Gardaí’s persistence in case of unidentified body praised

Reconstructed image of Arno Schmitz

Gardaí’s persistence in case of unidentified body praised


Anton McNulty

THE Coroner for West Galway says the recent identification of a body found in Connemara in 2006 will give hope to families of missing people. Dr CiarΡn McLoughlin also praised the role of the Gardaí, saying that had it not been for their persistence, the case would remain unsolved.
The body of German man Arno Schmitz was found in the woods by Lough Inagh in Connemara on December 6, 2006. On September 12 last, almost eight years later, his remains were finally identified by DNA and dental records. Mr Schmitz had never been reported missing in Ireland or Germany.
It is believed that Mr Schmitz died in late 2005. His body was badly decomposed when it was finally discovered.
A cleaning cloth with a pair of sunglasses found in Mr Schmitz’s possession bore the name of an optician in the Neumünster area of Germany. However, when contacted, the German authorities said there was no one with a similar DNA profile on their missing persons database.
Contact was made with Dr Caroline Wilkinson, a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Anthropology at the University of Dundee in Scotland. Using MRI scans of the brain, Dr Wilkinson was able to reconstruct an image of the deceased.
That reconstruction was released to the Irish media in 2009, but no progress was made in identifying the body.

Case reviewed
In December 2013, the case was reviewed again, and in April 2014 the Gardaí released the reconstructed image to the media in Germany, particularly around the Neumünster area. Mr Schmitz’s brother, Bernd Schmitz, and another man, a former neighbour, subsequently made contact with German police.
Bernd Schmitz told police that his brother had immigrated to Ireland in the end of September 2005, and that prior to going to Ireland, he had lived in the Neumünster area of Germany. the The last time he had heard from his brother was before Christmas 2005, when they had spoken on the phone. He had not reported him as a missing person.
Dental records and DNA profiles supported the probability that Arno and Bernd were related to one another as brothers.
Dr McLoughlin told The Mayo News he did not believe the body would not be identified, as so much time had elapsed. “I am not aware of of anything like this, where it took so long to identify a body,” he said. “Had it not been for the gardaí [pursuing the investigation] a second or a third time, we would never know,” said Dr McLoughlin, adding: “There are a lot of Irish missing in England and elsewhere, and this [investigation] will give hope to their families.”
Mr Schmitz’s body was kept in a morgue in Galway until last year, when it was buried on Omey Island near Claddaghduff in west Connemara. The initial post-mortem on the remains found no evidence of trauma or injury, but the exact cause of death was not determined.
According to Dr McLoughlin, the Gardaí will now try to work out Mr Schmitz’s last movements, and an inquest into his death is expected to take place later next year.