Crime Scene Berlin: Nightlife Killer (2024) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[dramatic cello playing]
- [flash bangs]
- [music intensifies]
[electronic dance music playing]
[woman] Police are looking
for an alleged killer.
[man] Investigators suspect murder.
The man drugged
and then robbed his victims.
[electronic music playing]
This is the sort of case that made me feel
we're dealing with a monster.
[man] People are dying right now.
And nobody knows where he is
or what he's planning next.
An incredibly eerie murder case in Berlin.
THE POISON KILLER OF FRIEDRICHSHAIN
COMA KILLER
HOW MANY MORE VICTIMS DID HE MURDER?
For this region, you could say
it's a once-in-a-century case.
[dramatic techno music continues]
That's what's so terrible about it,
to consciously do it.
To know exactly
what he's doing.
[music swells, ends]
He doesn't have any reason to stop.
[ominous music playing]
[dramatic cello resonates, fades]
[mysterious music playing]
[music fades]
[dramatic music playing]
[people chatter]
[car honks]
[techno music playing]
Berlin nights are vibrant, rather diverse
STATE PROSECUTOR
And in my professional opinion,
somewhat dangerous.
[electronic dance music playing]
[man] Loud music,
hedonism, sexuality, vibrations,
the sounds of the low bass.
I think it has a lot to do
with the history of Berlin's past.
It's because of The Berlin Wall,
which also divided Friedrichshain.
After being the location of a death zone,
it went on to become
a lawless party scene.
It's like magic.
[crowd cheers and shouts]
[techno music playing]
Getting high on drugs
is part of our nature.
Some go out partying and have five beers.
Others smoke a joint,
and others snort a line. [chuckles]
The possibilities here are endless,
but at the same time,
this party scene does have a dark side.
[siren wailing]
[siren wailing]
[ominous music playing]
What's most terrifying is
how quickly such a life can
be turned completely
upside down on its head.
That's very scary.
FRIEDRICHSHAIN DISTRIC
[suspenseful music playing]
[people chatter]
MAY 5TH, 2012
[suspenseful music continues]
It was just a typical Friday night
here, at the bar.
Guests were roaming around,
we were serving drinks,
all the regulars were here.
It was business as usual.
[suspenseful music playing]
[music fades]
FUCKING
[ominous music playing]
[dramatic sting]
- [breaks screech]
- [siren wailing]
The doorbell rang.
My boss got me straight out of bed.
He stood there and said,
"Please come to the bar with me."
At that point, all I knew was
we had a dead body at the bar.
I didn't know who,
I didn't know why, I didn't know what.
[ominous music playing]
My co-worker who found him at the time
initially didn't realize he was dead.
He basically was just trying
to wake him up.
So, he placed a glass of water
next to him,
saying he'd be back in ten minutes
and he'd have to kick him out then.
His skin also changed color,
and it was at that point when he realized
what was actually going on.
At first I thought it might've been
a sex accident, maybe too many drugs,
too much alcohol, or a mix of both,
which can definitely also lead to death.
It was unclear from the start
what had happened here.
STATE CRIMINAL POLICE AGENCY
[car engine starts]
Up until that moment,
I didn't know what a darkroom was.
SENIOR HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR
I wasn't familiar with these places
where homosexual men meet
to have anonymous sex with each other.
And so, we ended up
taking a closer look at the place,
to understand the situation better.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Andreas] We got the impression
there was a sexual element.
That was undeniable. It seemed obvious.
[suspenseful music continues]
It's the kind of place where you'd expect
a large amount of evidence
including DNA evidence.
There were paper tissues lying around,
we inspected the garbage,
lots of condoms in there.
[suspenseful music playing]
[flash charges]
[Andreas] Securing a crime scene
includes a scan,
so we can access a simulation of the scene
later on a computer.
This includes taping,
meaning tape is attached to the body
in a specific grid pattern,
to secure DNA and fiber traces.
We do this because we only have one shot,
that exact moment
while we are at the crime scene.
[ominous music continues]
But we found nothing on the body
to reveal its identity.
So for us, this was initially
an unidentified dead person.
[music swells, wanes]
FORENSICS
[pensive music playing]
We found clues on the deceased,
indicating suffocation.
FORENSIC PATHOLOGIS
This can manifest as point-shaped bleeding
in the eyelids and conjunctiva,
on the outside of the eyelids,
on the facial skin,
possibly the oral mucosa.
Initially, we couldn't explain it.
