coming home, but unfortunately, that was n’t the case. Meanwhile, Frauke’s photo—I believe the police initiated this—was also shown on screens in Paderborn before, for example, the football matches started. Perhaps some of the spectators still have memories of that evening and might know where Frauke might have gone or who she might have been with.

At the time, the investigators also launched a parallel investigation on suspicion of kidnapping, which allowed them to monitor Frauke’s phone connections. This doesn’t mean, however, that the investigators could listen to any conversations; they only received the connection data. Nils was also questioned by the police, as he was the one Frauke had exchanged the most text messages with before her disappearance.

But he says he couldn’t help the police either. However, he will be mentioned again later. On Friday, June 23, 2006, at 11:04 PM, Chris received another text message. Frauke wrote, “I’m coming home today. I’m in Paderborn. Love you.” When Chris received Frauke’s text message, Frauke’s older brother Frank got a notification on his phone.

He had set up a notification to be alerted when Frauke’s phone was switched back on. At 11:06 PM, Frank called  Frauke. “Frauke, what are you doing? When are you coming home?” he asked. “I’m coming home today, not too late. I’m in Paderborn. Don’t ask, I’m coming home. Where are you? I can’t say.” Frank says today that he spoke to Frauke very angrily at the time, which he regrets, but he couldn’t have known what had really happened to her.

Besides, Frauke sounded perfectly normal and lucid during the conversation, and he thought he had made it clear to her  that she should just stop with this nonsense. That’s roughly what  he said, and that Mom and Dad were worried too, and that she should finally come home. After this very short conversation with Frank, Frauke’s parents were waiting at the shared apartment again, but Frauke didn’t come.

And what does ” I can’t say” even mean? Did she not want to or wasn’t allowed to say it? The parents were slowly reaching their breaking point. The next day, four days have passed since the evening in Papp. On that day, Germany played against Sweden in the World Cup. The game started at 5 p.m. On that day, Frauke called again, this time speaking to Chris.

It was the only call that afternoon, at 2:23 p.m.: “I won’t be back so late. I’ll be home tonight. Are you hurt?” “No, I’m in Paderborn. I’m in Paderborn. I ‘m in Paderborn.” After this short conversation, everyone wondered why Frauke emphasized three times that she was in Paderborn. Was she trying to point something out, or had the person who was holding her told her what to say on the phone? The family is still puzzled about what it could mean.

They also wonder if the perpetrator might have been meeting friends or family to watch the World Cup that evening at 5 p.m.,  and that’s why Frauke was allowed to make the call a little earlier. Although the risk of being discovered during the day was obviously much higher for the perpetrator,  perhaps he expected to be in a city that evening and decided it was better to take Frauke out before the World Cup game.

Later, they realized  Incidentally, it’s confirmed that the call at 2:23 PM came from the industrial park/commercial area, whatever it’s called, Mönkelo. I filmed part of it for you; I’ll include that in the short video that’s coming soon. But you can see some pictures of the Mönkelo industrial park in the YouTube video for those of you watching right now.

Of course, 17 years separate the area then and now. The police in Paderborn had also noticed, since Christian had submitted a kind of call log after every call to the police, that Frauke was contacting them. The suspicion that Frauke might be held against her will thus decreased for the police; they no longer saw any danger.

Frauke’s mother, Ingrid, however, was quite certain that something was wrong. She continued to go to the police and was practically reprimanded by one of the officers. He called her an overprotective mother and asked if she really believed Frauke had fallen into the hands of a deviant sex offender. So, Frauke’s mother couldn’t expect much help from the police at that point.

She desperately tried to get a voice recorder, but couldn’t find one at the time.  The fact   that the calls couldn’t be recorded is very distressing for everyone, especially since the department store couldn’t be found today.  Perhaps a little more could have been deduced from them. Even the local newspapers reported at the time that Frauke had finally reported her disappearance, and the fears that something had happened to her were therefore unfounded.

Frauke’s family became increasingly desperate because little help could be expected from the police at that time, since Frauke kept calling. Even today, I wonder if the perpetrator was aware of the search for Frauke and therefore allowed these calls to be made, perhaps to hinder or even completely prevent the police investigation.

