A three-day romance with an architecture student ended for a 20-year-old tourist from Germany with a broken neck and burial in a construction column.
Her body, with her hands tied, was found only 2 months after her disappearance.
It all began on August 29th, 2018 when Lena Bernstein, a media communication student from Cologne, flew to the United Arab Emirates.
It was her first trip to the Persian Gulf region.
Organized jointly with two university friends, Katherine Meyer and Sophia Hos, the destination was the Emirate of Ras Alka, known for its resorts and more relaxed social norms for foreigners compared to its neighboring emirate, Dubai.
The group stayed at the five-star Alhamra Residence Hotel complex on the coast.
The first two days of the trip followed a standard tourist itinerary featuring beach relaxation, shopping mall visits, and dinners at restaurants.
According to her friends, Lena was in high spirits and actively documented the trip on her social media accounts.
On August 31st, during an evening cocktail party in the hotel lobby bar, a young man approached the girls and introduced himself as Sed.
He spoke fluent English and German, explaining that he had studied at a private international school.
The young man said he was 22 years old and was studying architecture at the American University of Sharah.
He and Lena hit it off almost immediately, said Al Mahadi as he later introduced himself in full, came across as an educated and confident man with a western mindset.
He was dressed in expensive Europeanstyle designer clothes which contrasted with the traditional clothing of many locals.
He discussed contemporary art cinema and his ambitious architectural projects for the future Neo Dubai with Lena.
During their first conversation he casually mentioned his father referring to him as an influential businessman but emphasized his own financial and ideological independence.
According to Catherine and Sophia, they left the bar around midnight, leaving Lena in the company of her new acquaintance.
For the next 3 days, Lena Bernstein hardly left the hotel, spending most of her time with Sed.
She replied to her friend’s messages, assuring them that everything was fine and that she had met an incredible person.
From these short messages, it appeared that their relationship was developing rapidly.
said put her up in a separate suite on another floor, paying for it with his credit card.
He gave her expensive gifts, ordered room service from the most prestigious restaurants in the complex, and as Lena recounted, shared his plans for their future together.
A key element of his stories was the idea that he had broken with his family’s conservative traditions and planned to move to Europe after graduation, possibly to Berlin to establish his own architectural firm.
He convinced Lena that his father, Shik Khalil al-Mati, had no authority over him and that he was in control of his own finances and life.
This version of events, as would later be established, had nothing to do with reality.
Said al- Mahi was indeed the son of a shake whose family held an important position in the business and political circles of the emirate of Ras Al-Hima and owned a large construction and investment company that was implementing several projects on the coast, including the construction of the new luxury hotel Emerald Bay.
However, contrary to the image he had created, Sah was completely financially and socially dependent on his family.
His accounts were closely monitored and his every move was overseen by personal security guards who apparently had been instructed not to intervene unless his actions exceeded certain limits.
On September 3rd, the fourth day of their acquaintance, the situation changed.
In the morning, Sed left the room, citing an urgent meeting with his father on family business.
He promised to return for lunch.
However, he did not return.
Lena tried to contact him by phone, but his number was no longer in service.
Her messages on instant messengers remained unread.
By evening, Lena’s anxiety had turned into panic.
She shared her fears with her friends who suggested that she go down to dinner and try to distract herself.
Lena refused, deciding to wait for Sed in her room.
That was the last time Catherine and Sophie spoke to her in person.
On the morning of September 4th, Lena Bernstein didn’t show up for breakfast.
Her friends, concerned about the lack of response to their calls and messages, contacted the hotel management.
Security personnel went up to the room and found the bed untouched.
Lena’s personal belongings, including her passport, wallet, and cell phone, lying on the bedside table.
The girl herself was not in the room.
CCTV cameras in the hallway recorded Lena leaving her room late in the evening on September 3rd at approxima
tely 11:15 p.
m.
and heading toward the elevator hall.
She was not seen again on the hotel’s cameras.
The initial reaction of the Alhamra residence hotel management to the guests disappearance was restrained.
The security manager assured Catherine Mayor and Sophia Hos that such cases sometimes happen and that as a rule guests are found within a few hours.
An internal investigation was launched involving staff interviews with employees who had worked the night shift and a review of CCTV footage.
It was then that a fragment of video footage was discovered showing Lena leaving her room on the evening of September 3rd.
However, it proved impossible to track her movements further.
The hotel’s CCTV system had blind spots, particularly on the service staircases and in the service corridors, and the cameras in the car park did not record her leaving the building.
After 6 hours of fruitless searching and pressure from Lena’s friends, the hotel administration notified the local police.
