A special operations officer has been arrested on suspicion of killing a pregnant fitness trainer he met on a dating app.
Johanna Ganzer failed to return to her flat after meeting police officer – named on as Manuel M – on Friday (9 Jan) evening.
When Johanna’s mother was unable to reach the 34-year-old fitness trainer and hairdresser, she alerted the authorities.
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When questioned on Monday (12 Jan), Manuel, 30, initially denied meeting Johanna.
But after being shown messages from one of her friends, he admitted to meeting her occasionally, including on the night in question.
His contradictory statements led to his arrest.
The following day (13 Jan), he allegedly confessed to killing her but claimed it was an accident, according to reports.
Manuel allegedly said that while having consensual sex with Johanna in his car and she was suffocated during “choking games.”
He is then suspected of burying her in a hole, the reports claim.
Her body was recovered that afternoon at the location he provided – a wooded area on his parents’ property in Styria, south-eastern Austria.
The victim and suspect, both from Styria, had met through a dating app, as reported by Need To Know.
At the time, Manuel, an EKO Cobra operative, was reportedly in a relationship Johanna, who lived in Tillmitsch, Liebnitz, is believed to have been pregnant.
Post-mortem results are yet to determine the exact cause of Johanna’s death.
Police seized two stolen service weapons during a search of Manuel’s home and are considering the pregnancy as a potential motive.
Location data from their phones confirmed they were together on Friday.
The investigation is ongoing.
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