Gordon Setter Sniffer Dogs Lead Cops To Ex Of Strangled Teen After Smelling Murder Weapon

An electrician suspected of killing his estranged schoolgirl lover before cutting her up and burning the body was tracked down by two police dogs that followed his trail for miles to his home.

The two Gordon Setters, Charly, 4, and Ludwig, 5, had been given the electrical cable that was reportedly used to strangle the teenager and then followed the trail to the home of the man the cops suspected was behind her death.

Victim Carina S., 17, poses with her dog Maxi, aged 3, in undated photo. She was strangled to death and then burnt by her ex-boyfriend Mark B., 26, in the city of Iserlohn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in June 2022. (Polizei Maerkischer Kreis/Newsflash)

To then prove they had the right person, the dogs also followed the trail to the police station where he was in custody.

The suspect, identified only as Mark B., is believed to have cut up the schoolgirl’s body before setting it on fire.

He is in court from 20th December at the Regional Court of Dortmund, North-Rhine Westphalia and is facing life in prison if convicted of killing 17-year-old Carina S.

A prosecutor joined the police dog handlers as they followed the trail and confirmed that no instructions or assistance was given to the dogs, and that their incredible abilities helped them to file murder charges against the man suspected of having strangled his ex-girlfriend to death.

Police praise the specialised Gordon Setters Charly and Ludwig for tracking down the scent of Mark B. to his home.

Image shows sniffer dog Ludwig, aged 5, undated photo. It followed the trail of suspected killer Mark B., 26, straight to his prison cell in the city of Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. (Newsflash)

Carina’s parents called the police after their daughter had failed to return from taking her beloved German shepherd Maxi for a walk in her hometown of Iserlohn southeast of Dortmund on 14th June of this year.

Iserlohn police started a comprehensive search for Carina after her dog suddenly reappeared at the family home two days later.

Electrician Mark B. – who was considered a suspect from the start – denied any involvement. Carina split from Mark, 26, shortly before her disappearance. They started dating in the autumn of 2020.

Carina’s smouldering body was discovered by a cyclist in woodlands near Hamm – a town 51 kilometres (32 miles) north of Iserlohn 10 days after she disappeared. She had reportedly been dead for at least a week.

Investigators searched Mark’s Dortmund flat after experts discovered sperm residue on the corpse. The semen was found to be Mark’s, according to the Bild newspaper.

Offender Mark B., 26, poses in undated photo. He was arrested for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Carina S., 17, in the city of Iserlohn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in June 2022. (Newsflash)

Mark was put into custody after traces of blood inside his car and at his apartment. Only a few hours before his arrest, the 26-year-old reportedly posted on social media: “No updates. I hope she’s doing okay.”

Local media report that Mark used a tracking app to chase down his ex-girlfriend – who was an engaged member of a local group of Catholic scouts – before strangling her to death with a cable.

Carina’s body was abused and cut into pieces, according to forensic scientists assigned by the police.

Gordon Setters Charly, 4, and Ludwig, 5, crossed several motorways to lead investigators from the place her body was found to her ex-boyfriend’s apartment and then tracked him to prison cell number 203 at a Dortmund jail where Mark was in custody.

An investigator told Bild: “It sounds incredible. However, a state prosecutor carefully observed the operation all the way through. The dogs were not given any hints or incentives.”

Image shows emergency crews recovering the remains of Carina S., 17, undated photo. She was strangled to death and then burnt by her ex-boyfriend Mark B., 26, in the city of Iserlohn, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in June 2022. (Newsflash)

Florian Symanzig, 34, runs a dog school in Muenster, North-Rhine Westphalia. He said: “The scenting abilities of dogs are superb. A dog can sense a single drop of sweat for several hundreds of metres.”

The full names of the victim and the main suspect have been withheld due to Germany’s strict privacy laws.


To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Thomas Hochwarter, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

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