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CRIME

Mass DNA test in hunt for woman’s killer

German police are appealing to 9,000 men to take part in a mass DNA test, in the hunt for the killer of a woman whose dismembered body was found in a lake.

Mass DNA test in hunt for woman's killer
Photo: DPA

Parts of the mystery woman have been found over the past three months in the Tollense Lake in north east Germany – but crucially her head is still missing and police have been unable to identify her.

Public prosecutor in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania Beatrix Komning said the victim was probably between 40 and 55, and the police suspect she was killed by someone she was in a relationship with.

The authorities are therefore taking cheek swab samples from men in the region aged between 50 and 70 and started on Thursday in Neubrandenburg.

The DNA collected will be compared with a sample found on the plastic bags in which the body parts were taken to the lake.

The search for the woman’s head was abandoned on Wednesday after teams had worked through the Tollense Lake and the nearby Mühlen Pond with no success.

DPA/The Local/hc

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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