When the owner of a chain of beauty salons in Munich stopped communicating in February 2024, her husband was already taking the last bags out of the house.
A week later, her remains were found in the forest.
Helga Meyer opened her first salon in Munich in the late 1990s.
By 2023, she had four locations in different parts of the city, a stable income, and a good reputation among her clients.
At 49, she lived alone in a two-story house on the outskirts of town, drove to work every day, and took a vacation twice a year.
Her personal life was not going well.
After divorcing her first husband almost 20 years ago, she had not had a serious relationship.
Her friend said that she spent too much time in salons, controlled every little thing, and did not know how to relax.
In January 2023, Helga flew to Ghana.
She chose this route by chance, seeing a cheap package tour with accommodation in a coastal hotel near Accra.
Two weeks of beach, excursions, and local cuisine.
She didn’t plan anything special.
She just wanted a change of scenery.
On the third day of her stay at the hotel, she met Kofi Nyarko.
He was 28 years old, worked as a guide, showed tourists around the city and its surroundings, and spoke English and German quite well.
Helga hired him to take her to the market and several local villages.
They spent almost the entire second week of her vacation together.
Kofi lived in one of Accra’s neighborhoods with his mother and two younger sisters.
His father had died a few years ago, and the family rented a small apartment and was always short of money.
Working as a guide brought in an unstable income that depended on the tourist season.
He told Helga about his life openly, without embellishment.
She listened, compared it with what she knew about Germany, and felt that she could help.
By the end of her vacation, they had developed a close relationship.
Helga left thinking that it was just a holiday romance, but within a week they were writing to each other every day.
Kofi wrote to her about his plans, how he wanted to learn German and find a job in Europe.
Helga replied that it was possible, but that he would need documents, an invitation, and time.
She began to find out how to get a visa for him, what papers were needed, and how much it would cost.
Her friends warned her that it was dangerous, that she didn’t know him well enough, and that the difference in age and culture could be a problem.
Helga replied that she understood the risks, but wanted to give it a try.
She said she was tired of being alone, and that Kofi was a good man who just wanted a normal life.
By May 2023, the documents were ready.
Helga arranged the invitation, paid for the visa and tickets.
Kofi flew to Munich in early June.
For the first few weeks, he lived at her house, getting used to the new country, the language, and the weather.
Helga enrolled him in German classes, bought him clothes, and helped him open a bank account.
He tried to be helpful, assisting around the house, learning the language, and accompanying her to beauty salons.
She could see that he was confused and finding it difficult to adapt, but she believed that everything would work out in time.
In August, they registered their marriage.
The ceremony was modest, without guests, just the two of them and witnesses from among the salon employees.
Helga didn’t want a big celebration, saying it was just a formality for the documents.
Kofi received a residence permit and the opportunity to work legally.
She hired him as an administrator in one of her salons, giving him simple tasks, answering calls, making appointments for clients, and keeping track of supplies.
The salary was small, but stable.
His colleagues noted that he was polite and tried hard, but sometimes seemed distant.
In the fall, conflicts began.
Salon employees said they heard them arguing on the phone.
Helga came to work tired, irritable, sometimes with bruises under her eyes, which she explained away as insomnia.
One of the stylists asked her directly if everything was okay at home.
Helga replied evasively that she was just tired, that her husband was adjusting, and that it was normal.
But her voice sounded uncertain.
The neighbors also noticed the changes.
Helga’s house was in a quiet neighborhood where everyone knew each other.
She used to say hello, stop to chat, and invite people over for tea.
Now she would walk by quickly, avoiding contact.
Loud voices and slamming doors could sometimes be heard coming from the house.
One of the neighbors saw Kofi leaving the house late one evening, getting into Helga’s car, and driving away for several hours.
No one knew where he was going.
In December, Helga confessed to a friend that Kofi was demanding money.
He wanted to send a large sum to his family in Ghana, and when she refused, he began to accuse her of being greedy.
