Peter Bergmann case
"Peter Bergmann" | |
---|---|
Born | Probably between 1949 and 1954 Unknown, possibly Austria or Germany |
Status | Unidentified for 14 years, 10 months and 11 days |
Died | 16 June 2009 (aged 55-60) Rosses Point, County Sligo, Ireland |
Cause of death | Cardiac arrest |
Resting place | Sligo Town Cemetery Sligo, Ireland |
Known for | Mysterious death, behaviour, and past |
The Peter Bergmann case pertains to the mysterious death of an unidentified man in
On the morning of 16 June, the body of the unidentified man was discovered at
The mystery is often compared to the
The case received renewed attention in the 2010s. 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 theories of the case.[3]
Arrival in Sligo
On Friday, 12 June, the man was first spotted at the Ulster Bus Depot in
During his stay at the hotel, the man was seen on
On Saturday, 13 June, the man was seen walking to Sligo post office at 10:49 (11:49 UTC) and purchased eight 82-cent stamps and airmail stickers.[3] The following day, the man left the hotel between 11:00 and 11:30 (12:00 and 12:30 UTC) 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 drove the unidentified man to the beach. The man returned with the same taxi and was dropped off at the bus station in Sligo.[4]
Body discovery
On Monday, 15 June, the man checked out of the hotel at 13:06 (14:06 UTC) 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. He walked to the bus station via Quay Street and Wine Street, then stopped at Quayside Shopping Centre and awkwardly waited in the doorway for a number of minutes. At 13:16 (14:16 UTC) he left the shopping centre and walked along Wine Street in the direction of the bus station, still carrying all three bags. At 13:38 (14:38 UTC) he ordered a cappuccino and a toasted ham and cheese 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 rubbish bin. He then mounted a bus that departed at 14:20 (15:20 UTC) for Rosses Point. It was reported that he was seen by sixteen people while walking on the beach, casually greeting the passersby.[1]
The following morning, Tuesday 16 June, Arthur Kinsella and his son Brian, who was training for a triathlon, found the man's body lying on the beach at 6:45 (7:45 UTC) in the morning. He was wearing purple striped Speedo-type swimming trunks, with his underpants over the top and a navy T-shirt tucked into them.[5] Arthur and Brian said the Lord's Prayer for the man, and then called the Gardaí. At 8:10 (9:10 UTC), Dr Valerie McGowan officially pronounced the man dead. Following the discovery of the man's body, a five-month investigation into his identity was conducted by Gardaí.[1]
Investigation
According to the
Despite his well-groomed and dressed exterior, the man was in very poor health. The post mortem showed that he had advanced stages of
After a five-month investigation the body was buried in Sligo. The funeral was attended by four Gardaí.[7]
Some sources say that during the police investigation following his death, it was discovered that the address he gave at the hotel belonged to a vacant lot.
In 2015, the French newspaper
As of April 2024, the man is still unidentified. No relatives, friends, or witnesses have come forward, despite public appeals in Austrian and German newspapers. Although the Gardaí retain the man's DNA, a spokesperson said that DNA analysis could only narrow down the area the man might have been from, but not identify him.[9]
See also
- Isdal Woman
- Joseph Newton Chandler III
- List of unsolved deaths
- Lori Erica Ruff
- Lyle Stevik
- Tamam Shud case
References
- ^ a b c d Hertz, Kayla (16 July 2021). "The man who went to Ireland to disappear (VIDEO)". irishcentral.com. Archived from the original on 16 July 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ a b Guintard, Julien (12 March 2015). "L'homme qui voulait effacer sa vie". Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 21 November 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ a b c d "In 2009, a man arrived in an Irish town with a plan to disappear forever – Aeon Videos". aeon.co. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ a b Garcia, Francisco (14 October 2019). "The Man Who Deleted His Past Before He Was Found Dead". VICE.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ^ Irish Times. Archivedfrom the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
- ^ "'The Last Days of Peter Bergmann' at Melbourne – Film Ireland". filmireland.net. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ^ "News RTÉ TEN'S TV picks for Tuesday January 6". News TV Genre. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ Rautenberg (1 January 2016). "Einige offene Fragen zum Fall Peter Bergmann, Sligo 2009". luftgangster.de (in German). Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ Boland, Rosita (12 June 2021). "A lonely Sligo death still shrouded in mystery". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.