That’s certainly conceivable   for me, but perhaps you share the same opinion. Feel free to write it in the comments if you like. Was the  trip to Paderborn perhaps specifically for this reason, to divert attention from Niheim, since the first text message came from Niheim, and that was already known? Or what was the purpose of the trip to Niheim-Trup, about 40 minutes away, on the day of her disappearance, June 25th? Frauke has now been missing for five days.

A conversation took place between Frauke and Christ. This time, Frauke called him at 10:28 PM. “I’m coming home today. Are you in danger?” “No.” “Why did n’t you come home yesterday? I can explain. Where are you?” “I’ll explain when I get home.” Frauke did give Christ answers, but none of them were really helpful, none that would have even remotely helped him in this situation.

On June 26, 2006, a Monday, there was no sign of life from Frauke at all—no call, no text message. The family became increasingly worried. Usually, there was at least a brief sign of life from Frauke every day. The very last sign of life from Frauke came the following day, June 27, 2006. Frauke’s parents and her sister Karin were still at the shared apartment.

Since a pattern had developed from the calls—Frauke always called around the same time in the evening, around 10:30 PM—they waited for her call. It got later and later that  evening, and after 11:00 PM, Frauke’s parents decided to go home because they suspected that, just like the day before, there would be no call.  Karen stayed with Chris and was in Frauke’s room.

Chris was finishing things for university. No one really expected a call from Frauke at that time; after all, as I said, things had already started to get heated yesterday. But then at 11:24 p.m., Chris’s cell phone rang again. Chris immediately called Karen and put the call on speakerphone. The following is a transcript of the last call from June 27, 2006: Hello Chrissi, I’m fine.

Where are you? I can’t say. Come home. No, that’s not possible. Why not? I can’t tell you. Are you being held? Yes. No. No. Are you scared? No. Who is with you? I can’t tell you. Are you tired? Yes, very tired. Do you know that the police are looking for you? Yes, I know.

How do you know that? I’ve been away for almost a week. Why are you gone? You know that, Chris. No. Have you met another guy? You know I’m not going to be away for a week because of that guy. You know me. Karin is with me. We’re all worried. Are Mom and Dad there too?  were here, tell them I love them so much, when are you coming back? I don’t know why you didn’t come even though you said you’d come back today.

I’ll explain later. Should I pick you up? No, that’s not possible. Can we meet somewhere? That’s not possible. Where are you, Mom? Where are you, Mom? Where are you, Mom? When will you get in touch? I don’t know yet. Please get in touch at least once a day. I did the other days, too. I was very sad that you did n’t get in touch yesterday.

Yes, I know you were very sad. Give me Karin, please, please don’t ask me questions. Are you afraid to come home? No, we’re also cleaning the apartment, and no one will ask you what happened. Please come back. That’s not possible, I’m still alive. Are you with one or more people? Please don’t ask me.

I would like to be with you. I would like to go home. Please get in touch at least once a day. Yes, I will. Bye, see you soon. Karen, after the conversation, which this time lasted a full five and a half minutes, tears immediately welled up in their eyes, and Chris still says to this day that Frauke seemed in a trance, as if she wasn’t really there, as if she might not even Chris may have been given colic drops.

At the time, he perceived this longer conversation as progress, as he didn’t yet know it would be the last conversation. However, it was also strange that Frauke  answered “Mama” three times when asked where she was. To this day, people wonder what ” Mama” meant, since it wasn’t a real answer. Was Frauke perhaps completely weakened and wanted to be rescued, in this case by her mother? Honestly, that’s the first thing I can imagine, and the police believe it too.

Or perhaps she really wanted to give a hidden signal, maybe   indicating her mother’s whereabouts, her mother’s second home in Badrieburg, or perhaps referring to the high school, or maybe a student there, since her mother was the headmistress? Perhaps there was trouble, also a possibility I can imagine. The clues in Frauke’s case even went so far after this last conversation as to consider restaurants with the name “Mama” in the region, or perhaps some hotels, guesthouses, or whatever.