He said that she had promised to help, that without her his family was starving, that he had not come to Germany to work for pennies.
Helga tried to explain that she had expenses and loans, and couldn’t just give money away.
But he wouldn’t listen.
She admitted that she was afraid of his reaction, that he had become aggressive.
Her friend suggested that she go to the police, or at least see a psychologist.
But Helga refused.
She said she could handle it herself, that it was only temporary.
In January 2024, the arguments intensified.
Colleagues from the salon recalled that Helga had become nervous, forgot about appointments, and got confused with her notes.
She stopped controlling her work as she had before, which was unlike her.
One of the administrators asked if she could help in any way.
Helga replied that everything was under control, but her hands were shaking as she spoke.
On February 3rd, Helga did not come to work.
This was strange because she never missed a shift without warning.
Her coworkers called her all day, but her phone was turned off.
The next day, the situation repeated itself.
The salon administrator tried to call Kofi, but his number was also not answering.
She contacted one of Helga’s friends, who came to the house.
The door was closed.
There was no car in the yard, and no one answered the phone.
The friend looked in the windows.
It was dark and quiet inside.
On February 6th, the salon employees contacted the police.
They reported that Helga Meyer had gone missing and had not been in contact for 4 days, which was completely out of character for her.
The police registered the report and sent a patrol to the house.
The officers arrived at Helga’s house on the morning of February 7th.
They walked around the perimeter, checked the windows and doors, and tried to call all known numbers.
There was no result.
An hour later, they received permission to break the lock.
Inside, it was empty.
There were no signs of the owner’s presence, no mess at first glance.
The furniture was in its place, the dishes were clean, and the refrigerator contained food with normal expiration dates.
But something was wrong.
There were light streaks on the living room floor, as if someone had thoroughly washed the surface.
The smell of cleaning products was too strong, intrusive.
One of the police officers noticed that the carpet that had previously been in the center of the room was gone.
This was confirmed by a neighbor who had come in with the police.
She also confirmed that Helga’s car, a black Audi, was also missing.
In the bedroom, the wardrobes were open.
Some of the clothes were missing, but Helga’s belongings were still there.
Only Kofi’s men’s shirts, jackets, and shoes were missing.
Forensic experts arrived 2 hours later.
They treated the living room with Luminol, a chemical reagent that reveals traces of blood even after thorough cleaning.
Under ultraviolet light, the floor glowed with bright spots.
The traces stretched from the center of the room to the exit, forming an uneven path.
The expert took several samples for analysis.
Preliminary tests showed the presence of hemoglobin.
The blood was human.
The police began searching for Kofi Nyarko and Helga’s car.
The car’s license plate number, a description of the man, and his photo were entered into the database.
A bulletin was sent to all police stations.
At the same time, Helga’s bank accounts were checked.
It turned out that on February 3rd, the day of her disappearance, large sums of cash had been withdrawn from her card at three different ATMs in Munich.
A total of about 8,000 euros.
Cameras recorded a man in a dark jacket and cap.
His face was partially hidden, but his height and build matched Kofi’s parameters.
On February 9th, a call came in from the train station in Augsburg.
The officer on duty reported that he had noticed a man who resembled the one described in the alert.
He had been sitting in the waiting room for several hours, looking anxious and constantly looking around.
Two large sports bags were standing next to him.
The patrol arrived 15 minutes later.
Kofi did not resist when asked to show his documents.
He had Helga’s passport, her bank cards, a set of house and car keys, and about 4,000 euros in cash.
The car was found in a nearby parking lot.
He was taken to the police station and questioned.
Kofi looked tired and confused, answering in monosyllables.
When asked about his wife’s whereabouts, he said that she had gone to stay with a friend in another city, that they had had an argument, and she wanted to be alone.
He did not say which friend or which city.
He said he didn’t remember.
When asked why he had her documents and money, he replied that she had given them to him herself, and asked him to pay some bills.
The explanation sounded unconvincing.
