Man drowns himself in Austrian lake using wife's head encased in concrete

The unnamed 72-year-old man is believed to have strangled and dismembered his wife before killing himself

Divers recovering suitcases from the lake in Austria (EPA)

A German pensioner strangled then dismembered his wife before encasing her head in concrete and using it to drown himself, police have said.

The unnamed 72-year-old was discovered in Lake Traunsee in Austria on Monday - the day after two suitcases filled with the remains of his 71-year-old wife were found on the shore.

Local authorities said the man - believed to be from Frankfurt in Germany - strangled the woman before killing himself. The concrete block was found attached to his hand.

A witness found the suitcases on the shore near the town of Gmunden, 50 miles east of Salzburg, on Sunday, but police were not able to identify the woman until her head was found on Monday.

State prosecutor Birgit Ahamer, from the nearby town of Wels, told reporters that authorities believed the incident was an “extended suicide” but did not release the identities of the bodies.

Postmortem examinations have indicated the woman was strangled between 25 December and 1 January. The man drowned some time later.

There is no sign of involvement by any third party.

Additional reporting by AP

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