A team from the Ross Al-Hima Police Department arrived and inspected the room, which had already been sealed by the hotel security service.
The procedure was formal.
The police recorded the presence of personal belongings, a passport, and a phone, drew up a brief report, and took the mobile device for further investigation.
Catherine and Sophia were questioned in a separate room.
The investigator’s main interest was focused on Lena’s moral character and behavior.
The questions concerned her alcohol consumption, possible relationships with other men, and her financial situation.
Information about Seda al- Mahadi was noted, but according to her friends, without any apparent enthusiasm.
One of the officers remarked that foreign tourists often behave recklessly.
The next day, September 5th, having received no substantial information from the police, Catherine Meyer contacted the consular section of the German embassy in Abu Dhabi.
This action gave the case official status.
The diplomats sent an official request to the UAE Ministry of Interior and the Russ Al-Qaima police demanding information about the investigation into the disappearance of the German citizen.
At the same time, the police interviewed Sahed al- Mahi.
This interrogation, if it can be called that, was radically different from the procedure that Lena’s friends underwent.
It took place not at a police station, but on the grounds of the Almadi family’s private villa.
Two high-ranking police officers were present.
According to the official report, the conversation lasted less than an hour.
Said confirmed that he knew Lena Bernstein, describing their relationship as a short holiday romance.
He stated that on the evening of September 3rd, they had an argument over Lena’s jealousy, after which, according to him, she left his room and he did not see her again.
He suggested that she might have met someone else.
No further questions about the nature of the argument or his actions after Lena’s alleged departure were recorded in the report.
His alibi for the night of September 3rd to 4 staying at his family residence was confirmed solely by the statements of his family members and private security guards.
No objective evidence such as geoloccation data from his phone or CCTV footage from outside the villa was included in the case file.
2 days after this conversation, the line of investigation related to Sed al- Mahadi was effectively closed.
German diplomats were informed through unofficial channels that Sed was not a suspect and that he had left the country for a long-term training internship at an architectural firm in Istanbul, which had been planned well in advance of the events described.
Meanwhile, in Cologne, the Bernstein family, having received news of their daughter’s disappearance, began their own campaign.
Lena’s father, Marcus Bernstein, a school teacher, and her mother, Ingred, a nurse, contacted the German Federal Police and the Foreign Ministry.
They gave investigators access to their daughter’s social media accounts and personal correspondents.
Analysis of this data revealed no signs of depression, suicidal tendencies, or plans to run away.
On the contrary, Lena’s latest messages were full of enthusiasm about the trip and her new acquaintance.
The official version of the Raz Al-Hima police communicated to the German side was that Lena Bernstein most likely left the hotel voluntarily and disappeared due to personal reasons.
One theory was that she might have left for another emirate with her new acquaintance.
The case was classified as a disappearance without criminal evidence.
Katherine and Sophie were forced to return to Germany when their visas expired.
Their attempts to obtain further questioning or additional information from the UAE authorities were unsuccessful.
The investigation reached a complete dead end.
Over the next few weeks, the story of the German students disappearance appeared periodically in the European media.
Still, without any new facts, it quickly disappeared from the front pages.
For the Emirate authorities, the case was closed.
For the Bernstein, it was the beginning of a period of agonizing uncertainty that lasted almost two months.
No one could have guessed that the answer had been just a few kilometers from the hotel where Lena was last seen, hidden under a layer of rapidly hardening concrete.
The two months following Lena Bernstein’s disappearance turned into a series of fruitless inquiries and formal replies for her family and friends.
The German consulate in Abu Dhabi regularly reported that local authorities are continuing their search and investigation efforts, but no specific information was provided.
The case was effectively frozen, becoming one of many statistical units in the category of missing foreign citizens.
Meanwhile, 10 km south of the Alhamra Residence Hotel on the coast, construction of a new large-scale resort complex, Emerald Bay, was in full swing.
The project, owned by an investment fund controlled by the Almadi family, was an ambitious plan to build a seven-star hotel, a marina, and several dozen luxury villas.
Work was carried out around the clock in several shifts.
The main contingent of workers consisted of migrants from Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
In early September, just as the Raz Al-Qa police were formally investigating the disappearance of a German tourist, concrete pillars for the foundation of the main hotel building were being poured at the Emerald Bay construction site.
It was a standard assembly line process.
Reinforcing frames were installed in the formwork after which concrete mortar was pumped into them under high pressure.
The quality of the mixture and the pouring process were monitored by project engineers.
No deviations from the technological process were recorded during that period.