The investigator asked about the blood in the house.
Kofi fell silent.
Then he said he knew nothing about any blood.
He was asked to explain why he left Munich and why he was hiding at the train station.
He replied that he wanted to go to his friends, that he wasn’t hiding anywhere, that he was just waiting for a train.
He couldn’t name any friends.
The detective in charge of the case studied the surveillance camera footage near Helga’s house.
The recording from February 3rd at around 2:00 a.
m.
shows a black Audi leaving the garage.
A man is sitting behind the wheel, judging by the silhouette, Kofi.
The trunk of the car was loaded.
The car drives off towards the highway.
An hour later, it returns with an empty trunk.
Kofi gets out, closes the garage, and enters the house.
In the morning, around 8:00 a.
m.
, he leaves again, this time with two large bags on the back seat.
He did not return to the house.
The investigator requested recordings from cameras on the highway leading south from Munich.
Several frames were found showing the same car.
The license plate number matched.
The direction was towards small suburban forests, about 30 km from the city.
It was a popular route for trips to the countryside with hiking trails and picnic areas.
In winter, almost no one went there.
On February 11th, a group of searchers with dogs combed the area.
They walked along the roads, checking the roadsides, thickets, and ravines.
After a few hours, one of the dogs caught a scent and led the handler to a small clearing hidden behind thick bushes.
There, under a layer of leaves and branches, lay several black plastic bags.
Inside were human remains.
The body had been dismembered and packed into separate bags.
Judging by the degree of decomposition, death had occurred about a week ago.
Experts took samples for DNA analysis.
Comparison with biological material from Helga’s home confirmed that it was her.
The cause of death was multiple stab and cut wounds to the chest and neck.
A total of 11 penetrating wounds were counted.
Death was caused by massive blood loss.
The injuries indicated that the attack was violent, chaotic, and carried out in a state of rage or panic.
The murder weapon was presumably a knife with a wide blade, about 15 cm long.
At the site where the body was found, forensic experts discovered tire tracks that matched the tread pattern of Helga’s car.
They also found scraps of fabric that matched the material of the living room carpet.
Apparently, Kofi wrapped the body in the carpet, took it to the forest, and there cut it into pieces and hid it in bags.
The investigation later tried to understand why he did this.
Microscopic traces of blood were found on the upholstery of the trunk and back seat of Helge’s car.
The DNA matched that of the deceased.
Kofi’s fingerprints were also found on plastic bags of the same type used to package the remains.
A roll of the same bags was found in the garage of the house, several of which had been torn off.
The prosecutor’s office brought formal charges of murder and concealment of a crime.
Kofi refused to testify without a lawyer.
He was assigned a defense attorney.
The attorney advised him to speak only in the presence of a lawyer and not to comment on the evidence.
But the investigation had already gathered enough evidence.
Detectives questioned the salon employees.
They said that in recent months, Helga had complained about her husband’s financial demands, that he had pressured her and threatened that if she did not give him money, he would leave and file for divorce.
She was afraid of a scandal, afraid that he would disgrace her in front of her clients and employees.
One of the beauticians recalled that at the end of January, Helga came to work with a scratch on her neck.
She said she had scratched herself on a branch in the garden.
But it was freezing outside at the time, and no one was working in the garden.
Neighbors confirmed that they had heard loud arguments.
One woman said that on the evening of February 2nd, the day before Helga’s disappearance, she heard shouting coming from the house.
A man’s voice was shouting something in broken German, and a woman’s voice was responding more quietly, but also in a raised tone.
Then there was silence.
The neighbor did not think much of it, assuming it was just a normal family quarrel.
The investigator asked to check Kofi’s phone calls and messages for the past few weeks.
It turned out that he had been regularly corresponding with someone in Ghana.
The translator deciphered the messages.
Kofi wrote to his friend that his wife did not give him money, that he was tired of her control, that she treated him like a servant.
In one of the messages, he wrote, “I can’t live like this anymore.