There are probably few places  called “Mama,” but there was apparently a restaurant, a hotel—I don’t remember exactly—which was definitely investigated. Interviews had just taken place, and what was also extremely awful about that last phone call was the fact that Frauke sounded extremely weak and exhausted, and it seemed like a farewell to both Karen and Chris.

Especially since Frauke told Mom and Dad that she loved them very much. Frauke never used the word “love” before, only “I like you,” but the intensified form of “love”—that’s what she never said to her parents. They had said “I like you,” but never “I love you” or that she truly loved them. And I personally believe that Frauke herself knew she didn’t have much longer to live.

Perhaps she wanted to  send one last message, to tell everyone that she loved them very, very much. Also, in that conversation, Frauke was honest for the first time and said that she was being held captive, but then immediately corrected herself with a “no, no.” Perhaps that was also the reason the perpetrator didn’t let Frauke make another phone call and killed her, because he was perhaps afraid of being exposed.

I can very well imagine that. Frauke’s parents were very sad that they had n’t heard the call back then. They didn’t even know it would be the last one. But as the days passed, the fear spread. Frauke’s family didn’t give up, though; they continued distributing leaflets hoping for a clue. But none came. Not a single person claims to have seen Frauke with anyone on the night she disappeared, or in the days that followed.

At least, that’s not publicly known. There were some statements about it, but I’ll get to that in a moment. Even the lead investigator, Ralf Östermann, stated that of course no one noticed if Frauke got into a car with someone she knew shortly after leaving the Pope’s residence.  It went unnoticed. Imagine  you’re out somewhere and someone gets into a car because you know they know each other—you can tell from their facial expressions, or whatever—you do  n’t remember it.

But if Frauke had screamed, for example, that would have stuck in  people’s minds much more. It would have been recorded, and people might even have intervened. But apparently, no one noticed even a scream in a residential area back then, as was later revealed.  It was determined that all of Frauke’s calls, except for her first text message of the year, originated from Nihim in the Höchst district; all others came from Paderborn, and all from commercial or industrial areas in Paderborn. It’s conceivable that Frauke could have sent

the text messages from a commercial or industrial area in Nihim, such as the  Allersberg or Bilsterberg industrial parks. One call came from the Sennelager industrial park on June 22nd, which is located in the north of Paderborn. Many British soldiers also live there.

Investigators were looking in this direction because Frauke had previously been in the police station, but they couldn’t determine whether Frauke’s disappearance was connected to a soldier. On June  23rd, a call came from the Dören industrial park. On June 24th, another call came in the early afternoon from the Mönkelo industrial park, of which I’ve already shown some excerpts.

On June 25th, a call came from Berliner Ring in Paderborn, and Frauke’s last call came from the Benhauser Feld industrial park. Frauke must have always been driven to the industrial parks. Otherwise, it would n’t have been possible, and even today people wonder if it was a car, a truck, a camper van— what was it that Frauke was transported in? Honestly, I think a car is unlikely, but of course, no one can be certain.

Frauke’s family and the police did far too little, and since Frauke had n’t contacted them at all, they hired a private investigator. He went to the discos with Frauke’s friends, and it was said that he was expensive but very unsuitable. Later, Frauke’s mother tried drug counseling centers and cult experts, hoping to find help there,  but it all came to nothing.

Karen and Frank looked through Frauke’s computer because Frauke liked to chat online. Later, the police took the computer, and Frauke’s chat partners were checked. They didn’t find anyone there either who could be held responsible for Frauke’s disappearance. If Frauke’s mother had n’t kept a diary of all those calls and dates, no one would know exactly what happened on which day.

It really robbed the family of sleep, not knowing what had happened to Frauke. They tried again and again.  Trying to make sense of the phone calls and why it had suddenly become so quiet for so long – over two months, nothing more was heard from Frauke – an incredibly long, oppressive time until everything changed on October 4, 2006.

Dirk, an amateur hunter, was making his rounds through the hunting grounds and was actually already on his way home when he  turned his car from the forest path onto the main road. Suddenly, he saw trampled bushes and really thought it was a wildlife collision and wanted to see if he might have to put the animal out of its misery.

