Peter Bergmann case

Last updated

"Peter Bergmann"
PeterBergmann.jpg
Morgue photograph of the man who used the name Peter Bergmann
BornProbably between 1949 and 1954
Unknown, possibly Austria or Germany
Status Unidentified for 14 years, 10 months and 11 days
Died16 June 2009 (aged 55-60)
Cause of death Cardiac arrest
Resting placeSligo Town Cemetery
Sligo, Ireland
Known forMysterious death, behaviour, and past

The Peter Bergmann case pertains to the mysterious death of an unidentified man in Sligo, County Sligo, Ireland, on or around 16 June 2009. The man, using the alias "Peter Bergmann", had checked into the Sligo City Hotel on June 12, where he stayed during the majority of his visit to Sligo. The man's movements were captured on CCTV throughout the town; however, the details of his actions and intentions remain unknown. His interactions with other people were limited, and little is known of his origins or the reason for his visit.

Contents

On the morning of 16 June, the body of the unidentified man was discovered at Rosses Point beach, a popular recreation destination and fishing area near Sligo. Despite conducting a five-month investigation into his death, the Gardaí have never been able to identify the man or develop any leads in the case. [1]

The mystery is often compared to the Tamam Shud case of Australia, in which an unidentified man was found dead on a beach shortly after the Second World War, although the Bergmann case has not achieved nearly the same amount of notoriety or international coverage. This case remains obscure to the public, and the official investigation has not extended to outside of Ireland. [2]

The case received renewed attention in the 2010s. It was the subject of a 2013 documentary, The Last Days of Peter Bergmann, which was shown at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and has developed a small following on social media websites such as Reddit, where readers have constructed theories of the case. [3]

Arrival in Sligo

On Friday, 12 June, the man was first spotted at the Ulster Bus Depot in Derry between 14:30 and 16:00 local time (15:30 and 17:00 UTC). He boarded a bus headed to Sligo, County Sligo, carrying a black shoulder bag and a standard carry-on luggage bag. He arrived at 18:28 at Sligo bus station and took a taxi to the Sligo City Hotel, where he paid per night in cash. While checking in, he gave the false name of "Peter Bergmann" and an address that was later reported as "Ainstettersn 15, 4472, Vienna, Austria." [4] He had a slender build, stood 1.79 metres (5 ft 10 in) had short grey hair, blue eyes, a tan complexion, and appeared to be in his late 50s or early 60s. According to staff and tenants at the Sligo City Hotel, the man was of Germanic descent and spoke English with a thick German accent. He was neatly groomed; his face was shaven and his hair was clean and combed. The man was well dressed wearing a black leather jacket, blue trousers, socks, a black leather belt and a pair of black shoes (size 44). [5] His clothes were from C&A, a popular fashion retail store in Europe with most of its stores in Germany and Austria. From the man's appearance it was assumed he was a professional worker. He was a frequent smoker and several surveillance videos show him smoking outside often.

During his stay at the hotel, the man was seen on CCTV footage leaving the building with a purple plastic bag full of items or personal effects. However, when he returned from his long walk he was no longer carrying the bag. It is presumed that he had disposed of his belongings throughout Sligo and then folded the bag and put it in his pocket. Authorities were unable to identify what he threw away in the public rubbish bins, as the man used the blind spots of the surveillance cameras to his advantage. His movements were very meticulous and methodical, as if he knew where to hide his personal belongings that could have identified him. [3]

On Saturday, 13 June, the man was seen walking to Sligo post office at 10:49 (11:49 UTC) and purchased eight 82-cent stamps and airmail stickers. [3] The following day, the man left the hotel between 11:00 and 11:30 (12:00 and 12:30 UTC) and asked a taxi driver recommendations for a nice quiet beach where he could swim. The taxi driver stated that Rosses Point would be the best place, and drove the unidentified man to the beach. The man returned with the same taxi and was dropped off at the bus station in Sligo. [4]