She thinks she bought me, but I’m not a thing.
” His friend replied that he had to be patient, that life in Germany was better than in Accra, and that sooner or later she would soften.
But Helga did not soften.
The day before her death, she transferred a large sum of money from her account to a lawyer’s account.
Detectives contacted the lawyer.
He confirmed that Helga had asked him to prepare divorce papers.
She wanted to dissolve the marriage, revoke Kofi’s residence permit, and evict him from the house.
The lawyer said she seemed determined, but frightened.
She asked him to speed up the process, saying she was afraid of his reaction.
Apparently, Kofi found out about her plans.
Perhaps she told him herself.
Perhaps he found the documents or overheard a conversation.
The investigation was unable to determine the exact moment when he found out.
But that was the trigger.
On the evening of February 3rd, around 8:00 p.
m.
, the final conflict occurred.
No one saw or heard what exactly happened.
But according to the investigation, based on an analysis of the crime scene and the nature of the injuries, Helga told him about the divorce.
Perhaps she demanded that he pack his things and leave.
Kofi snapped.
He took a knife from the kitchen.
He attacked her in the living room.
She tried to defend herself.
Defensive wounds were found on her hands, cuts on her palms and forearms.
But he was stronger and younger.
He stabbed her 11 times.
She died on the floor.
After Helga stopped moving, Kofi realized what he had done.
He stood over the body, the knife still in his hand, blood spreading across the living room floor.
Panic gave way to cold calculation.
He knew the time was short and that he had to act quickly.
He couldn’t just leave and leave everything as it was.
There was too much evidence, too obvious a connection between him and the victim.
He decided to get rid of the body.
First, he tried to clean up the blood.
He took rags and cleaning supplies from the kitchen and began scrubbing the floor.
But there was too much blood.
It had seeped into the grout between the tiles and soaked into the carpet.
He realized that it would be impossible to completely clean the surface.
Then he rolled up the carpet with the body, trying not to leave any traces.
He dragged the bundle across the hallway to the garage.
The body was heavy and awkward.
He stopped several times to catch his breath, then continued dragging.
In the garage, he loaded the bundle into the trunk of Helga’s car.
The keys were on the shelf by the entrance, where she always left them.
He closed the trunk, got behind the wheel, and drove out onto the street.
It was around 2:00 in the morning.
The neighborhood was asleep, and the street lighting was dim.
He drove slowly, trying not to attract attention, turned onto the highway, and headed towards the forest.
The road was empty, with only the occasional truck passing by.
He drove to a familiar place.
He and Helga had come there for a picnic in the fall.
It had been warm and sunny then, and she had laughed and shown him the local sites.
Now it was dark and cold here.
He turned onto a dirt road, drove deeper into the forest, and stopped at a clearing.
He took the bundle out of the trunk and dragged it into the bushes.
But he realized that he couldn’t leave it there.
It was too conspicuous.
The carpet was bright, and someone might accidentally stumble upon it.
He returned home, took tools from the garage, a hacksaw, a knife, plastic bags, gloves.
He drove back to the forest.
There, in the dark, by the light of a flashlight, he began to dismember the body.
It took several hours.
He worked methodically, without emotion, as if performing a technical task.
He packed the body parts into separate bags, tied them up, and hid them under branches and leaves.
He cut the carpet into pieces and hid it, too.
He wiped the tools clean and put them back in the car.
By morning, he was back home.
He changed his clothes, washed up, and threw the blood-stained clothes into a dumpster on a neighboring street.
Then he began to pack his things.
He knew he couldn’t stay in Munich.
Sooner or later, Helga’s colleagues would become concerned, start looking for her, and the police would arrive.
He had to leave, hide, and buy some time.
Maybe he could get to France, then to Spain, and find a way to return to Africa.
He took Helga’s passport, thinking he could somehow use her documents to withdraw money and buy tickets.
He took her bank cards, went to several ATMs, and withdrew the maximum possible amounts.
