01/12/2004 00:00
TW
0
By Humphrey Carter SPANISH police are confident they now know who shot German businessman Manfred Walter Meisel, his eight-year-old son Patrick and 31-year-old secretary Claudia Leisten at his home near Arenal seven years ago.

The triple shooting occurred in the early hours of November 13 but police never closed the case and have given Interpol the identifications of at least two people they want arrested in connection with the killings which not only rocked Majorca but also Germany.

At the time, little information about the murders was made public and rumours were rife that the bar owners had been shot by the mafia after it was revealed that pillows and cushions were placed against the victims' heads before they were shot. However, the police have revealed that the three were the fatal victims of a robbery that went wrong and that Meisel, alias “The Beer King” knew his killers.

On the night of the shootings, the thieves, who did not apparently plan on harming anyone, had climbed into the German's villa through an upstairs window, but woke young Patrick in the process. It was the eight-year-old who discovered the burglars and that, according to the police, is when they decided to take evasive action shooting the boy twice in the head. They then went downstairs where Meisel had fallen asleep on the sofa, shot him twice and then Claudia who was in an adjoining room.

The killers then panicked and fled the scene empty handed and fled in a waiting car.
Police chiefs say that the burglars, who shot the three, hoping to get away with millions of pesetas in cash were not professional hit men.
Police have questioned over 600 people and mounted its biggest murder investigation ever in order to solve the case and they now believe they know who the killers are.

However, Palma police admit, while they know their identities, they do not know where they are. Interpol has been contacted and international arrest warrants have been issued.