35 years on from Inga Maria Hauser's murder - nobody has been charged

TODAY (April 6) marks the 35th anniversary of the brutal murder of Inga Maria Hauser.

The 18-year old German student was found in Ballypatrick Forest, Ballycastle two weeks after she had been seen on a ferry from Stranraer to Larne.

Police believe she died shortly after she arrived in Northern Ireland and that she was subjected to a vicious and ruthless assault.

Two years ago, the Public Prosecution Service decided not to take proceedings against two people about whom police had submitted a file of evidence.

Ahead of her anniversary last year, a fresh appeal for information regarding the murder was made by the family’s lawyer, Claire McKeegan, and SDLP councillor, Helena Dallat O‘Driscoll, daughter of the late John Dallat, former Northern Ireland Assembly Deputy Speaker and MLA, who worked tirelessly so that the case was not forgotten.

At that time, Councillor Dallat O‘Driscoll said: “The Hauser family has suffered non-stop heartache for over thirty years. Inga Maria was a much loved, talented young woman with a thirst to learn about other cultures and languages when she arrived on our shores in the late eighties. She deserved so much better than to be so brutally taken from her family and friends and left face down in Ballypatrick Forest. People want to see a conclusion to this callous, savage killing.

“I am calling on those who know anything about this murder to share the information they have with the PSNI. I appeal directly to those people to give their account of what they know about what happened on the night of April 6, 1988 when Inga Maria Hauser didn’t take the train from Larne to Belfast as planned.”

She added: “There are people with vital information that could lead to her murderer being prosecuted. Those involved in this heinous crime must be brought to justice.”

The Hauser family lawyer, Claire McKeegan, Phoenix Law, said: “We are seeking a full inquest to examine this case at long last, something this family have been denied to date. Since the recent documentary we have been contacted and received information and would continue to encourage those who know the details of what happened to come forward in confidence.”

To date, nobody has been charged with Inga's murder.