He then walked only a very short distance uphill, a few meters following the tracks, and then he came to the spot under the spruce trees. Back then, there were still countless spruce trees and dense forest at the location. As I said, today it looks completely different, and Dirk immediately knew what had happened.

The first thing they noticed were  Frauke’s Adidas shoes. As a hunter, he knew immediately that these were not animal bones. He immediately contacted the police. He hadn’t directly connected the body to the Frauke case; he only knew about the case vaguely from the media.  The spot wasn’t easily visible, at least back then.

It ‘s different now. Back then, you could  park your car there easily, both during the day and at night. Hardly any cars drive there; I saw that myself. And the perpetrator did n’t need to worry, even though his pulse was probably racing when he dumped Frauke. Before we continue, here are a few brief insights from me at the site where Frauke was found.

As mentioned before, a lot of clearing work was carried out there today; the bark beetle had destroyed quite a bit, and it looks completely different than it did back then. But I’ll also show you pictures of what it looked like back then. But now, two short videos. So, my dears, we’ve just arrived here, but as you can see, there’s really nothing going on.

A car will come along soon. There’s Frauke’s cross, and the road is really very, very quiet—hardly any cars, and when there are, they’re driving relatively fast. We’re going to go up there now and see if that’s where the dumping site is. Actually, looking at it like this, I think the perpetrator could have parked much better here because it’s much easier to drive in.

But let’s go up there now and see if we have anything else with us. But let’s see exactly where we can put it because, unfortunately, you can’t leave it at Frauke’s cross itself. To show you again…  This is probably where the perpetrator parked. You can drive in quite easily here, just like there.  I would have even considered that a better place to leave the body, but that’s always a matter of opinion.

Then he walked up here, not far at all, because perpetrators are usually under time pressure, and this actually fits quite well. Then there’s this little path along here, and lots of people have trampled it; you can see that the grass has been pressed down quite a bit. Then you just walk in here, and that was the place where the body was left.

So, really, a very, very  short distance down here for the perpetrator. So, my dears, we’ve now arrived at the place where the body was left. I’ll take a picture of it for you right away. But it’s very, very oppressive to be here. The other places weren’t so bad. I also filmed an industrial area, and yes, the PAP (presumably a reference to a specific location or place), and also her home address back then, her house, or rather, her house.

But now to stand here and know that she really is her murderer. He walked along with her and left her here. I do n’t want to show that in the background, but I’m standing here right now,  and yes, you’ll see that in the…  The episode that comes out will take a while, but it’s really very, very unsettling.

And you can see it here behind me; there’s nothing here. A car drives by on this street maybe every five minutes, and probably no one at night. This perpetrator must have definitely known this place; you don’t just drive or come by here by chance.  Then the police were informed about the discovery of the body.

The investigators immediately realized that it was just a dumping ground and not a crime scene. The body was partially covered with leaves and twigs. The investigators arrived at dusk. Securing evidence in the dark was very difficult, so a patrol guarded the site until it got light. On the night the body was found, Frauke’s mother received a call.

She was already in bed and trying to distract herself by reading. It was already 11 p.m. on October 4th when the phone rang. Someone from the Paderborn police headquarters was on the line. He just wanted to inform them that a body had been found and that it could be Frauke. It would also be in the press the next morning, just so she wouldn’t be surprised, he said.

He went to Frau Liebs, and that was it. No police officers personally informed the family, no chaplain was there to offer support, just a phone call, and not even at that point did they know for sure if it was Frauke. I find what the police did incredibly sad,  and it must have been unbelievably terrible for the family.

The night was, of course, very, very  bad for them. The next morning, Frauke’s mother, Ingrid, pressed redial on her phone and asked the police officer if they still thought Frauke had simply run away. The answer was no, they no longer believed that; they were now assuming a crime had been committed. For the investigators, it was also very, very difficult to secure any evidence at the scene because Frauke’s body was already skeletal, and there was also moisture from wild animals.