In mid-occtober, when the building frame had already been erected to several floors, workers engaged in finishing the basement level began to complain of a strange, unpleasant odor.
Initially, no particular attention was paid to this, attributing it to the possible decomposition of construction waste, chemical reactions, or clogged sewers in nearby technical rooms.
The hot and humid climate of the Emirate contributed to the rapid spread of any organic odors.
However, with each passing week, the smell not only persisted, but intensified, acquiring distinct putrid notes.
It was concentrated in the area of one of the loadbearing columns in the east wing of the future lobby.
The supervisors initiated several inspections, but the source of the smell could not be found.
By early November, the situation had become critical.
The smell was so strong that it was practically impossible to work in that part of the building.
Workers began to refuse to go on shift in this area and rumors spread about a bad place and gins.
Faced with the threat of construction delays and a potential revolt among the workers, the project management was forced to take action.
A team of engineers was called in to conduct a thorough investigation.
Using special equipment, including thermal imaging cameras and gas detectors, they were able to locate the anomaly.
The source of the smell was inside a massive reinforced concrete column number 42B.
This discovery stumped the engineers.
According to all building codes and documentation, the column was supposed to be a monolithic structure made of rebar and high-grade concrete.
The presence of a source of organic decomposition inside it was technically impossible if all procedures had been followed.
The only explanation could be that a large foreign object had fallen into the concrete mixture during the pouring stage.
The decision was made to partially dismantle the column despite the significant financial and time costs associated with it.
On November 5th, 2018, workers began to open the column using industrial drills and jackhammers.
The work progressed slowly due to the high strength of the concrete.
After several hours of drilling, the drill bit of one of the tools fell into a void.
When the hole was enlarged, a pungent, nauseating smell hit with renewed force.
In the light of a powerful spotlight directed at the breach, first a dark fabric became visible, then something resembling human hair.
Work was immediately stopped.
The foreman, a middle-aged man from Pakistan, contacted the construction management, who in turn called the police.
Law enforcement officers who arrived at the scene cordoned off the area.
The opening of the column continued under their supervision, but more carefully.
Piece by piece, the builders chipped away at the concrete until they had completely exposed the contents.
Inside the concrete monolith in an upright position was the corpse of a woman.
The body was badly decomposed, but it was clear that death had not been accidental.
The victim’s hands were tied behind her back with a thick plastic tie.
There were numerous abrasions and bruises on the body, especially in the wrist and forearm areas, indicating signs of a struggle.
Later, a forensic examination would determine the exact cause of death, asphyxiation, and a broken neck.
The discovery at the Emerald Bay construction site instantly turned the forgotten case of a missing tourist into a murder investigation.
Identifying the body extracted from the concrete column was extremely difficult due to the high degree of decomposition accelerated by chemical processes inside the concrete and the high ambient temperature.
Visual identification was out of the question.
An initial examination by a pathologist at the scene of the incident only allowed the victim’s gender, approximate age between 18 and 25, and Caucasian ethnicity to be determined.
The Ross Alka police immediately reviewed the archives of all unsolved missing person cases from the past 6 months.
The case of Lena Bernstein was the main one, but not the only one.
A small detail discovered during a more thorough examination of the remains became a key clue.
A single silver crescent-shaped earring was found in the lobe of her right ear.
A photograph of the earring was sent to Germany through Interpol.
Katherine Mayor and Sophie Hos, who were shown the photo, immediately recognized the jewelry.
It was an earring that they had bought together with Lena at a market in Cologne a week before their trip to the UAE.
This was the first solid evidence linking the body found at the construction site to the missing German student.
A dental examination was required for official confirmation of identity.
The Bernstein family provided X-rays and jaw impressions of their daughter to the German Federal Police.
A comparison of Lena’s dental records with the remains conducted at the Abu Dhabi Central Forensic Laboratory yielded a 100% match.
On November 9th, 2018, the body found in column number 42B was officially identified as the remains of Lena Bernstein.
The news of the brutal murder and discovery of the body prompted the Emirates authorities to reopen the investigation.
However, its focus raised questions from the outset.
The fact that the body was found on a construction site belonging to the Almadi family’s company made Sahed, the last person to see Lena alive, the obvious and prime suspect in any independent investigation.
But in this context, this fact was the reason why his name was almost immediately removed from the list of suspects.
The official version that investigators began to develop was based on the assumption that the crime had been committed by migrant workers.
The police conducted a series of raids on the dormitories where the builders from the Emerald Bay site lived.
More than 50 people were detained, mainly from South Asia.
The interrogations were harsh without the presence of lawyers or interpreters.
