Peter Bergmann case

Unidentified man
Morgue photograph of the man
Born	Probably between 1949 and 1954 Unknown, possibly Austria
Status	Unidentified for 14 years, 10 months and 20 days
Died	16 June 2009 Rosses Point, Sligo, Ireland
Cause of death	Unknown
Resting place	Sligo, Ireland
Other names	Peter Bergmann
Known for	Mysterious death

The Peter Bergmann Case is an unsolved mystery pertaining to the death of an unidentified man in Sligo, Ireland. From June 12 to June 16, 2009, a man using the alias “Peter Bergmann” visited the coastal seaport town of Sligo, located in northwest Ireland. He used this alias to check into the Sligo City Hotel, where he stayed during the majority of his visit, and was described by the hotel staff and tenants as having a heavy Germanic accent. 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 to Sligo. On the morning of June 16, the naked body of the unidentified man was discovered at Rosses Point beach, a popular recreational destination and fishing area near Sligo. Despite having conducted a five-month investigation into the death of “Peter Bergmann," the police were never able to identify the man or develop any leads in the case.

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 World War II. However, unlike the Tamam Shud Case, the Peter 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.

In recent years, the case has received some attention. 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 various theories of the case.

Physical Description

The unknown man had a slender build, short grey hair and appeared to be in his late 50s or early 60s. He stood five feet and ten and a half inches tall with blue eyes and a tan complexion. From witness reports, the man was of Germanic descent and spoke 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 pants (size 50), blue socks, a black leather belt and a pair of black shoes (size 44). His clothes were from C&A, a popular fashion retail store in Europe with most of the stores being located in Germany and Austria. From the man’s appearance it was assumed he was professional working male. He was a frequent smoker and several surveillance videos show him smoking outside often.

Timeline of Events

On Friday June 12th, the unknown man is first spotted at the Ulster Bus Depot in Derry between the time of 14:30 and 16:00. He then boarded a bus headed to Sligo Station, carrying a black shoulder bag and a standard carry-on luggage bag. He arrived at 18:28 at the Sligo Bus Station and took a taxi to the Sligo City Hotel where he paid €65 per night in cash. While checking in, he gave the false name of “Peter Bergmann” and listed his address as Ainstettersn 15, 4472 in Vienna, Austria. Upon the police investigation following his death, the address he gave belonged to a vacant lot. This implies that the man wanted to remain unknown and he preemptively planned his moves so he couldn’t be identified.

On Saturday June 13th, the man is seen walking to the General Post Office at 10:49 and purchases eight 82-cent stamps and airmail stickers. Presumably, he was writing final letters to loved ones or sending his personal effects away so they would not be discovered.

On Sunday June 14th, between 11:00 and 11:30 the man left the Sligo City Hotel 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 proceeded to drive the unknown man to the beach. The man returned with the same taxi, and was dropped off at the bus station in Sligo. The next day on Monday June 15th, the man checked out of the hotel at 13:06, 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. Then he proceeded to walk to the bus station via Quay Street, Wine Street and stopped at Quayside Shopping Centre and awkwardly waited in the doorway for a number of minutes. At 13:16 he left the Quayside Shopping Centre and walked along Wine Street in the direction of the bus station, still carrying all three bags. At 13:38 he ordered a cappuccino and a ham and cheese toasted 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 trash bin. He then mounted a bus that departed at 14:20 for Rosses Point. It was reported that he was seen by sixteen different people while walking on the beach, casually greeting the passersby.

The following morning on Tuesday June 16th, Arthur and Brian Kinsella, a father and son training for a triathlon, found his naked body lying on the beach at 6:45 in the morning. At 8:10, Dr. Valerie McGowan officially pronounced the man dead. Following the discovery of the man’s dead body, a five month investigation was conducted by the Sligo Police.

Autopsy

According to the autopsy report, the body of the man was found naked on Rosses Point beach with his clothes scattered along the shore, with no wallet, money or form of identification. The Sligo medical examiner deemed the cause of death to be drowning and found no signs of foul play that would give reason to believe the man’s death was a homicide. 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 autopsy showed that he had advanced stages of prostate cancer and various bone tumors. His heart showed signs of previous heart attacks and he possessed only one kidney, the other being previously removed. For a man that had serious health conditions, the toxicology report stated that he had no medication of any sort in his system. The medical examiner stated that due to his previous heart attacks and current health status, the man would have been in significant pain and required prescription pain medicine or at least over the counter pain relievers in order to manage his pain levels.

Funeral

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

Purple Plastic Bag

During his stay at the hotel, the man is seen on security camera footage leaving the building with a purple plastic bag full of items or personal effects. However, when he returns from his long walks he is no longer carrying the bag. It is presumed that he was disposing of his belongings throughout the City of Sligo and then folds the bag and puts it in his pocket. Authorities were unable to identify what he was throwing away in the public trash bins as the man used the blind spots of the surveillance cameras throughout the city 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.

Developments

In 2015, the French newspaper Le Monde reported that they had contacted the Austrian police about the case, and that the Austrian police commented that the Irish police had never contacted them. Le Monde also reported that there is no Interpol notice for the unidentified man, stating that as the body is actually recovered he does not fall into the two Interpol categories of 'missing person' or a 'wanted person'. It is up to his country of origin to report him as missing.

See also

• List of unsolved murders and deaths
• Isdal Woman
• Taman Shud Case

External links

• Mystery man's last surprise
• Last Days of Peter Bergmann
• German police website on the case
• Beach body unidentified
• Interpol list of missing persons