So, during our initial examination,
working with the police,
we couldn't find any evidence that
would have pointed to a strangulation,
which in turn would have
explained the evidence we found there.
So, after examining the body,
it was still unclear
what actually happened here.
That left me with
an uneasy feeling.
[dramatic tone resonates]
[rumbling]
Obviously, it was very important to us
to be able to ID the victim.
And as early as Saturday,
there were initial hints
of the victim's possible identity.
One of the bar employees knew the victim
worked as a cashier at the Metro market,
where he was some sort of manager.
So, one of my teams drove
to the Metro market
with a picture of the victim,
and there, they were able to obtain
information pretty quickly from the staff
as to who it was,
a 32-year-old man whose name was Nicky.
[suspenseful music playing]
That day, I felt different
right when I woke up.
NICKY'S SISTER
Somehow, I felt sort of
down like, I was in a bad mood,
I don't know, kind of like
Yeah.
And then my phone rang.
It was a police officer.
"Your brother was found dead in a bar."
When she said that, I dropped my phone.
I fully panicked.
When I saw my parents, it hurt even more
It was just everything all at once.
I was overwhelmed with pain.
[ominous music playing]
In a matter of seconds, gone. Vanished.
Huh?
We still had so many plans.
Really.
My parents, too.
Our parents.
It was too soon.
[suspenseful music playing]
[music continues]
[Katrin] I was informed
that investigations had begun.
Since we had
little information to go off of,
we began investigating
into every possible direction
with open minds.
And it would have been a mistake
to jump to conclusions too early.
[music continues]
[woman] My job was to drive to the office,
where I proceeded to question
the bartender from Grosse Freiheit
HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR
in our interrogation room.
At that point, he was our key eyewitness,
who could tell us more about the location,
and the frequent clientele,
so, I told him to describe
all the guests that night to me.
Someone must have seen or heard
what happened that night.
[suspenseful electronic music playing]
I remember sitting in this room
with at least five, six, seven officers.
My boss was there.
It went on for hours.
Everyone was questioned
separately, thoroughly.
Who did you see? Who was having sex where?
With who? How? In which of the cabins?
They kept asking us what a darkroom was,
what happens in there,
who does what with whom here.
So, that was very
[exhales]
That kind of shook me up a bit.
That you're not just an employee in a bar
where someone lost their life,
but also, for a brief moment,
you're actually
considered a suspect yourself.
[techno music playing]
There were clues
suggesting this was possibly a murder,
so basically, we just assumed
this was a homicide.
Nobody just lets themselves
be killed in silence.
So, I thought there must have been some
groaning and screaming,
but nobody could confirm
that they had witnessed
any argument or physical struggle
occur that night.
INSTITUTE OF FORENSIC MEDICINE
[Dr. Sven] After the autopsy,
there were still some
unanswered questions.
We still didn't have enough evidence
to rule out suffocation,
so, we also considered the possibility
that the victim was poisoned.
[ominous music playing]
What irritated me was
that there were no signs of a struggle,
because, when someone that age
has a physical altercation,
you usually find evidence
indicating such a struggle.
So, at first, things just didn't add up.
There were substances taken, stimulants,
and these drugs,
taken in an improper dosage,
could just as well have contributed to
to Nicky basically
dying an accidental death.
That was definitely a strong possibility.
Naturally, we took into account that,
this might a person
who liked taking substances of some sort,
so, we reached out to
We asked his family, friends,
anyone who could provide us
with information.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Anka] Nicky had two lives, and we knew
very little about his life in Berlin.
Almost nothing.
When Nicky told us about Berlin,
like when he went to
a Kylie Minogue concert and this and that,
he would tell us about that,
but never about going on dates
in the evenings or when he would
He never mentioned that.
HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY
[ominous music playing]
[Anka] In a wig, he could pass as a woman.
He really could.
He tried on Mom's wedding dress,
and Mom was very slim around then.
And it fit like it was
custom-made,
for him.
Then he put on high heels.
It's hard to believe,
but he walked around in them
as if he wore high heels all the time.
And he had a tiny lady's waist.
What was I wearing?
Dad's firefighter uniform.
It shows that
roles can't be assigned.
Yeah, totally.
I always protected him, I felt.
Yeah.
When we got older, the roles reversed.
Nicky was on a good path,
while I drifted.
And so, he thought,
"Let's turn this around."
[people chatter]
Village life wasn't for him. He knew that.
[melancholic music playing]
[Anka sniffles]
He was always adamant
about moving to Berlin.
Although Dad did say,
"Berlin will be his undoing."
