NSW Police offer $1m reward to solve Bernd Lehmann’s 2008 murder

Police have announced a $1 million reward to help solve the mysterious murder of German man Bernd Lehmann, who was found dead in a Sydney unit on Valentine’s Day 2008.

A million-dollar reward has been announced for information related to the murder of German man Bernd Lehmann in Sydney 2008.

The 66-year-old was found inside a unit on Alt St, Ashfield on Valentines Day.

A post mortem revealed he died from severe head injuries.

Following a coronial inquiry in 2012 his death was referred to the unsolved homicide unit.

The body of 66-year-old German national, Bernd Lehmann, was found inside a home unit at Alt Street, Ashfield, on Valentine’s Day 2008.

Last year, NSW police forecast a huge leap forward in DNA technology which could help solve cases like Mr Lehmann’s.

The unsolved homicide is one of only 10 cases in NSW that have undergone a new forensic analysis that determines a person’s physical characteristics from their DNA.

Phenotyping involves examining DNA markers to determine the colour of a person’s hair and eyes and their ancestry.

Police have issued $1 million reward for information into Mr Lehmann’s murder.

After crime scene officers examined the inside of Mr Lehmann’s unit in 2018, experts were able to obtain two DNA profiles – the victim’s and a potential suspect.

Two years ago, the suspect DNA samples were sent to the Genetic Ancestry Laboratory for phenotyping.

The analysis provided police with an idea of who to look for – a person who did not have blonde hair or blue eyes and likely has a mixture of European, Middle Eastern and African ancestry.

While investigators acknowledge the testing is not a silver bullet, it can help narrow the pool of suspects.