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Top German diplomat in Brazil is accused of beating his Belgian husband to death at beachfront penthouse and trying to cover up the scene before telling cops he had fallen after a fit
- Uwe Herbert Hahn arrested in Rio de Janeiro on suspicion of killing his husband
- Walter Henri Maximilien Biot found dead inside couple’s penthouse apartment
- Hahn told police that Biot, 52, suffered a fit and fell, suffering a fatal head injury
- But police say he had multiple injuries that appeared to come from being beaten
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A top German diplomat has been arrested in Brazil and accused of beating his husband of more than two decades to death inside their apartment.
Uwe Herbert Hahn, the German consul to Brazil, was arrested late Saturday after 52-year-old husband Walter Henri Maximilien Biot was found dead – with Hahn allegedly telling cops he suffered a fatal fall at their Rio de Janeiro penthouse the night before.
Hahn claims Biot had some kind of fit, began running towards the apartment’s balcony, then tripped on a rug and hit his head – causing an injury that proved fatal.
But police say Biot’s body was covered in bruises, some of which appeared to come from being stomped on, and he also had lesions from ‘aggression with a cylindrical object’ that were not consistent with a fall.
Uwe Herbert Hahn (right), German consul to Brazil, has been arrested in Rio de Janeiro for allegedly beating husband Walter Henri Maximilien Biot (left) to death in their apartment
Hahn (pictured) is said to have told officers that Biot had some kind of fit, fell and suffered a fatal head injury, but cops say he had multiple injuries not consistent with that account
It is not clear who called officers to the couple’s apartment – in the upmarket beachfront neighbourhood of Ipanema – on Saturday, but police are said to have arrived to find Hahn attempting to clean it.
He was taken for questioning as forensic teams moved in with luminol – a substance that glows on contact with blood – which they used to uncover bloodstains.
Some were said to have been on the tile floors, with a secretary to the couple saying she ordered them to be cleaned after a dog was found lapping up blood.
Meanwhile police found another suspected bloodstain on a sofa that had been recently cleaned.
Hahn is reported to have told officers that Bitot – a Belgian citizen – was suffering a drink problem and had been taking sleeping pills.
He is said to have told police that Biot had been acting ‘strangely’ in the days before his death, and seemed to be ‘panicked or nervous’.
Hahn claimed to have been in the kitchen when he heard Biot get up and start running, before the fall.
He said he heard his husband ‘groaning’ on the floor and initially thought he was drunk and tried to put him to bed.
Police say Biot – who had been married to Hahn (pictured) for 23 years – appeared to have been stomped on and had lesions from ‘aggression with a cylindrical instrument’
Cops are said to have arrived at the couple’s beachfront penthouse apartment to find Hahn trying to clean it, before forensic officers discovered bloodstains inside
It was only after sending a picture to a friend complaining Biot was ‘drunk again’ that Hahn claimed to noticed the blood.
But forensic examinations found Biot had died from a wound to the back of his head, not the front as he would have got from falling forwards.
That, coupled with numerous other injuries Biot had suffered, led officers to conclude that his death was the result of violence.
Officer Camila Lourenco said: ‘The version of events given by the consul, that the victim suffered a fall, is incompatible with the conclusions of the forensics report
‘The cadaver is screaming out the circumstances of its death.’
Brazilian media reports said Hahn will not have diplomatic immunity given the nature of the crime. Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Biot was a week shy of his 53rd birthday, according to a picture of his ID card published in the Brazilian press.
Hahn is said to have told police that the couple were considering a move to Hawaii.
They had been married for a total of 23 years.
The German embassy did not immediately respond to a request for information.
But both the embassy and the consulate in Rio de Janeiro are in ‘close contact with the Brazilian authorities investigating this case’, a source in the German federal foreign office said Sunday.