October 18, 2025 • 32 mins
A 17-year-old teenager named Mike Manshalt went on vacation to Malta in 2016—and never returned. When his body was found at the bottom of a cliff eight days later, he weighed only 16 kilograms and almost all of his internal organs were missing. But most disturbingly, there were no signs of cuts or animal bites. This case shook Germany and Malta, not only because of his mysterious death, but also due to the disappearance of evidence, official lies, and allegations of a cover-up by authorities.
In this episode, you will learn about the strange facts that make this case one of the darkest mysteries in modern Europe: from the disappearance of Mike's GoPro camera, to the autopsy full of anomalies, to the strong possibility that Mike was the victim of a murder disguised as an accident. Discover how Mike's father fought against a system trying to cover up the truth, and the lingering question that remains unanswered to this day—who truly killed Mike Manshalt?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Mike Mansholt, a seventeen year old from Germany
who went missing under some seriously bizarre circumstances. At the time,
Mike was a healthy teen weighing somewhere between one hundred
forty five and one hundred seventy pounds, but when his
body was found, it weighed us shocking thirty five pounds,
and that wasn't the only strange thing. Nearly all of
(00:22):
Mike's internal organs were missing, including his heart, brain, lungs, liver, pancreas, stomach, bladder,
and small intestine. But what truly baffled investigators and horrified
his family was that his body showed no signs of
being cut open or torn apart, making it nearly impossible
to believe that animals had done this. So the question
(00:45):
remains what really happened to Mike Mansholt, miebist Gustav.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Mike zeitmeertz Ainem Javratrichta's De Familia de de.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Vig sushanimod insrun on zanfarad der Pasnish film Abu Mukhlika
nakodachtp aphileaicht zarfor morotovovden abatas akdazen vivide m Spikula t
ivn Breetia.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Now you might wonder how did such a young boy
end up traveling to another country all alone. Well, Mike
wasn't new to traveling. He had been to many parts
of the world since he was a child. Born on
August twentieth, nineteen ninety eight, in the city of Oldenburg, Germany,
a place with over one hundred sixty thousand residents, Mike
(01:34):
was raised by his parents, Burned and Suzanne Mansholt. His
parents eventually divorced and both moved on to new partners.
Mike stayed with his mother, who later had a daughter
named Maria, while his father also had a son named Daniel.
Despite the family changes, Mike got along well with both
his half siblings and cherished having them around. He had
(01:58):
always longed for brothers and sisters to play with from
a young age. Mike had a heart for adventure. He
inherited his love for traveling from his father, who once
took him on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean in
a sailboat, a trip that lasted over seven hundred days.
They also explored Iceland, Scotland, the Caribbean, and more. Mike's
(02:18):
father described him as a kind, polite and calm boy,
even though he was full of curiosity and wonder about
the world. In July twenty sixteen, seventeen year old Mike
decided to travel alone for the very first time. His
destination Malta, a beautiful island country in the Mediterranean Sea,
(02:39):
just fifty eight miles south of Sicily, Italy, With a
population of around five hundred thousand and just over one
hundred twenty square miles of land, Malta is a popular
summer destination known for its beaches, warm climate, and low
crime rate. Mike flew there to visit his girlfriend, who
was attending a language course, and obviously he was very
(03:02):
excited to visit her now. The meeting with his girlfriend
took place on the eighth of July twenty sixteen, when
Mike landed on the island of Malta. Wasting no time,
he headed straight to Valleda, the capital city, where she
was waiting. The two were overjoyed to be reunited, and
the island seemed like the perfect setting for a romantic
(03:23):
and adventurous getaway. They spent the next few days living
in the moment, laughing, exploring, and soaking in the Mediterranean sun. Together,
they wandered through colorful streets, relaxed on golden beaches, tasted
new foods, and admired Malta's historical charm. It was the
kind of trip that felt almost magical, the kind that
(03:45):
lives on in your heart long after it ends. But
for Mike, the trip wasn't ready to end just yet.
As their final day approached and his girlfriend prepared to
fly back to Germany, Mike had a change of heart.