And Dad is usually right.
[Dr. Sven] For Nicky M., we examined
blood, urine, stomach contents,
and hair from his corpse.
Other than alcohol,
we couldn't trace any other substances.
We tested for 3,500 medical ingredients,
We checked for illegal drugs of all types
and prescription narcotics.
And none of which were detected.
It was really difficult for us
to try and indicate the cause of death
without any concrete evidence.
[eerie music playing]
[Andreas] We found nothing on the body.
There was no wallet,
no identification, no cell phone.
We investigated to see
if he had a credit card.
Did he have a debit card?
How many did he have?
Were any withdrawals made
with the credit cards?
We were able to confirm
that a credit card belonging to the victim
was used after his death.
[suspenseful techno music playing]
[Andreas] At Deutsche Bahn,
our investigation allowed us to establish
that the card was used
at around 5:46 a.m.,
in two attempts to buy a ticket
from a kiosk at Ostbahnhof train station,
with the destination being Saarbrücken.
I imagined he was desperate to flee
because he knew he had done something.
But he wasn't able to buy a ticket
because the card was declined.
So, I started to think,
did he use a different form of payment,
or was he able to successfully buy
a ticket to Saarbrücken at a later time?
We addressed this issue
with the German Railroad company,
and sure enough,
Nicky's card had been declined twice.
Just an hour before, another card was used
to buy the exact same train ticket,
to Saarbrücken, and at the very same kiosk
that had been used previously.
[suspenseful music playing]
Obviously, it takes a while to trace
an account number associated with a card.
But we were able to find out that the card
belonged to a certain Miroslaw.
[rewinding]
MAY 5TH, 2012
[siren wailing]
ONE HOUR LATER
EMERGENCY PARAMEDIC
[suspenseful music playing]
I wake up suddenly,
my eyes open, I look around,
not knowing where I am.
I look up and see there's a nurse over me.
[machine beeping]
[Miroslaw] She asks,
"Do you know where you are?"
"No, where am I?"
"You're in the hospital."
Obviously, the first thing
you ask yourself is,
"How did I get here?"
"What happened? Where was I?"
I didn't even know which hospital it was.
[suspenseful music playing]
So then, at some point around 6 p.m.,
7 p.m., the doctor entered the room,
and with a brash tone asked me,
"So, what did you take?"
And I told him I just drank some alcohol.
- [electronic dance music playing]
- [crowd cheering]
But he went on to say,
"Well, there was something else."
And that's when I remembered
this particular encounter.
It was really the only explanation
for how I ended up there.
I remember it was May 5th, 2012,
just before 5 a.m.
I walked over to
the late-night corner store to grab a beer
and a peppermint liqueur
for the ride home.
Warschauer Bridge was busy that night.
[suspenseful music playing]
People standing around
outside the corner store,
checking schedules,
figuring out how to get home.
And then I was standing alone
on this platform.
Then suddenly, a man in his early 30s,
if I had to guess, approaches me.
We casually strike up a conversation
about our nights,
what bars and clubs we each went to.
He was also waiting for
the train to Ostbahnhof.
So, we got on the train together.
At some point, I take a sip
from my peppermint liqueur,
and I grimace because
it's not exactly my favorite drink.
So he said, "Hey, if you don't like
your peppermint liqueur,
you can have some of this schnapps
I have with me."
So, we decided to swap bottles.
And the way you drink
these little drinks is
to clench it between your teeth
and down it.
[ominous music playing]
At that moment, it actually felt like
my head was going to explode.
[high-pitched tone ringing]
[tone stops]
[Miroslaw] Shortly afterwards,
we arrived at Ostbahnhof station.
He said he knew his way
around Berlin well,
and said he knew
which bus stop I needed to get to.
He told me
he would go with me to the bus stop.
And after a while, I couldn't stand.
At that moment,
I realized something wasn't right.
[suspenseful music playing]
[high-pitched tone rings]
My forehead was soaking wet.
I felt uncoordinated.
The last thing I remember is
that I bent over.
He was still with me
at this point, of course.
And I remember he put his hand on my back.
I also remember he tried to
slide his hand under my shirt,
and moved his hand around my waist.
And then he said, "Do you feel unwell?"
I'm still not sure
how I got to the bus stop.
That's the moment I don't remember.
[tense music playing]
[music stops]
[pensive music playing]
[Miroslaw] On Monday morning,
I went to the police station in Wedding,
and reported my credit card stolen
and also that my cash had been stolen.
And within the hour,
I heard from the criminal investigators.
