Widower (97) Lies in Hospital – and Unbelievable Scenes Unfold at Home
Money, jewelry, collectible coins – everything permanently lost. The case of a 97-year-old remains without a perpetrator. Why even a bank counter camera provides no solid evidence.
Böbingen an der Rems • Reading time: 7 min.
Many people have a key to the house of a man in need of care. For a family from the Ostalb district, this proved disastrous during a burglary years ago. (Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa)
It is a conflict that many adult children surely know, whose parents are slowly but surely reaching an age where they need support: A 97-year-old who, even after his wife's death, wants to live in his own home, but due to increasing age-related frailty is undeniably in need of assistance. He still considers his own home the safest place for his valuables and cash, yet because of his growing care needs, many more people have a key than just a few years ago.
This conflict between the desire for an independent life and the necessity of daily care proved disastrous for a family from Böbingen an der Rems (Ostalb district). Because when the 97-year-old widower was briefly hospitalized after a fall, perpetrators from the man's circle must have used a key to gain access to the house and then taken cash, jewelry, gold bars, collectible and investment coins, and other valuables. At least, that is what the 97-year-old's two sons assume to this day. Out of fear of legal consequences resulting from this report, they do not want their names in the newspaper.
Burglary after Hospital Stay: Suspicion in the Circle
Nevertheless, the anger and disbelief about the burglary are still deep more than two years after the incident. "Not only the enormous material but also the emotional damage was huge. The loss of our deceased mother's keepsakes is indescribable," emphasizes one of the two sons during a conversation in the editorial office of the Aalener Nachrichten.
For many months after the burglary of his former family home, he blamed himself for failing to secure the valuables. "If we had known something like this would happen, we would certainly have had to counteract," said the 54-year-old. At the same time, he thought: "But after our mother's death, we couldn't just let the old man live in the house and simply remove everything of value."
The 54-year-old from Böbingen does not want to specify the material damage caused by the burglary. He only says: "Several thousand euros would be an understatement; it was hardcore." He particularly regrets the loss of an extensive coin collection: "Since the D-Mark era, my mother collected coins for my brother and me. And now everything is gone. That would have been terrible for her too." The bitterest part of the entire mess, however, is: The family will probably never see the stolen jewelry, cash, and collectible coins again.
Because: The case has now been closed by police and prosecutors without identifying a perpetrator. The reasoning: Since so many different people had access to the house, including relatives, the emergency call system, the care service, and occasional visitors from the 97-year-old's circle, it is impossible to say with certainty when someone might have taken something. "I checked on my father daily, brought him food, and visited him, but you also have your own life, your work, your family, and can't keep an eye 24/7 on whether all valuables are still there," admits the 54-year-old, speaking for himself and also on behalf of his brother.
Insurance Does Not Pay, Case Closed Without a Perpetrator
As the son of the elderly burglary victim also reports, the household insurance did not cover the material loss. Because it was neither a violent burglary nor a proven burglary with counterfeit keys or through fraudulent access – for example, disguised as a fake tradesman. An additional complication was that the extent of the stolen valuables could not be clearly proven. "For the coins, no stolen property search could be issued because they are theoretically official legal tender and therefore exist in thousands of copies," explains the native of Böbingen. "If these coins were found in someone's home, it would be almost impossible to prove that this person could have stolen them."
"It was claimed that my father had requested money to be withdrawn." One of the two brothers on the investigation results following the burglary
Since the jewelry largely consisted of heirlooms from the mother's deceased sister, the brothers could not present ownership certificates for that either. And even the money withdrawn from the EC card, which was stolen from the household twice during the 97-year-old's absence, could not be secured as stolen goods – although the alleged thief was supposedly visible on the bank's surveillance camera. "It was claimed that my father had authorized the withdrawal," reports the 54-year-old from the investigation results that occupied the family for many months in 2024.
And although no one could ultimately be held accountable for this chaos and the theft, the two brothers have a fairly concrete idea of what might have happened in the weeks before and during their father's hospital stay. Out of fear of a defamation lawsuit, they prefer not to go into detail. However, it was striking that in the weeks and months before the burglary, people from the neighborhood and distant relatives suddenly showed an unusual interest in the 97-year-old's life. With these relatives, however, they had "for good reason never had contact for 40 years," describes one of the two of the tense family relationship. Around the same time, the father, who was still legally competent but severely hard of hearing, terminated his care service by phone and instead hired a new, private service. On his own initiative? The brothers almost categorically rule that out: "Imagine you have a man who cancels his care service, even though he can barely understand on the phone, and then – under normally enormous bureaucratic effort – finds a new care service? How is he supposed to have done that?"
"That it was like that is beyond doubt for us, but unfortunately it cannot be proven." Son of a 97-year-old from Böbingen, burglarized in 2023
Father Loses Jewelry and Money – Suspicion Without Evidence
The brothers' theory: The person from the neighborhood and the distant relative allegedly ingratiated themselves with their father, jointly terminated the care service, and installed a new, private caregiver. This caregiver would then have had a key, allowing them to fetch the bank card during the father's absence and have all the time in the world to remove the valuables. "That it was like that is beyond doubt for us, but unfortunately it cannot be proven," says the 54-year-old. And his brother adds: "A joint criminal plan is obvious, even according to our father. He said they (note: those the two sons suspect as perpetrators) were always standing together on the street, hatching something, and then talking on their cell phones."
"As relatives, we felt largely left alone with our concerns and questions." One of the two sons of a 97-year-old burglary victim
That the alleged perpetrators ultimately go unpunished and the burglary thus "fizzled out" frustrates the two sons of the 97-year-old immensely. "In addition to the theft itself, we were deeply disappointed by the authorities' reaction. We had the impression that the investigations were not conducted with the necessary vigor, nor was the special need for protection of a very elderly victim adequately taken into account," the two lament the outcome of the case, which they find highly unsatisfactory. One of them emphasizes: "As relatives, we felt largely left alone with our concerns and questions."
He is convinced: If crimes against elderly and needy people are not consistently solved and those affected receive little support, this leaves a feeling of powerlessness and helplessness. And he concludes: "You begin to understand why some people lose trust in the rule of law and wonder whether they have to take care of justice themselves. This impression must not arise in a state governed by the rule of law. Those who rob the weakest in society must be able to expect determined criminal prosecution, and victims and their relatives need tangible protection and support."
