Father and Daughter Tortured and Killed in Paraguay Over Valuable Stradivarius Violins, Prosecutor Says

When 62-year-0ld luthier and museum proprietor Bernard Raymond von Bredow requested his neighbor in Paraguay to keep watch over his invaluable Stradivarius violins whereas he went on a visit, he possible by no means thought the choice can be deadly.

However fellow German Volker Grannass, 58, together with two different Germans at the moment are in custody over the torture and homicide of von Bredow and his 14-year-old daughter Lorena Lydia of their house. 4 of von Bredow’s Stradivarius violins had been present in Grannass’ house.

Police Commissioner Hugo Grance informed native reporters that the 2 victims had been tortured. The older von Bredow was discovered flung on a desk, useless from a gunshot wound to the top with indicators of torture on his physique. His daughter was present in a tub with a gunshot wound to her stomach. Grance says the 2 had been possible killed some other place on the property and dragged to their remaining resting place.

The officer mentioned proof on the scene signifies “that two or extra people sought one thing” inside the home.

Grance mentioned that he believes that upon researching the worth of von Bredow’s assortment—violins made by Italian luthier Antonio Stradivari are value thousands and thousands, with one promoting in 2011 for $13.1 million. Stradivari used a handled wooden and secret strategies to make 960 violins, of which simply 650 stay, making them extremely invaluable. They’ve lengthy been the selection of maestros because of the precision of the sound, possible because of the wooden.

Grannass possible understood the worth and tried to get the authentication certificates from von Bredow to promote them. Grance mentioned he believes Grannass employed fellow Germans Yves Asriel Spartacus Steinmetz, 60, and Stephen Jorg Messing Darchinger, 51, to torture von Bredow and his daughter to coax them into giving them the papers.

“Our principal speculation is that the motive for the double crime was to search out the worldwide certification of authenticity of the violins in order that they might be offered,” Grance informed native reporters.

Not one of the three males have been formally charged with murder but, however prosecutor Lorena Ledesma says these costs might be coming quickly. “To commit the crime and such a brutal homicide, it have to be as a result of they knew the victims,” Ledesma mentioned. “We’ve discovered a variety of proof.”

It’s unclear the place the violins or the certificates of authenticity at the moment are.

Von Bredow was beforehand well-known for the invention of a mammoth skeleton in Bavaria when he was a young person. He went on research geology and archeology earlier than turning into a luthier, or stringed instrument maker.