Disappearance at sea: Murder on the Bärbel

Who was responsible for the murder on the Bärbel? On the 18th of August, 1993, the German ship the m/s Bärbel was found drifting in the North Sea with not a soul on board.

Don’t get me wrong here. This is not the story of the Mary Celeste. It wasn’t as if everyone had suddenly vanished midway through their day.

In fact quite the opposite. Everywhere was blood and signs of a massive struggle. The ship had been set alight in multiple places, but the fire didn’t take hold.

The only person found alive was a Russian sailor, Andrej Lapin. Discovered floating in a rubber dinghy near the ship. According to reports, he seemed completely unconcerned about his predicament. In his possession was a large sum of money, six cans of peaches, two suitcases, his passport and a duvet.

To try to understand the story, we need to start at the beginning.

London to Rostock

The Bärbel was a small coastal transport ship plying it’s trade around the North Sea. It had been delivered brand new to Captain Heinrich Telkmann in 1989.

On August the 15th 1993, Captain Telkmann was sailing his ship laden with rapeseed from London to Rostock in Northern Germany. An experienced sailor, he called his wife that day, making small talk. He never alluded to any difficulties with the crew or the journey itself.

Three days later the ship was found by two fishing vessels around 85 nautical miles west of Esbjerg, a city in Denmark. It had drifted hopelessly off course with nobody aboard to guide it.

Murder Scenes

They also discovered the aforementioned Andrej Lapin, afloat in his dinghy with piles of cash.

Both were taken to Esberg on the morning of August 19th. It must be stated here that Lapin was taken in the rescue helicopter against his will.

Originally, Lapin stated that a fire had broken out aboard the ship. He had jumped into one life raft while the other members of the crew climbed into the other. Eventually they had drifted apart and been separated.

During a search and subsequent investigation of the ship, police found evidence of a huge fight. As well as attempts to set the boat on fire, evidence of blood, hair, skin and a piece of torn scalp was discovered. It was a scene straight from a horror movie. To quote the forensic technicians who boarded the ship:

Here we met a sight that I will never forget. There was lots of blood. For Lapin had used the ship’s crane to hoist the corpses up from the bottom of the ship. When the bodies were tied in the legs, the blood ran out of them.

Several places on the ship bore traces of fierce fighting. The captain’s cabin was cluttered and smashed. On the floor was the ship’s empty cash register. Attempts were made to ignite the ship with diesel oil in several places. There were splashes of blood on the walls and floors. Many hairs and skin remnants were found. A piece of torn scalp the technicians also found.

Børge Baagø Hansen and the forensic team

Lapin was charged with the murder of the five men. He pleaded not guilty.

Reconstruction and story changes

During the interrogation, Lapin changed his story. According to him, two crew members had attacked the Captain and two other crew members with axes, managing to kill them all. Lapin had to kill these two axe wielding maniacs to preserve his own life.

Realising that nobody would believe his story, he formulated a plan. He dumped the bodies into the sea, set fire to the ship and jumped into a life raft. He also claimed that the large sum of money he was found with (around 50,000 US dollars), was his from a previous business deal.

In court, Lapin came across as cold and emotionless. He arrived well dressed and answered everything asked of him politely and to the point.

Crucially for him, the investigation aboard the ship had reinforced that he was at least partially telling the truth. Blood and other evidence showed that each man had died where Lapin stated they did.

The only body ever found was that of the Captain. And as Lapin had never stated that he killed the Captain, it could not be used against him. If any of the other bodies had been found, it might have been possible to show what really happened. As Lapin had inexplicably weighted down their bodies before dropping them overboard, they were unlikely to ever return to the surface.

After months of court hearings and deliberation, his role in the killings could not be decided. The jury acquitted him.

He left the court a free man. He also got to keep the money he had been found with in the dinghy.

Sometime later, the Bärbel was refitted and put back into service by the widow of Captain Telkmann. Who should apply for a job aboard the ship? Yep, you guessed it. None other than Adrej Lapin!

He didn’t get the job.

In 2009 a team from Danish Radio tracked Andrej Lupin down. He was working as a middle manager…..at a sea rescue station.

Sources:

Sailor in empty ship charged with murder (independent.co.uk)

Mass murder accused may be extradited (hearaldscotland.com)

Barbel Murders North Sea (shipnostalgia.com)

The real axe ship (jenshenrikjensen.com)

Bloody Danish crime story (ekstrabladet.dk)

Header Image (pixabay.com)