3 Germans in crossbow deaths killed by shots to hearts, neck

3 Germans in crossbow deaths killed by shots to hearts, neck


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BERLIN (AP) — Autopsies showed three people found dead at a German hotel with crossbow bolts lodged in their bodies died from those wounds, but police said Tuesday there was no sign of a struggle or the involvement of others.

Investigators said a 53-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman found holding hands in a hotel bed in Passau, near the Austrian border, on Saturday each died from one bolt to the heart. A 30-year-old woman found on the floor died from a shot to the neck.

Police said they found wills for the man and the woman in the bed. They gave no details of what was in the documents, saying the contents and the woman's white pickup truck are part of the ongoing investigation. Authorities also are awaiting test results that would show whether the three had consumed alcohol or drugs.

The evidence suggests the younger woman first shot the other two and then herself and the deaths appeared to be a case of "killing on demand" or suicide, German news agency dpa quoted prosecutors as saying.

There are still no signs that anyone else was involved in the slayings.

The bodies of two more women were found Monday at the apartment of the 30-year-old woman who died in Passau, several hundred kilometers (miles) away in Wittingen in northern Germany. Initial examinations indicated the women, ages 35 and 19, did not die as a result of external injuries, authorities said.

The 35-year-old was the partner of the younger woman found Saturday on the hotel room floor in Passau.

Christina Pannek, a spokeswoman for prosecutors in Hildesheim, said it appeared the women had been dead for several days and the causes haven't been established yet, dpa reported.

Authorities have not released the identities of any of the victims.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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