Body discovery

On Monday, 15 June, the man checked out of the hotel at 13:06 (14:06 UTC) and handed in his room key. He left with a black shoulder bag, a purple plastic bag, and a different black luggage bag. He did not have the same black carry-on luggage bag he had when he first arrived in Sligo. He walked to the bus station via Quay Street and Wine Street, then stopped at Quayside Shopping Centre and awkwardly waited in the doorway for a number of minutes. At 13:16 (14:16 UTC) he left the shopping centre and walked along Wine Street in the direction of the bus station, still carrying all three bags. At 13:38 (14:38 UTC) he ordered a cappuccino and a toasted ham and cheese sandwich at the bus station. While eating his food, he looked at pieces of paper that he kept in his pocket. After reading the pieces of paper, he tore the paper in half and threw it away in a nearby rubbish bin. He then mounted a bus that departed at 14:20 (15:20 UTC) for Rosses Point. It was reported that he was seen by sixteen people while walking on the beach, casually greeting the passersby. [1]

The following morning, Tuesday 16 June, Arthur Kinsella and his son Brian, who was training for a triathlon, found the man's body lying on the beach at 6:45 (7:45 UTC) in the morning. He was wearing purple striped Speedo-type swimming trunks, with his underpants over the top and a navy T-shirt tucked into them. [5] Arthur and Brian said the Lord's Prayer for the man, and then called the Gardaí. At 8:10 (9:10 UTC), Dr Valerie McGowan officially pronounced the man dead. Following the discovery of the man's body, a five-month investigation into his identity was conducted by Gardaí. [1]

Investigation

According to the post mortem report, the body of the man was found on Rosses Point beach with most of his clothes left behind on the shore, with no wallet, money or form of identification. [5] Even though the man had been washed up on the beach, Sligo medical examiner Clive Kilgallen found no evidence of "classical salt water drowning", but also no signs of foul play that would give reason to believe the man's death was a homicide. [5] The man's teeth were in good condition and showed signs of frequent dental work in his life. He had bridging, root canals, crowns and had a full gold tooth on the upper back right side of his mouth and a small silver filling along the gum of a tooth on the left side of the lower jaw.

Despite his well-groomed and dressed exterior, the man was in very poor health. The post mortem showed that he had advanced stages of prostate cancer and bone tumours. His heart showed signs of previous ischaemic heart disease. Notably for a man who had serious health conditions, the toxicology report stated that he had no medication of any sort in his system. The medical examiner noted that, due to the man's health status, he would have been in significant pain and would have required prescription pain medicine or at least over-the-counter pain relievers. [6]

After a five-month investigation the body was buried in Sligo. The funeral was attended by four Gardaí. [7]

Some sources say that during the police investigation following his death, it was discovered that the address he gave at the hotel belonged to a vacant lot. [1] However, others have pointed out that a street with the reported spelling of "Ainstettersn" does not exist in Austria or Germany. [8] Additionally, Vienna post codes begin with the number 1, rather than 4, and the post code 4472 is unassigned. It is unclear how police would have been able to establish that the fake address was tied to a vacant lot, or whether they simply determined that it did not exist. What is certain is that the man wanted to remain unknown and he pre-emptively planned his moves so that he could not be identified. [3]

In 2015, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that they had contacted Austrian police about the case, and that Austrian police commented that the Gardaí had never contacted them. Le Monde also reported that there is no Interpol notice for the unidentified man because the body did not fall into either of the two Interpol categories for 'missing person' or 'wanted person'. It is the responsibility of the man's country of origin to report him as missing. [2]

As of April 2024, the man is still unidentified. No relatives, friends, or witnesses have come forward, despite public appeals in Austrian and German newspapers. Although the Gardaí retain the man's DNA, a spokesperson said that DNA analysis could only narrow down the area the man might have been from, but not identify him. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bundoran</span> Seaside resort in County Donegal, Ireland

Bundoran is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy since the 18th century. Bundoran is a surfing destination and was listed by National Geographic magazine in 2012 as one of the world's top 20 surf towns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mullaghmore, County Sligo</span> Village in Connacht, Ireland

Mullaghmore is a village on the Mullaghmore Peninsula in County Sligo, Ireland. It is a holiday destination with a skyline dominated by Benbulben mountain. It is in the barony of Carbury and parish of Ahamlish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosses Point</span> Peninsula and village in County Sligo, Ireland

Rosses Point is a village in County Sligo, Ireland and also the name of the surrounding peninsula.

