The mysterious case of Peter Bergmann begins on Friday, June 12, 2009. On that day, the hero of our story was spotted at the Ulster Bus bus depot in Derry (County Londonderry, Northern Ireland). According to witnesses, this happened between 2:30 PM and 4:00 PM local time. The city of Derry is right next to the Irish border. The man boarded a bus going to Sligo (County Sligo, Ireland). He had a black shoulder bag and carry-on luggage with him.
At 18:28 the hero of our story got off at the last stop, which is the bus station in Sligo. Then he went to the taxi rank. There he asked one of the drivers to recommend an inexpensive place to stay overnight. The taxi driver suggested An Cruiscin Lan and drove the man there. In Cruisin Lan, however, it turned out that all the seats were already taken. Another recommendation was the Sligo City Hotel. This time the tourist was more fortunate and found a free room. He paid for his stay in cash. Upon checking in, he gave the name "Peter Bergmann" and the address "Ainstettersn 15, 4472, Vienna, Austria".
Let's move on to the description of the man. Peter Bergmann had a slim body. He was about 179 cm tall, with blue eyes and short gray hair. He wore glasses and had no facial hair. He appeared to be in the range of 55-65 years old. We also know that the man smoked cigarettes. Several monitoring tapes show that he went outside for this purpose. According to the staff and guests of the Sligo City Hotel, the man was probably of Germanic origin. He spoke English with a strong German or Austrian accent.
The man was wearing a black leather jacket and belt, blue pants (size 50), and socks. In addition, he wore black size 44 shoes. Later it turned out that the clothes came from C&A, a popular clothing brand in Europe. Interestingly, most of the stores of this chain are located in Germany and Austria.
On Saturday, June 13, the man left his hotel room several times. In the surveillance footage, you can see that he came out each time with a purple plastic bag filled with items. It is believed that he consistently got rid of his personal belongings while walking around the city. After each return to the hotel, Bergmann did not have the purple net with him. He probably put it in his pocket.
The investigators were unfortunately unable to establish what and where he had thrown. Peter used the blind spots of the surveillance cameras. It is worth adding that there were a lot of them all over the city and the man was captured on recordings many times. His movements were meticulous and methodical. He seemed to know how to get rid of objects that might lead to his identification.
On Saturday, the man was also seen at the post office in Sligo. There he bought eight stamps (some sources say ten) for 82 cents each. Thanks to stamps with this denomination, Bergmann was able to send an ordinary letter to any country, not only in Europe but all over the world. Unfortunately, it was not possible to establish to whom the correspondence was addressed.
On Sunday 14 June, the man left the hotel between 11:00 and 11:30. He asked the taxi driver Gerard Higgins to recommend a nice and quiet beach. Bergmann was going to rest a bit and bathe in the sea. The driver suggested Rosses Point would be the best location. He drove the man there.
When they got there, Peter got out of the taxi and looked around. According to Higgins, he looked like he actually liked the beach. Unexpectedly, the tourist got back into the car. He asked to be driven to a hotel. Importantly, Bergmann told the taxi driver that he was from Austria.
Monday, June 15, was the man's last day at the Sligo City Hotel. Bergmann asked to be able to check out a little later than provided for in the regulations. The hotel employee agreed to this. Before leaving, Peter went for a walk once more with his characteristic purple purse. Again, it was not apparent that he had it with him when he returned.
At 1:06 p.m. the man went to the reception desk and handed over the key to the room. He left the building with a black shoulder bag and a black briefcase. He also had a purple plastic bag in his hand that had previously been used to take out personal belongings from the hotel. The man then headed towards the bus station. On the way, however, he got rid of one of the black bags. It is not known where exactly he threw it or left it.
At 1:38 pm at the bus station, he ordered a cappuccino and a ham and cheese sandwich. During the meal, Bergmann looked through the sheets of paper in his pocket. After reading them, he tore them in half and threw them into a nearby garbage can. He then boarded a bus that left at 2:20 pm to Rosses Point. He bought a one-way ticket.
