GERMAN FACING CHARGE OF ALLEGED MANSLAUGHTER

Yesterday, the 62-year-old appeared before a remand hearing in Manacor and despite the prosecution recommending that he be charged with murder, the judge ruled that he be charged with alleged manslaughter as well as illegal burial and be held on remand in Palma Prison.

Bail was denied.
Silent
He appeared in court at 9am and again, used his right to remain silent, just like he did when questioned by the Guardia Civil and at 11.40am was transferred to Palma Prison in a blacked out vehicle.

The autopsy revealed that his partner had died as a result of “multiple fractures to the head” and police sources claim she was killed by a fatal blow to the head.

However, Hellebrund is sticking to his story that he buried von Stein in the garden after arriving home to find her dead.
He claimed that if he had told the police he had found her dead, they would not have believed him, so he apparently tried to cover it up.
But, a few days after von Stein went missing, Axel Albert travelled to Singapore on business.
He apparently told his partner's daughter ,who was in Canada at the time, that while he was away, her mother was going to France on holiday and it was not until September 28, after having not heard from her mother, that the daughter reported her by internet as missing to the police here in Majorca. However, the Guardia Civil were not able to question Hellebrund until he returned from Singapore last Monday and at first he claimed he knew nothing about the whereabouts of his partner.

Burial site
However, the following day, a close friend of his told the police that he had apparently told of how he buried his partner in the garden and once arrested on Wednesday morning, caved in and directed police to the burial site.

The two ran a construction and real estate business based in Manacor and for years had enjoyed a lavish lifestyle for it only to be curtailed by the recession and police suspect the motive may well be financial as the couple were apparently having a new villa built in Cala Romantica and, according to neighbours, were planning a future together.

However, no murder weapon has been found and according to von Stein's daughter, Michaela von Pfetten, more than one person could be responsible for her mother's death.

On the internet, she has been writing about her mother's murder and posted one message which read: “Help me. This has not finished, it's only just begun. They have found the body of my mother. They murdered her. I am in danger until the real culprits are found. They still have not arrested all of them and there are people that do not want my mother's murder investigated. Please tell everyone in Spain and in Germany I am very afraid. Thank you.” Although she lives in Canada, she clearly fears for her life and believes that more than one person was involved in the murder of her mother.
It is understood that the police are taking her claims extremely seriously and despite Hellebrund being held as the prime suspect for the time being, the investigation is very much still alive.

The incident has not only made the front pages here in Spain but also across Germany.