Littered around the flat were long-forgotten East German relics such as "Vita" cola, "Marella" margarine, "Juwel" cigarettes, and an empty bottle of "Kristall" vodka, colloquially referred to as the "Blue Strangler." The rooms were decorated with furnishings dating from the 1950s to 1980s, and the toilet was located on the communal landing, as was common for East German tenement blocks. A wall calendar showed August 1988 and that's when the flat was last believed to have been entered.
Mr Aretz said he had found documents in the flat showing that the occupant was a 24-year-old man who had been in trouble with the police. “It’s unclear if his offences were political or if he was a petty criminal. He had spent two terms in jail and he was definitely someone who didn’t fit in with the system. I’ve kept his documents. So far, he hasn’t got in touch with me.”