While walking on the beach, many people saw and remembered him. The man attracted attention because he was dressed in rather unusual clothes for the beach. It was the beginning of summer and the man was wearing long pants and all his things were dark. Witnesses also mentioned that Peter appeared to be absent in his thoughts.
The next morning on Tuesday, June 16, Brian Kinsella went to Rosses Point Beach. Brian was training a triathlon and getting ready for the competition. He was accompanied by his father, Arthur Kinsella. At one point, the men noticed a person lying on the beach.
As they got closer, it turned out that he was probably dead. It was a man who was wearing purple striped swimming trunks and a T-shirt. Arthur and Brian said prayers for the deceased, then called the emergency number. At 8:10 am Dr. Valerie McGowan officially confirmed the death of the man, who turned out to be Peter Bergmann.
During a police investigation, it was discovered that the address given by Bergmann at the hotel was incorrect. It also turned out that "Ainstettersn" does not exist in Austria or Germany. In addition, the postal codes in Vienna start with the number 1, not 4. The postal code 4472 is not assigned to any building. This only confirms that the man wanted his identity not to be established.
According to the investigators' report, clothes left on the shore were found next to the man's body. But there was no wallet, no money, no documents of any kind. It is assumed that the name and surname given by the man were made up. Though the body was thrown onto the beach, Sligo's doctor Clive Kilgallen found no evidence of drowning. However, I did not manage to find out what the official cause of death was. Investigators reportedly found no signs that a crime had occurred. So murder was ruled out immediately.
The specialists determined that the man's teeth were in good condition. Bergmann has undergone many different types of dental procedures during his life. On this basis, it can be assumed that the man's financial situation was stable. However, the autopsy showed that despite his well-groomed appearance, the man's health was very bad. An autopsy revealed that Peter suffered from prostate cancer. It was an advanced stage of the disease, and the deceased had bone tumors. In the past, the man also had a heart attack.
The toxicology report stated that there were no drugs in the male body. This is quite strange for a person suffering from such serious medical conditions. According to doctors, a person like Peter should feel a lot of pain. For this reason, the absence of any pain medication was a big surprise.
Police in Sligo checked the man's DNA on police bases not only in Ireland but also in other European countries. Unfortunately, all these activities turned out to be ineffective. After five months of investigation, the body was finally buried in Sligo. Four police officers attended the funeral.
Unfortunately, it has not been possible to find out the man's identity to this day. Despite numerous public appeals, no relatives or friends of the deceased came to the police. In particular, the case was covered in the Austrian and German media. The man was considered to come from one of these countries.
The story of Peter Bergmann brings to mind the very similar and equally puzzling case of Tamam Shud, the Somerton man. I wrote about it on my blog and I encourage you to read it. What connects these two cases is undoubtedly the place where the body was found and the unknown identity of both dead men.
In the Bergmann case, it is easy to assume that the man died of natural causes. The man's behavior is also relatively easy to explain. It is assumed that Bergmann knew that he did not have much time left. He probably wanted to live the last few days on his terms. Hence the idea of departure and the choice of the place of your death, i.e. the beach.
Suppose the above theory is correct. There is one problem then. It seems that the man was able to estimate the exact date of his death. Probably Bergman knew that it would come soon. It's hard to believe, however, that he planned it all so precisely, even to the day. Based on this, some believe he may have ingested a poison that was not detected in later research. Another similarity to the Tamam Shud case.
Some suggest that the man may have worked in the past in the police, intelligence, or other services. This idea stems from the fact that the man knew how to hide his identity. Nor was he caught by cameras throwing away or leaving his personal belongings behind.
However, there are still an awful lot of question marks. Let me end with a few unanswered questions. Why did the man just go to Sligo? What was the reason he wanted to hide his identity? Did it actually have anything to do with Vienna or any other Austrian city? Maybe it was just an effective deception? Why didn't those who received the man's letter contact the police? Maybe it was also another deception and no letter was sent? Let's hope that one day this fascinating mystery will be solved.
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