Autopsy Helps Cops Confirm Hotel Slayings Were Double Murder-Suicide
Posted September 13, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto Police have confirmed that a bloody triple slaying that took place Monday morning at the Delta Chelsea Hotel was a double murder-suicide.
Autopsy results have confirmed how the victims died. They show the 24-year-old Swiss woman, Nadja Wyrsch, and the 35-year-old German man, Thomas Kaufmann, succumbed to stab wounds to the neck and chest. A Swiss male – whose body was discovered near the woman’s inside their 19th floor room – died of self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest. He’s been identified as 35-year-old Andre Aschwanden.
Cops still aren’t sure what motivated the incident or why it came to a head after they all travelled from Europe to begin a cross Canada tour. They’d stopped in Toronto as part of that excursion and detectives have now revealed all three were staying in the same room.
Guests on the floor where the trio were found recall hearing a commotion in the overnight hours, and someone screaming either “Help me!” or “I’m hurt!” Kaufmann was found near the elevator and may have been trying to escape the scene of the carnage.
Police say the Swiss couple were both from Luzern. The other victim was living near Bern, Switzerland but carried a German passport.
Cops are continuing to probe their activities, including how they met and what might have triggered the deadly rage that resulted in their deaths.
Autopsy Results
Victim #1
Who: Nadja Wyrsch
Age: 24
Cause of death: Stab wounds to the chest and incised cut to the neck
Victim #2
Who: Thomas Kaufmann
Age: 35
Cause of death: Stab wounds to the chest
Victim #3
Who: Andre Aschwanden
Age: 35
Cause of death: Self-inflicted stab wounds to the chest