The Kerry babies case was a 1984 investigation by the Garda Síochána in County Kerry, Ireland, into the killing of one newborn baby and the alleged killing of another, and the subject of a 3-part 2023 (UK) Channel 4 documentary “Murder: The Baby On The Beach.” The mother who concealed the second baby, Joanne Hayes, was arrested and charged with the murder of the first baby, of which she was erroneously thought to be the mother. The Gardaí were forced to drop the charges four years later and a tribunal of inquiry was launched. Its report was critical of the Garda conduct of the investigations, and it also concluded that Hayes had precipitated the death of her baby. Hayes has disputed this finding, and no charges were pressed. The parents and killer of the first baby have never been publicly identified, though arrests of a man and woman were made in 2023. In 2020, the Irish State formally apologised after 36 years to Joanne Hayes for wrongly accusing her of the murder and for the "appalling hurt and distress caused".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somerton Man</span> Mysterious death in 1940s Australia

The Somerton Man was an unidentified man whose body was found on 1 December 1948 on the beach at Somerton Park, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. The case is also known after the Persian phrase tamám shud, meaning "It is over" or "It is finished", which was printed on a scrap of paper found months later in the fob pocket of the man's trousers. The scrap had been torn from the final page of a copy of Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyám, authored by 12th-century poet Omar Khayyám.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disappearance of Philip Cairns</span> 1986 disappearance of Irish schoolboy

Philip Cairns disappeared on the afternoon of 23 October 1986 while walking back to school in south Dublin, Ireland from his home in Ballyroan. A large-scale investigation was carried out but no trace of the boy has ever been found. His disappearance is now treated as a high-profile child murder case; the only similar incident in Ireland was the murder of Robert Holohan in January 2005. It is one of the most high-profile disappearances in recent Irish history.

Between 26 November 1972 and 20 January 1973, there were four paramilitary bombings in the centre of Dublin, Ireland. Three civilians were killed and 185 people were injured. No group ever claimed responsibility for the attacks and nobody was ever charged in connection with the bombings. The first bombing in Burgh Quay may have been carried out by former associates of the Littlejohn brothers who were Secret Intelligence Service provocateurs, in a successful attempt to provoke an Irish government clampdown against the Provisional IRA, while the other three bombings were possibly perpetrated by loyalist paramilitaries, specifically the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), with British military or intelligence assistance. The UVF claimed in 1993 to have carried out the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings which incurred the greatest loss of life in a single day throughout the 30-year conflict known as the Troubles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isdal Woman</span> Unidentified woman found dead at Isdalen, Norway in 1970

The Isdal Woman is a placeholder name given to an unidentified woman who was found dead at Isdalen in Bergen, Norway, on 29 November 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coney Island, County Sligo</span> Tidal island in County Sligo, Ireland

Coney Island or Inishmulclohy, is an island between the Rosses Point and Coolera peninsulas in Sligo Bay, County Sligo, Ireland. It is one of several islands of the same name off the coast of Ireland. It is an island of approximately 400 acres and is named after the vast quantity of rabbits which can be spotted on the island at any time, the Irish for rabbit being coinín..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireland's Vanishing Triangle</span> 1980s-1990s disappearances of women

Ireland's Vanishing Triangle is a term commonly used in the Irish media when referring to a number of high-profile disappearances of Irish women from the late 1980s to the late 1990s. Several other women were also murdered within the triangle and their cases remain unsolved as well. All of the cases appeared to share some common characteristics. The women's ages range from their late-teens to late-30s, they disappeared inexplicably and suddenly, and no substantial clues or evidence of their fate has ever been found despite large scale searches and campaigns by the Gardaí to find them. Gardaí believe their remains are likely to be buried in remote fields, bogs and forests. The triangle is in the eastern part of the island, roughly the boundaries of Leinster, in an 80-mile area outside Dublin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unidentified decedent</span> Term used to describe a corpse of a person whose identity cannot be established

