David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO David joined Newsweek in 2018 and has since reported from key locations and summits across Europe and the South Caucasus This includes extensive reporting from the Baltic David graduated from the University of Cambridge having specialized in the history of empires and revolutions You can contact David at d.brennan@newsweek.com and follow him on Twitter @DavidBrennan100 either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content German police are investigating a mysterious string of five deaths which includes three people found killed by a crossbow in a hotel room Police initially discovered three bodies at a hotel near the Bavarian town of Passau The investigation then led police to an apartment some 400 miles away in the town of Wittingen in Lower Saxony state—occupied by one of the victims found in Bavaria—where two more bodies were found The grisly mystery centers on the rural hotel on the banks of the Ilz river in Bavaria. Three people—a man aged 53 named by AFP as Torsten W. and another woman aged 30 named as Farina C.—were found dead There were no signs of a struggle nor of the involvement of any other person The Washington Post suggested the evidence pointed towards some kind of suicide-murder pact Torsten and Kerstin were found dead on the bed hand-in-hand and each impaled with multiple arrows Torsten had been shot twice in the head and three times in the chest while Kerstin had been shot once in the head and once in the chest Farina was found lying dead in front of the bed with a crossbow arrow between her throat and chin Two crossbows were found lying in the room with a third in a bag belonging to the group Police said they found wills for the two victims found on the bed The three victims had booked the hotel room with a double bed and a single bed for three nights They checked in on Friday and did not order breakfast One guest told local newspaper Passauer Neue Presse it had been a "completely quiet night." Another told Munich daily Merkur that the man had a long white beard and the "strange" women were dressed in black the three reportedly wished other guests a good evening and headed to their room with bottles of water and Coca-Cola residents of an apartment building in Wittingen heard the bizarre reports from Passau and became suspicious of a strong smell coming from a neighboring apartment who upon entering discovered two more female bodies—aged 35 and 19 Merkur reported that one of those found in the flat was Farina's sister while The Associated Press said neither of the Wittingen victims died as a result of external injuries and their findings are expected within the coming days No crossbows or arrows were found in the Wittingen property German tabloid Bild suggested that Torsten and Farina shared a fascination with the Middle Ages Torsten reportedly owned a shop called "Milites Conductius" that sold medieval-style weapons Merker reported that Farina worked as a bakery sales manager and was a fan of medieval-style markets and jousting events Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker  Jessica Rae Wittingen and Matthew Roe Tracy were married on June 19 and music was by Sally VanderPloeg and Jason Townsend   Parents of the couple are Doug and Amy Wittingen of Zeeland and Kenneth and Maris Tracy of Hudsonville    The  maid of  honor  was  Kara Wittingen and the bridesmaids were Tricia Fisher and Kelsey Weismiller and Kyle Landry and Tyler Wittingen were the groomsmen Matthew Harris and Patrick Booth served as ushers   A reception followed at Holland Fish & Game Club   The bride is a graduate of Hudsonville High School and Michigan State University She is employed by Allegiance Health in Jackson The groom graduated from Hudsonville High School and Central Michigan University He is continuing his education at Michigan State University .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By DO NOT USE - Kate Nagengast | knagengast@mlive.comHelen WittingenHelen "Irene" Wittingen She is survived by her husband of 63 years Jerry and Kathy Wittingen and their children and grandchildren Arlyn and Hilda Wittingen and their children Darcy Wittingen and Amy Wittingen; third child Todd Bouws and Heather Bouws; fourth child Carol and Bob Hassevoort and their children Alex Hassevoort and fiancée Danielle Thompson Howard Kraker (wife Harlene deceased); sister and brother-in-law Ruth and Larry Brinkman; sister and brother-in-law Margaret and Arnold Dreyer (both deceased); brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law Joyce Wittingen; and several nieces and nephews • Visit the main obituary page • Read Helen Wittingen's full obituary • Visit Helen Wittingen's guest book • Read today's obituaries from The Grand Rapids Press Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices Ronald and Kathy Wittingen of Zeeland announce the engagement of their daughter son of Michael and Kathleen Rouwhorst of Holland The bride-elect is a graduate of Zeeland High School and the Dental Hygienist Program at Grand Rapids Community College She is employed by Grand Valley Dental Care The groom-elect graduated from West Ottawa High School and works at Genzink Steel