Peter Bergmann case
Unidentified man | |
|---|---|
 Morgue photograph of the man | |
| Born | Probably between 1949 and 1954 Unknown, possibly Austria |
| Status | Unidentified for 15 years and 26 days |
| Died | 16 June 2009 |
| Cause of death | Unknown |
| Resting place | Sligo, Ireland |
| Other names | Peter Bergmann |
| Known for | Mysterious death |
The Peter Bergmann Case is the mystery of an unidentified man found dead on 16 June 2009, at Rosses Point beach, Sligo, Ireland. The man's true identity remains unknown. Notably the case became the subject of an award winning documentary film entitled The Last Days of Peter Bergmann directed by Ciaran Cassidy.[1][2][3]
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 from Germanic decent 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 you could assume he was professional working male. He was a frequent smoker and several surveillance videos show him smoking outside often.[4]
Autopsy
The body was found washed up on a beach, the autopsy showed evidence of drowning. There was no sign of foul play. The autopsy demonstrated that the man had advanced cancer of the prostate, bone tumours, and had suffered previous heart attacks. Toxicology tests showed no evidence of any painkillers or even aspirin in his system. He also previously had one kidney removed.[5]
Timeline
12 June Friday. The man is at the Ulster Bus depot in Derry between 14:30 and 16:00. This is the first known sighting of the man.
12 June The man alighted from bus that arrived at Sligo Station at 18:28. The man carried a black shoulder bag and a larger luggage bag.
12 June The man took a taxi to the Sligo City Hotel where he paid €65 per night in cash. He checked in giving the presumed false name 'Peter Bergmann' with an address Ainstettersn 15, 4472 Wien, Austria which turned out to be non-existent. The receptionist recalled the man had a deep Germanic accent.
13 June Saturday. At 10:49:01, the man purchased eight 82-cent stamps and airmail stickers, from the General Post Office, Wine Street, Sligo.
14 June Sunday. Between 11:00 and 11:30 the man left the Sligo City Hotel and asked a taxi driver where there was a nice quiet beach where he could swim. The man was told that Rosses Point would be the best place to go and drove him there. The man returned with the same taxi, which dropped the man at the bus station in Sligo.
15 June Monday. 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 dark coloured carrier bag. He did not have the dark coloured luggage bag he had first arrived in Sligo with. He walked to the bus station via Quay Street, Wine Street and stopped at Quayside Shopping Centre and then waited in a 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. He then mounted a bus that departed at 14:20 for Rosses Point. There were 16 sightings of the deceased on the beach that day.
16 June Tuesday. Arthur and Brian Kinsella were walking on the beach and found his body at 6:45 in the morning.
16 June The man was officially pronounced dead at 8:10 by Dr. Valerie McGowan.[6]
Funeral
After a five-month investigation the body was finally buried in Sligo. The funeral was attended by four Gardaí.[7]
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.[8] 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.[8]
See also
References
- ^ "The Last Days of Peter Bergmann (2013)". IMDb. 1 September 2013.
- ^ "'The Last Days of Peter Bergmann' at Melbourne". filmireland.net.
- ^ "In 2009, a man arrived in an Irish town with a plan ..." Aeon Videos. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ http://www.rte.ie/tv/eartotheground/this_month.html
- ^ http://www.bka.de/nn_198456/DE/Fahndungen/Personen/UnbekannteTote/IrlandMann/IrlandMann.html
- ^ "Unidentified man had been seen walking beach the night before his body was found". Independent.ie.
- ^ "News RTÉ TEN'S TV picks for Tuesday January 6 - News TV Genre". News TV Genre. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ a b Julien Guintard. "L'homme qui voulait effacer sa vie". Le Monde.fr. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
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