Every four weeks, millions of viewers follow the cult program “Aktenzeichen The sports journalist and former figure skater Rudi Cerne (65) has been hosting the live broadcast since 2002. Now the 600th edition of the true crime format is coming up on March 27th at 8:15 p.m. On this occasion, spot on news asked the show producers which particularly touching old cases are still open?
“There are a number of open cases, and each one is tragic,” says the responsible ZDF editorial team. These three were particularly remembered:
Murder with mercury syringe (broadcast from August 24, 2022)
“The 40-year-old Christoph Bulwin leaves his job in Hanover on the afternoon of July 15, 2011. A man approaches him from behind and pricks his buttocks with a prepared umbrella. As it turns out, there was a syringe at the bottom of the umbrella an initially unknown liquid that was injected into the victim during the attack. The perpetrator is able to escape. At first the father of two is fine – but then he complains of side effects and finally dies in agony. The cause of death was the contents of the syringe – a mixture of Mercury and another highly toxic substance. The motive and perpetrator are still completely unclear to this day.”
A murder and a mysterious box van (broadcast from January 18, 2023)
“26-year-old Eva Götz is studying biology in Freiburg. After visiting her family in the Palatinate, she returned to Freiburg on January 26, 1997. She probably walked from the train station to her shared apartment – but she didn’t get there. Residents a street through which Eva Götz presumably walked that evening report the screams of a woman and the sighting of an older panel van. Presumably the same panel van is noticed hours later around 80 kilometers away from Freiburg – near Donaueschingen. A little later “That’s exactly where the body was found. The case continues to puzzle the police to this day.”
Murder of a child (broadcast on April 2, 2008)
“The 13-year-old student Tristan Brübach was found dead by children playing in a tunnel underpass of a stream near the Frankfurt-Main/Höchst train station on March 26, 1998. The autopsy shows: He was strangled until he lost consciousness and then in an incredibly brutal way Wisely murdered. Witnesses see a man with a pigtail – did he see something or even have anything to do with the crime? One thing is certain: the brutal murder of Tristan Brübach remains unsolved to this day.”
The true crime program is particularly exciting for many viewers because all of the murderers, rapists and other criminals who appear in it are still at large until it is broadcast. Many cases were solved through the broadcast. On the occasion of the 600th broadcast, the show makers and broadcasters say the following:
“‘Case number The importance of the program is demonstrated by the consistently high volume of tips during and after the programs and by the “clarification rate of almost 40 percent”.
The audience rating is also noteworthy. According to the broadcaster, in 2023 “XY” reached an average of 5.33 million viewers aged 3 and over, which corresponds to a market share of 20.6 percent. The younger audience is also showing great interest: among 14 to 49 year olds, “Aktenzeichen XY…Unsolved” achieved a high average market share of 17 percent with 0.99 million viewers.
The show “Case number XY… Unsolved” has had many spin-offs over the years, such as: “Case number XY… Cold Cases”, “Case number XY… Solved”, “Case number Beware, fraud”, “Case number XY… Missing” and “XY solved”. These formats not only support the investigative authorities’ public searches. There are also “preventive warnings about current fraud schemes” and the police’s often “years of investigative work” until the perpetrators are arrested and convicted.
This year there were/are three editions of the five offshoots on the program. “Case number XY…Solved” was broadcast on March 6th and can still be found in the media library. In addition, Sven Voss (47) will present a new season of “XY solved” in the spring and Rudi Cerne will moderate “Aktenzeichen XY…Vermisst” in the fall.
The makers also dedicate the 600th “File number XY… Unsolved” program to the meaning and purpose of the format. “The anniversary edition will be a regular program and will be exclusively dedicated to showing current criminal cases and calling on the population to help,” said ZDF.
