Fresh DNA link to tourist murder

Inga Maria Hauser was last seen alive on the Stranraer to Larne ferry

Police looking for the killer of a German backpacker who died in a County Antrim forest 20 years ago, want to interview a number of women.

Inga Maria Hauser's body was found in a remote part of Ballypatrick forest on 20 April 1988. Her neck was broken.

Police said the women who are on the UK DNA database have DNA similar to a sample found at the murder scene.

Detectives hope that by interviewing them, they will be able to rule out any of their male relatives.

Ms Hauser, 18, who was from Munich, had travelled to meet a friend in Cardiff, but decided to go to Scotland and Northern Ireland while in Britain.

She was last seen alive on the Stranraer to Larne ferry on 6 April.

Her body was discovered in a remote part of the forest on the outskirts of Ballycastle. Police said she had been subjected to a vicious and ruthless assault.

A DNA profile was taken from the crime scene. It belongs to a male person who has never been identified.

Detective Superintendent Raymond Murray, who is in charge of the inquiry, said: "The science is telling us there might be a link between a male DNA profile from the crime scene and a small number of women across the UK who are on the DNA database.

"It is our duty to follow this line of inquiry for two reasons: firstly, to eliminate these individuals from the investigation; secondly and, most importantly, to ensure that we have done everything possible to apprehend the killer of a young woman whose life was taken from her in the most cruel circumstances."