Berlin - Two Russians were charged with murder yesterday after German police found the decomposed corpse of Mr Matthias Hintze (20), an east German who was kidnapped almost a month ago, Denis Staunton reports. Mr Hintze, who was found in a forest in Mecklenburg, north of Berlin, had apparently died of hunger and thirst.
Mr Sergei Serov (37), a lawyer, and Mr Viacheslav Orlov (27), a lorry driver, were charged with the murder after they gave police a precise description of the body's whereabouts. The two men were arrested on Tuesday after police found documents in their Berlin flat outlining plans for a ransom demand.
Mr Hintze was abducted near his parents' restaurant in the village of Geltow, near Berlin, on September 14th, after he surprised some men as they attempted to steal the family's Mercedes.