The search for clues must have been very difficult. While Frauke was being taken to the forensic medicine department, her clothing was also examined. Presumably, she was wearing the same clothes she had worn when she left the police station the entire time she was held: t

he jeans, the red T-shirt, and the…  The Adidas shoes found on the clothing showed no signs of violence. The primary focus was, of course, on whether this could have been caused by a knife or weapon. Nevertheless, the police also brought explosive detection dogs to the scene. These dogs also provided no indication that shots had been fired. Any footprints and tire tracks that could potentially have been secured had long since been destroyed by the weather.

Two days later, Commissioner Östermann appeared at the Liebs family’s door. They were certain, through a dental comparison, that the body was Frauke’s. The forensic pathologist determined that there was no mechanical force against the bones, nor any evidence of stab or slash wounds. Frauke’s hyoid bone was intact, meaning Frauke was probably not strangled, although this isn’t 100% certain; suffocation is also a possibility.

No drugs were found in her body, although chocohol would have broken down very quickly. Whether Frauke was also sexually assaulted remains unclear; the body was simply in far too poor condition for that. Only Frauke’s socks were missing, but it’s uncertain whether she was wearing any that evening. Frauke’s socks are still missing to this day.

Her Nokia phone, her handbag (it was supposed to be a black handbag), and her Fossil wristwatch. Her sister Karen was glad to have certainty, but wonders today whether Frauke was really left there dead or perhaps died there alone in her final moments. Of course, that’s an absolutely terrible thought. I do n’t even want to imagine what other terrible things the family might be thinking about, what Frauke might have experienced.

When it became clear that Frauke was dead, the police investigation officially began. The Lichtenau homicide squad was formed. For a long time, they suspected Frauke’s roommate and ex-boyfriend Chris. Chris and Frauke were still friends after their relationship, but a jealous rage was also conceivable. And since Frauke only called him, apart from that one conversation with her brother Frank, Chris was naturally a suspect, especially as an ex-boyfriend.

But Karen was present during that last conversation, the farewell, so the police told Chris that this saved him; he was the police’s prime suspect. And of course, the police did n’t only suspect Chris, but also Nils. Frauke and Nils had only known each other a short time before her death.  A few weeks before Frauke disappeared, the two had known each other at the Kapitol disco in Paderborn.

Two days before Frauke vanished, they had picnicked together at a campsite and had actually arranged to meet at 11 p.m. that very day, the same time Frauke left the Kapitol. Nils then canceled and apparently couldn’t be persuaded to change his mind. What the police found very suspicious about Nils was that he always went to the cemetery where his deceased friend Thomas was buried after dark, always after his late shift.

The cemetery where his friend was buried was the cemetery on the Dören, next to the industrial park on the Dören. Perhaps you now remember several calls from Frauke originating from the industrial park on the Dören. Nils lived in Hövelhof. Frauke’s first call came from the Hövelhof Dreihhausen Sennelager radio mast.

This was something that struck the police as odd, and Nils knew exactly where Frauke was that evening—namely, at the Kapitol. They had actually arranged to meet there. Frauke was familiar to him, even if neither Isabella nor Nils want to remember it today. At least initially, there was even a brief kiss between Frauke and Nils at the nightclub, but Nils says he couldn’t imagine a relationship with Frauke back then.

However, they must have had some kind of connection, otherwise  Frauke wouldn’t have just kissed him on the mouth. The police carefully examined whether Nils could have made it to the PAP (presumably a specific location or institution) after his late shift. If he had hurried, he could easily have still been there at 11 p.m. Frauke’s text me

ssage at 12:49 a.m. would also be explainable in this context. It’s assumed that if the text wasn’t stuck in the sent messages but was  sent by Frauke at 12:49 a.m., then Frauke was still feeling well  and comfortable with the perpetrator at that time. Nils himself knows that it’s logical that he was a suspect; so many things just fit together so well.

And even I, hearing this, could almost say that so much fits. Are these really all just coincidences? Even a lighthearted text message from the previous evening at the PU (presumably a specific location or institution) between Isabella, Frauke, and Nils contained…  Namely, they should cook for Nils in lingerie, which later  backfired on him.

