Medieval Cult Leader Killed With 'Slaves' In Crossbow Murder-Suicide: Reports

Posted Thursday, May 16, 2019 5:01 AM , updated Friday, January 17, 2020 1:39 AM

It's the murder mystery that has gripped Germany, and now the disturbing story is unravelling.

The bodies of Torsten Weiss, 53, Farina Caspari, 30, and Kerstin Enders, 33, were found in a rural Bavarian hotel room on Saturday.

All three had been impaled by crossbow bolts.

Wiess and Enders were found holding hands on the bed of the hotel room, both with crossbow wounds to the heart.

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Caspari was found lying next to their bed, believed to have been killed instantly by a crossbow wound to the neck.

A forensic expert arrives to secure evidences on May 13, 2019 in a cordoned off house in Wittingen, northern Germany, where two bodies were found. Photo: Getty.

Local authorities said there was no evidence of any defensive wounds on any of the three bodies, or that a fourth person was involved in their deaths.

According to local media, authorities believe the three died from "killing on request or suicide".

The gruesome mystery surrounding their deaths only deepened when just days after their discovery, police attended the home of Caspari to notify her girlfriend Gertrud C, a 35-year-old school teacher, of her death.

A house is cordoned off in Wittingen, northern Germany, where two bodies were found on May 13 during investigations into the deaths of three other people. PHOTO: Getty Images

Inside they found the bodies of Gertrud and a 19-year-old woman, also dead. Police said there were no signs of any crossbow bolts or struggle in the two women's deaths -- but believe they were killed before the other three deaths occurred.

Police are treating the gruesome discoveries as a murder-suicide, but are stumped as to what led to their deaths.

A body bag is carried out of a cordoned off house in Wittingen, northern Germany, where two bodies were found. PHOTO: Getty Images

Local media reports that Weiss may have been a cult leader who treated the women around him "like slaves".

Weiss ran a medieval-themed store filled with weapons, Knights Templar flags and a blood-spattered mannequin, and met two of the girls through a jousting club run through the shop.

A mannequin sits on a table photographed through a window of the medieval business of Torsten W. PHOTO: AAP.

A man, who rented a farmhouse to Weiss -- and who lived there with Caspari, Gertrud and the 19-year-old woman -- described him as a "master" who ordered the women around, BILD reported.

According to local media, he controlled the four women like a cult leader, using physical force and psychological manipulation.

A peek through the window into the medieval business of Torsten W. in Hachenburg, Germany. PHOTO: AAP

RTL spoke with a couple who feared the 19-year-old woman found dead was their daughter, Carina U. Police have not named the teen.

In their interview, the couple reportedly claimed their daughter had fallen under Weiss' 'spell' several years ago and had broken off all contact with them.

Investigations into the deaths are continuing.