The cameras recorded him, but he didn’t think about that.
He packed two large bags, loaded them into the car, and drove towards Augsburg.
There was a large train station there with international flights.
He thought he would take a train to Paris and see what happened next.
But the plan didn’t work.
He sat at the station for almost a day, not daring to buy a ticket.
He was afraid that they would find him out when they checked his documents.
He tried to find a way to buy a ticket without a passport, asking random people if it was possible to travel without documents.
He attracted attention.
The officer on duty noticed him, thought he looked suspicious, checked the reports, and called a patrol.
When he was detained, he offered almost no resistance.
He was tired and understood that there was nowhere to run.
At the police station, he remained silent until the investigators showed him photos from surveillance cameras, the results of a blood test from his home, and photos of traces in the trunk of his car.
Then he asked for a lawyer.
The lawyer explained the situation to him.
The evidence was irrefutable.
Witnesses confirmed the motive.
The body had been found, and the examination proved the cause of death.
The only way to mitigate the sentence was to admit guilt, give detailed testimony, and express remorse.
But Kofi refused.
He said he didn’t remember anything, that he was in a state of affect, that Helga herself had provoked the conflict, that she had humiliated him, controlled his every move, and treated him like a servant.
The investigator asked him to recount the details of that evening.
Kofi spoke with pauses, choosing his words carefully.
He said that Helga came home late, was irritable, and immediately began to reproach him for doing nothing but spending her money.
He replied that he worked at the salon and was trying to help.
She responded that his job was worthless and that she was supporting him like a pet.
He said he wanted to find another job and earn his own money.
She laughed and said that no one needed him, that without her, he was nothing.
Then she said she had filed for divorce, that in a month his residence permit would be revoked, and he would have to return to Ghana, that she didn’t want to see him anymore.
He stood silently, trying to digest the information.
She continued talking, listing everything she had done for him, how he had disappointed her, how she regretted getting involved with him.
He felt something break inside him, anger, resentment, and humiliation building up.
He doesn’t remember how he picked up the knife.
It was on the kitchen table.
They had just had dinner, and he had been cutting bread.
The knife was still there.
Helga had her back to him, talking on the phone, apparently with a lawyer, discussing the details of the divorce.
He approached her from behind and struck her.
She turned around, tried to cover herself with her hands, and screamed.
He struck her again, then again.
She fell.
He continued to strike her until she stopped moving.
That was his version.
The investigation did not believe it was a crime of passion.
An expert psychologist who studied the case materials and interviewed Kofi concluded that the murder was deliberate, that after the first blow, he had the opportunity to stop, but continued to inflict wounds.
11 blows is not a momentary outburst of rage.
It is a methodical murder.
In addition, his actions after the crime, cleaning up, dismembering the body, attempting to flee, demonstrated his ability to control his actions and plan.
The prosecutor based the charges on several key points.
The first was motive.
Kofi married Helga for a residence permit and financial stability.
When she stopped giving him money and filed for divorce, he realized he was losing everything.
The second was the nature of the murder.
Multiple wounds and attempts to hide the body indicate that he tried to avoid responsibility.
The third was his behavior after his arrest.
He lied, changed his testimony, and showed no remorse.
The defense tried to portray Kofi as a victim of circumstances, a young man from a poor country who came to Europe in search of a better life, became dependent on a woman who used him.
She controlled his finances, his movements, his contacts.
She humiliated him in front of other people and treated him like property.
When he tried to break free, she threatened him with deportation.
He snapped in a moment of despair.
It was not a planned murder.
It was a defensive reaction to psychological abuse.
The court heard both sides.
Witnesses were questioned.
Salon employees, neighbors, Helga’s friend, a lawyer.
They all painted a picture of a woman who could indeed be domineering, demanding, and controlling.
But no one confirmed that she was cruel or violent.
She gave Kofi a roof over his head, a job, and legal status.
She tried to help him adapt.
It was her legal right to want a divorce.