Unidentified decedent, or unidentified person, is a corpse of a person whose identity cannot be established by police and medical examiners. In many cases, it is several years before the identities of some UIDs are found, while in some cases, they are never identified. A UID may remain unidentified due to lack of evidence as well as absence of personal identification such as a driver's license. Where the remains have deteriorated or been mutilated to the point that the body is not easily recognized, a UID's face may be reconstructed to show what they had looked like before death. UIDs are often referred to by the placeholder names "John Doe" or "Jane Doe". In a database maintained by the Ontario Provincial Police, 371 unidentified decedents were found between 1964 and 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lyle Stevik</span> Formerly unidentified decedent (1976–2001)

Lyle Stevik was the alias used by an American man who, in 2001, committed suicide inside a motel room in Amanda Park, Washington. Although his body was quickly discovered, and fingerprints, DNA and dental information collected and recorded, there were no matches in any databases and the man's identity remained unknown until 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sligo Bay</span>

Sligo Bay is a natural ocean bay in County Sligo, Republic of Ireland.

James Nolan was an Irish criminal who was convicted of rape and false imprisonment. He disappeared and his arm was subsequently found on a beach.

On 8 December 2000, Irishman Trevor Deely disappeared in Dublin. He had been walking home around 4 a.m. from his work Christmas party, having stopped at his office on the way to retrieve an umbrella and arrange certain things for his shift the next day. He was seen on a security camera entering and leaving his office building. The footage shows him speaking to a man dressed in black before he entered the building. This man has never been identified. Deely was later seen on another security camera in front of a bank he passed on Haddington Road as he headed home on foot, which is the last image that exists of him. Despite continuous police investigations, his disappearance remains a mystery.

Keane Mulready-Woods of Drogheda, County Louth, was an Irish teenager who disappeared on 12 January 2020, and whose dismembered body was then found in Coolock, County Dublin. More of his remains were found in Drumcondra in a burnt out car the following week.

Events during the year 2021 in Ireland. As in most of the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has dominated events in Ireland during this year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosses Point Peninsula</span>

The Rosses Point Peninsula is a small peninsula in the centre of Sligo Bay, County Sligo, Ireland. The peninsula shares its name with the village of Rosses Point, a popular seaside resort located on the peninsula's southern coast, roughly 7.5 km (5 mi) west of Sligo town.

Events during the year 2022 in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murders of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee</span> 2022 murders in Sligo, Ireland

In April 2022, Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee were found murdered in their own homes in Sligo, Ireland, in the space of 24 hours. Both men were found with serious physical injuries due to a physical assault, around 1 km apart in the town.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hertz, Kayla (16 July 2021). "The man who went to Ireland to disappear (VIDEO)". irishcentral.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  2. 1 2 Guintard, Julien (12 March 2015). "L'homme qui voulait effacer sa vie". Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "In 2009, a man arrived in an Irish town with a plan to disappear forever – Aeon Videos". aeon.co. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  4. 1 2 Garcia, Francisco (14 October 2019). "The Man Who Deleted His Past Before He Was Found Dead". VICE.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Boland, Rosita (15 June 2019). "The unsolved mystery of Peter Bergmann". Irish Times . Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
  6. "'The Last Days of Peter Bergmann' at Melbourne – Film Ireland". filmireland.net. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
  7. "News RTÉ TEN'S TV picks for Tuesday January 6". News TV Genre. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  8. Rautenberg (1 January 2016). "Einige offene Fragen zum Fall Peter Bergmann, Sligo 2009". luftgangster.de (in German). Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
  9. Boland, Rosita (12 June 2021). "A lonely Sligo death still shrouded in mystery". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.