Nils says, however, that on the evening he canceled on Frauke, he played billiards with his friend Andy, and later they went for a kebab. But since the police confirmed the incident far too late, there were no more camera recordings, neither from the arcade where they played billiards nor from the restaurant where he got a kebab.

So nobody could say for sure whether he was actually there that exact evening;  it was simply too long ago. And  according to his statement, Nils was in bed around 2 a.m. that evening. In the middle, they also questioned Nils’ friend Andy, who is a witness that Nils spent the evening and the night Frauke disappeared with him until he went to his own bed and went to sleep, and Andy probably then drove home.

The police also checked Nils’ work schedule during the week Frauke disappeared. They also checked data from Nils’ cell phone and perhaps also from other cell phones to see if the cell towers matched. Nils’ and Andy’s car was also searched.  Andy had previously found barbecue meat in the car, which he was supposed to remove. All the police searches were never unexpected; they were all announced.

Nils’ room was never searched, only the basement. I assume Nils was still living with his parents at the time. In the end, Nils was briefly excluded. The calls came at times when Nils was supposedly still at work. The timeframes were too narrow, and Andy was a witness. Based on his work timecards, Nils was then apparently excluded.

I’ve been told that Nils isn’t even his real name. I don’t know if that’s true. Perhaps one of you knows? Please send me a private message; I’d be interested to know. But I think because so many things fit, it’s possible he changed his name. But as I said, I’m not 100% sure. Since Christ and Nils were now excluded, the search for Frauke’s murderer continued.

An operational case analysis suggested Frauke might have been held captive in Nieheim. Several properties there were searched, including specific individuals who lived in Nieheim but in Porborn.  They worked on it, but nothing ever came of it, or rather, no one ever really came under strong suspicion. Even the English police officers were investigated, as they were stationed in Sennelager, where a call had originated from that area.

The German police were supported by the Special Investigation Bronze unit, but the whole thing also proved fruitless. While the police were still searching for Frauke’s murderer, the Liebst family had to make the most difficult journey of their lives. On October 27, 2006, Frauke was buried in Lübeck’s main cemetery.

The funeral service was public; many young people came, Frauke’s friends, her classmates, her family, and many people who simply wanted to express their grief and condolences to the family. The police were also present and wanted to film the funeral to perhaps detect any unusual behavior that might fit the perpetrator’s profile.

Unfortunately, the police only filmed one entrance to the church, which had two entrances. This is just one of many blunders by the police in Frauke’s case. Shortly after the funeral, the case was featured on the television program “Aktenzeichen XY” on November 9.  In 2006, Chief Detective Anne Henze was in the studio. According to Ralf Östermann, over 40 tips had been received by that Friday.

These tips  came from the Paderborn area and the surrounding region, claiming witnesses had  seen Frau Keliebst between July 20th and 27th. What became of these tips, I unfortunately don’t know, nor how seriously they were taken. Perhaps they were just vague  statements. According to the initial assessment, none of the tips yielded any promising leads.

A year after Frauke’s body was found, the Lichtenau homicide squad had already closed its investigation. The case was being taken over by the Bielefeld Criminal Investigation Department. Ralf Östermann announced at the time that the initial situation in this homicide was  very difficult for the homicide squad due to the poor forensic evidence.

However, in the course of the investigation, some promising leads emerged,  necessitating the squad’s months-long work to thoroughly examine all the evidence. A year isn’t really that long, one has to say.  Frauke had well over 100 contacts from the internet. She also liked to chat and called herself “sweet Cory” online, and was active on ICQ and julity, among other platforms.

I myself was also registered on julity back then; it was a site for meeting people, not just a pure dating site. But I have to say that this site was about 80% populated by people from East Westphalia and the surrounding area. This site has n’t existed for several years now. The investigators traveled a long way back then to check all the internet contacts and also questioned people.

They are said to have interviewed and questioned up to 1000 people in total. At the time, it was still believed that the perpetrator had definitely abducted Frauke to Nieheim and had even taken her to Paderborn to divert attention from Nieheim. Today, it’s no longer considered that Nieheim was the central location, so to speak, where she was being held captive.