Body parts of a surgeon have been found scattered around a forest six months after he suddenly disappeared.
A horrified walker found Steffen Braun's butchered corpse in woodlands and alerted the police.
And during a police search of the forest near Rockeskyll, Germany, the rest of the body was discovered scattered among undergrowth on Tuesday.
Steffen, an orthopaedic surgeon was last seen alive on New Year's Eve, and was reported missing by his bosses at Maria Hilf Hospital in Daun, Germany, three days later.
Investigators now believe the 53-year-old medic was victim of a "brutal homicide."
Police had found Steffen's burnt-out Ford Fiesta on a forest road about 28 miles away from his home in Gerolstein but there was no sign of the surgeon.
But a spokesperson for the constabulary said this week: "Late Tuesday afternoon, 13th June, a walker in a wooded area near Rockeskyll found part of a human body and informed the police.
"The immediate search of the adjacent forest led the officers to the site where the entire body was found, which was in the vicinity of the search area designated by the police."
Eric Samel, public prosecutor, said an autopsy has been carried out.
Investigators suspect that the murder weapon had been thrown away along the A1 motorway between Wittlich and Gerolstein.
Detectives believe that Braun's killer was well known to him but have not yet identified a suspect, reports local media.
The police statement continued: "According to the investigations so far, the crime may have occurred on Friday, 30th December, or Saturday, 31st December, 2022."
Prosecutors have offered a €5,000 (£4,300) reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of Braun's killer.