I thought, "Wow,
they really want to find my credit card."
They said they wanted to come and collect
the clothes I was wearing that night.
That's when I thought, "Okay,
maybe something else happened that night."
And the last question
the investigator asked
was if I frequently visited
Grosse Freiheit 114.
I said I've never heard of this bar.
But I couldn't stop thinking about it
when I got home.
So, when I arrived home
after giving my statement,
I sat at my computer
and typed in "Grosse Freiheit 114".
And I said, "Oh, that's not very far
from where I was that night."
The website for Grosse Freiheit
was just some black writing
on a white background that read,
"A murder happened here on Friday night."
And I thought, "Whoa."
- [suspenseful music playing]
- [machine beeps]
What was vital to us was
the information we obtained from Miroslaw,
or rather from his hospital report.
SENIOR HOMICIDE INVESTIGATOR
The attending doctor told us that Miro
had been given liquid ecstasy,
which confirmed the suspicion
that he had been drugged.
[suspenseful music playing]
[music wanes]
[inhales sharply]
What we're talking about here
is attempted murder.
So, the perpetrator was actually
intent on taking my life.
And
I can't tell you how lucky
I must have been to escape the way I did.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Andreas] A lot of evidence pointed
to GHB, also known as liquid ecstasy,
which could have caused Nicky's death.
Then, I requested
an extensive toxicology report for Nicky,
because at the time, this wasn't part of
the standard examination procedure.
[suspenseful music swells]
[Dr. Sven] This substance
wasn't on our radar.
It just wasn't part of
the standard screening process
at that date and time.
[suspenseful music playing]
The term "liquid ecstasy" is misleading
because GHB has nothing to do with ecstasy
or designer amphetamines of any sort.
GHB is referred to
as the ultimate knockout drug.
Only a small amount is needed
to render someone defenseless.
Even minute traces are enough to trigger
severe physical emergency situations,
which can sometimes lead to death.
Speculative evidence concerning GHB
and approximate blood concentration levels
is used to determine when someone uses
it as a recreational drug.
We can speculate that
people who suffer severe intoxication
through external influence
will show higher blood concentration
levels on their lab report.
So, in the case of Nicky M.,
we came to the conclusion
that this was fatal poisoning.
[Monika] After we identified GHB
as the weapon,
This confirmed our suspicion
that the actual murder
and this attempted murder
were connected somehow.
[suspenseful music playing]
We have two crimes,
one murder and one attempted murder,
both of which, regarding their times
and locations, are very closely related.
So, we went with Miro
and retraced the steps he took
while drugged with the liquid ecstasy
that he had been given.
[ominous music playing]
Given the amount of liquid ecstasy
I was dosed with,
I shouldn't be able to remember anything.
However, I was able to remember
which platform we arrived on,
as well as the relative time.
So, they were able to secure
the surveillance footage from that night.
[ominous music playing]
We finally knew who we were looking for.
Or at least we had an image of the man.
The problem was, the images weren't good.
It's frustrating,
because you hope the person
will have certain characteristics,
that make them easy to describe
and will help you find them faster.
But that wasn't the case.
[ominous music playing]
They look like two guys who've known
each other for a long time,
just walking together.
Nothing gives me the sense
that these two only met for the first time
five minutes beforehand.
[ominous music playing]
Maybe this is part of
the perpetrator's ability to win over
complete strangers in an instant.
And then to prevent any suspicions
or mistrust arising from the victim
from the moment they meet each other.
[suspenseful music playing]
He is slumped over.
A profiler would say
he has a guilty conscience. I'm not sure.
[scoffs]
It's tough.
He took him from us.
Just like that.
Boom, gone.
Yeah.
[suspenseful music continues]
[Katrin] What we knew at that point
was there was an attempted murder,
as well as a completed murder
within a very short time frame.
Even for an experienced prosecutor,
the scope of this case was unraveling
into something quite extraordinary.
If he did this twice within
an hour and a half, then maybe
this wasn't over yet.
- [suspenseful music playing]
- [heart beating]
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
[man] Yeah.
That's me.
BASED ON ORIGINAL PERPETRATOR STATEMEN
I've always led a normal life.
Determined. Honest.
I had a concrete moral compass.
Then at some point, something happened
inside of me that I couldn't comprehend.
I'm always asking myself questions
and searching for answers,
but this sort of thinking
is completely alien to me.
I feel desperate
because I'm scared of what I'm capable of.
[tense, ominous music swells]
[music stops]
[rhythmic techno music playing]
[music ends]