The chief suspect in the fatal stabbing of British Rolls-Royce designer Ian Cameron in Germany last week has been arrested in France following an international manhunt – but the motive remains a mystery.
Cameron, 74, was found dead at his £3 million mansion in Lake Ammersee in Upper Bavaria on Friday evening.
The Serbian suspect, who fled to France from Germany before his arrest was seen hours before Cameron’s death at a supermarket less than a mile from the murder scene wearing a grey T-shirt and blue trousers.
CCTV footage from the crime scene later showed an unidentifiable man wearing a dark blue hooded sweatshirt, light-coloured trousers, gloves and a dark red backpack.
Investigators conducting a search of the surrounding area after Cameron was found dead discovered the backpack containing both sets of clothes – suggesting the assailant had changed his garments a second time after the crime to avoid detection.
Police now believe the killer rang the doorbell to Mr Cameron’s home in Herrsching and attacked him when he opened the door, forcing his wife Veronika Kloos – also a former designer at BMW – to flee to safety over a wall.
Suspicions were raised that the designer was deliberately targeted when it emerged the cables to CCTV cameras over the garages where his high-value vehicles were kept had been cut.
Some 30 officers were deployed to assist in the hunt for the attacker after Cameron’s neighbours provided a description of the perpetrator that appeared to closely match his appearance in security camera footage.
The suspect was said to have been shopping in the Edeka supermarket on Seestraße just 0.8 miles from the designer’s house shortly before the attack on the Rolls Royce designer unfolded.
CCTV footage also showed the attacker carrying a red rucksack and green-yellow gloves.
After police sent drones and even a police helicopter to search for the murderer, they found the rucksack, which is now being analysed for usable DNA traces.
Super-recognisers – specialists with the ability to discern faces even in poor-quality images or when perpetrators wear masks – were also brought in to help identify the suspect.
The investigation team earlier this week extended the manhunt to the whole of Germany before he was located in France.
Police understand that the killer rang the doorbell of the house in Herrsching am Ammersee and launched his attack on Cameron as he opened the door.
Cameron’s wife Kloos fled over a wall to evade the attacker, finding refuge with neighbours who called the emergency services.
A short time later, the designer was found dead.
Investigators discovered that the CCTV cameras above the garages to the house had been disabled, with the wires having been cut.
An officer told The Sun it is ‘extremely rare’ that a burglar who prepares enough to disable CCTV then ‘stabs and kills’ a person.
Police labelled it a ‘violent crime’ and said the attacker fled on foot from the house.
Heavy rain on Friday evening prevented the police helicopter from taking off on time, meaning the search was delayed until officers could deploy drones to canvas the area.
The day after the crime, divers and dog handlers scoured the area but have thus far found no trace of the attacker besides the backpack containing clothing seen in the CCTV footage.
Ian Cameron was a revered figure in the automotive industry, having left a lasting legacy at Rolls-Royce with his groundbreaking designs.
Before retiring from the company in 2013, he was championed for his work on luxury cars, including the 3 Series, Z8, Phantom and Ghost.
His untimely death has shocked the small, quiet community on the shores of Lake Ammersee.