The main focus was on finding any inconsistencies in the testimony and exerting psychological pressure.
This version was actively leaked to the local state controlled media.
Newspapers published articles suggesting that the German tourist could have been the victim of a cultural misunderstanding or robbery by foreign workers with low moral standards.
The German side, including the embassy and investigators from the Bundes Criminal Amp, German Federal Criminal Police Office sent to the UAE, expressed doubts about the objectivity of this approach.
They insisted on re-introgating Sahed al- Mahadi and verifying his alibi.
However, the UAE authorities refused.
It was stated that Sahed Almadi was outside the country, his whereabouts in Turkey were unknown, and that he had already been questioned and completely ruled out as a suspect at the initial stage.
No further investigative action was taken against him.
The investigation into the workers also yielded no results.
Despite intensive questioning, the police did not find any direct evidence linking any of the detainees to Lena’s murder.
There were no witnesses, no evidence, and no motives.
After a few weeks, all the detainees were released due to a lack of evidence after signing a non-disclosure agreement.
By the end of 2018, the investigation into the murder of Lena Bernstein had been quietly suspended.
Then it closed altogether with the wording, “Due to the inability to identify the perpetrators.
” In the official documents handed over to the German side, the case remained unsolved.
However, within the Emirate, the story had a different unofficial ending.
In the documents of the construction company, Almadi Construction, the incident with the discovery of the body was classified as a construction anomaly and unforeseen circumstance that caused a delay in the project.
The insurance company paid the developer compensation for losses related to the dismantling of the column and the suspension of work.
Thus, on a financial and legal level, the tragedy was reduced to a production problem.
Sahed al- Mahadi never returned to the United Arab Emirates.
According to some reports, he continued his studies in the United Kingdom, completely disappearing from the public eye.
The Bernstein family never achieved justice.
The Emerald Bay Hotel was completed 6 months late and officially open to guests in 2020.
Column number 42 B.
Restored and indistinguishable from hundreds of others became part of a luxurious lobby where hundreds of tourists pass every day unaware of the events that took place at this location in the fall of 2018.
As of 2025, the case of Lena Bernstein’s murder officially remains unsolved.
It was transferred to the Ross Alima Police Department archives accompanied by a note indicating that active investigative actions had been suspended.
For the United Arab Emirates justice system, this story is closed.
However, an analysis of the consequences and details that followed the closure of the case allows us to paint a more complete picture of what happened.
The key factor that determined the outcome of the investigation was the immunity of the Al- Mahi family.
Any attempt by the inquiry to seriously consider the version of Sahed al- Mahadi’s involvement was suppressed at the highest level in legal and diplomatic circles familiar with the practice of conducting business in the Persian Gulf countries.
This outcome came as no surprise.
The principle of protecting the reputation and interests of influential clans takes absolute priority over the requirements of formal law, especially when the victim is a foreign citizen with little to no political influence.
After initially making challenging demands, the German government gradually reduced the level of diplomatic pressure.
After the UAE authorities officially notified Berlin that the case had been closed due to the inability to identify the perpetrators, the issue transitioned from an acute interstate issue to a consular routine.
Economic interests linked to multi-billion dollar contracts in the energy, technology, and arms sectors proved more important than investigating the death of a single citizen.
The Lena Bernstein case became a footnote in annual reports on the safety of German citizens abroad, but it was no more.
Having exhausted all official channels, the Bernstein family attempted to initiate a private investigation by hiring an international detective agency.
However, its activities in the UAE were virtually impossible without cooperation from the local authorities, which they were denied.
The detectives were only able to confirm what was already known.
After leaving for Turkey, Sed al- Mahadi moved to London where he continued his studies under a different name under the complete protection and financial support of his family.
Any attempts to contact him or his representatives were blocked.
In 2020, the Bernstein family filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights.
However, the court’s jurisdiction does not extend to the United Arab Emirates, and the lawsuit was subsequently dismissed.
After that, Marcus and Ingred Bernstein ceased all communication with the press.
Thus, a story that began as a resort, romance ended as a textbook example of impunity due to status and power.
All the factual evidence from the sequence of events to the location where the body was found pointed to a small circle of people associated with the al- Mahadi family.
However, the formal investigation was sidetracked and terminated as soon as it came too close to this line.
The final act was the complete silence of all those involved in the prosecution.
The UAE authorities consider the incident closed.
German diplomats are avoiding comment, and the victim’s family is forced to live with the knowledge that the circumstances of their daughter’s death and the identity of the killer, which are evident to many, will never be established in a court of law.