The experts presented the court with a detailed report on the nature of the injuries.
They showed that most of the blows were inflicted when the victim was already lying on the floor, possibly already unconscious.
This ruled out the possibility of self-defense or passion.
Kofi continued to strike her even when she was no longer posing a threat.
The court was also presented with records of Kofi’s correspondence with friends in Ghana.
In one message sent a week before the murder, he wrote, “If she kicks me out, I don’t know what I’ll do.
Maybe it would be better if she were gone.
” A friend replied, “Don’t be silly.
You’ll find another woman.
” Kofi did not reply to this message.
The prosecutor used this correspondence as evidence that Kofi had been considering the possibility of violence in advance.
The defense argued that it was just an emotional phrase, that people often say such things without any real intention to act.
But in combination with the other evidence, this phrase looked ominous.
The trial lasted several months.
The hearings were held in the Munich District Court behind closed doors due to the nature of the evidence.
Helga’s relatives attended every hearing.
Her older sister, cousin, and several friends.
They sat in the front row, listened silently to the testimony, and looked at Kofi.
He avoided their gaze.
The defense called a psychologist who claimed that Kofi was under severe psychological pressure.
The expert said that young migrants from Africa who come to Europe depending on a sponsor often experience stress and feelings of helplessness.
In such conditions, any conflict can lead to a breakdown.
The psychologist insisted that Kofi needed treatment, not life imprisonment.
The prosecutor called another expert who specialized in violent crimes.
He explained that Kofi’s actions after the murder spoke for themselves.
He did not call the police or admit guilt.
Instead, he methodically covered his tracks, destroyed evidence, and planned his escape.
This is the behavior of a person who understands that he has committed a crime and is trying to avoid punishment.
Kofi’s mother flew in from Ghana.
She spoke through an interpreter, cried, and asked the court to show mercy.
She said that Kofi had always been a good son, helping his family and caring for his sisters, that it was a tragic mistake, a moment of weakness, that Helga had promised to give him a better life, but instead made him dependent and then abandoned him.
Helga’s sister responded.
She spoke calmly, but every sentence was filled with pain.
She said that Helga had spent her whole life helping others, that she was generous and open, that she had given Kofi a chance that few people get, that instead of gratitude, he killed her and cut her body into pieces, that the family would never be able to forgive him, that even a life sentence would not bring Helga back.
In his final statement, Kofi said he regretted what had happened.
That he did not want it to end this way.
But he did not admit full guilt.
He said that Helga was also to blame, that she had cornered him, that he had no choice.
The judge interrupted him, noting that he always had a choice.
He could have left.
He could have sought help.
Instead, he chose violence.
In November 2024, the court handed down its verdict.
Kofi Nyarko was found guilty of aggravated murder.
The court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the right to early release for the first 25 years.
After serving his sentence, he is subject to deportation to Ghana with a ban on entering European Union countries.
The defense filed an appeal.
Six months later, the highest court upheld the sentence.
Kofi was transferred to a maximum security prison in Bavaria.
There he is held in a separate cell and works in the prison factory.
Psychologists note that he is withdrawn and rarely talks about his crime.
After Helga’s death, her salons were taken over by her sister.
She continued the business and retained most of the staff.
In one of the salons, a small photograph of Helga was hung with a sign reading, “Founder in memory of her work and kindness.
” The house was sold a year later.
The new owners renovated it and completely replaced the floors in the living room.
The neighbors try not to remember that story.
The case was covered in several regional publications, but there was no major public outcry.
Journalists wrote about the problems of migration marriages and the risks associated with large differences in age and social status.
But there were no sensational headlines.
Kofi’s mother still writes him letters.
She believes it was a fatal mistake.
She hopes that in 25 years he will be released and able to return home.
But even if that happens, he will be over 50.
Kofi’s sisters have broken off contact with him.
They do not respond to letters or come to visit him.
The older one is married and the younger one is studying at university.
They do not mention his name.
