Banking heir 'probably strangled or drowned'

The 11-year-old heir to one of Germany’s oldest banking fortunes who was kidnapped and found dead in a lake was probably strangled or drowned, prosecutors said today.

Police have arrested a 27-year-old law student for the abduction and murder of Jakob von Metzler.

The student had reportedly tutored the boy, whose body was found bound and wrapped in blue plastic bags in a lake north of Frankfurt yesterday.

Prosecutors believe the suspect, Magnus Gaefgen, killed the boy on Friday or Saturday, at least a day before police saw him picking up the agreed ransom of €1m.

Preliminary autopsy results showed the boy was either choked to death or tied up and thrown into the water, chief Prosecutor Rainer Schilling said.

He had been stripped to his underwear and had marks around his throat.

Final autopsy results were not expected before Friday, he said.

Gaefgen had tutored the boy after school, German media said. The student had befriended the boy’s 17-year-old brother and 16-year-old sister, and authorities believe he would have been able to abduct the victim without a struggle.

The youngest son of prominent banker Friedrich von Metzler and his wife Silvia disappeared on his way home from school in a wealthy Frankfurt neighbourhood.

Neighbours and residents expressed sorrow and anger for the family, which has supported the social and art programmes in the city for years, including the Staedel Museum.

“It is horrible for the parents, even when they have so much money,” said Rob Roorda, who was in a cafe near the bus stop where the boy was last seen. “Your child is your child.”

Police arrested Gaefgen early on Monday after the boy was not released after the ransom was paid.

Hours later, they went public with the case in hopes of receiving more clues.

Gaefgen told police yesterday that the boy’s body could be found under a dock at a lake 40 miles north of Frankfurt. He has not yet entered a plea, but faces life in prison.

Founded in 1674, the Frankfurt-based Metzler Bank is the oldest privately owned financial institution in Germany still run by the founding family, now in the 11th generation under the boy’s father.

It has offices in Munich, Stuttgart, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tokyo, New York and Dublin.