He re he had fallen in love not just with
the experience, but with Malta itself. He wanted more time
(04:07):
to explore its hidden corners, meet new people, and continue
the journey on.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
His own terms. So he made a choice.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
He gave his girlfriend a warm goodbye, promising to stay
in touch, and then informed his parents that he wanted
to remain on the island for a few more days.
Back in Germany, Mike's mother, Suzanne was at home, while
his father, Burned, was on vacation in Croatia with other
family members. Neither parent hesitated when Mike told them about
(04:38):
his change of plans. They trusted him deeply. As mentioned earlier,
Mike wasn't just any teenager. He had been traveling since
he was very young, visiting almost every corner of the world.
His parents often said that he was unusually mature for
his age. Calm, independent, and resourceful, Mike had a quiet
(04:59):
confidence that se set him apart. He knew how to
handle situations that would rattle even some adults, so when
he told them he wanted to stay a bit longer,
they didn't worry.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
They believed in him. After his girlfriend flew back to Germany, Mike.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Was ready to experience Malta in his own way, solo,
spontaneous and unfiltered. He checked into a hotel in Sliema,
a lively coastal city on the northeastern edge of the island.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
If you've ever been to Sliema, you'll.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Know it's a hotspot, bustling with tourists, lined with stylish cafes,
restaurants and boutiques, and always humming with activity. It's also
the most densely populated city in Malta, which means something's
always happening no matter the time of day. Mike booked
a room at the Astro Hotel, a well known place
in the area that was popular among solo travelers. It
(05:51):
wasn't too fancy, but it had everything he needed. A
clean room, decent Wi Fi, and a view of the Mediterranean.
It was the perfect for a young adventurer wanting to
explore the island at his own pace. On the morning
of the eighteenth of July, things started off pretty normal,
or at least they seemed normal. Hotel surveillance footage captured
(06:13):
Mike leaving Room one oh five at exactly eight thirty
nine in the morning. He looked calm, casual, just a
guy starting his day. Around nine ten, he was seen
again at the hotel reception desk. He asked a few questions,
nothing unusual, just small talk with the staff, probably about
local attractions or bike rentals. He was polite, smiling, the
(06:36):
same laid back vibe he always carried. After a brief chat,
he headed back upstairs. He stayed in his room for
almost an hour, Then at nine point fifty five he
left Room one oh five again, and that's the last
confirmed sighting of Mike in the hotel's security footage. He
was wearing a blue T shirt with a black backpack
(06:58):
slung over one shoulder and his phone in hand. He
looked ready for another adventure under the warm Maltese sun.
Inside his back pack, he had packed the essentials, his
GoPro camera, a portable charger, his ID, a credit card,
and some cash, just enough for a day trip. It
(07:18):
was a bright, cloudless day, the kind that makes you
want to explore every hidden corner of the island. From there,
Mike walked to a nearby port where he rented a
mountain bike. It was a blue and black Lombardo, sturdy,
perfect for off road trails. Just minutes later, at exactly
ten eleven that morning, he sent a voice message to
(07:40):
his dad via WhatsApp. His voice sounded upbeat and chill.
He talked about the bike rental and how he was
planning to cycle around the island. He mentioned the steep
hills and how he might need to walk the bike
in some parts. Mike even promised to send a photo soon,
but that picture never came, and that was the last
(08:00):
anyone heard from him. For a couple of days, no
one heard from Mike, and at first no one freaked out.
Mike was always the adventurous type. He loved exploring on
his own, soaking up new places and living in the moment.
It wasn't unusual for him to go quiet for a while.
Fast forward to July twenty second. That was the day
(08:21):
Mike was supposed to fly back to Germany. His mom, Suzanne,
and his sister Maria headed to the airport to pick
him up. They stood at the arrival gate, scanning every
face that walked through, expecting to see Mike rolling in
with his backpack in a big smile. But Mike never
showed up. At first, they figured maybe he had a
(08:41):
layover in Frankfort and had landed there instead. But then
Suzanne's anxiety kicked in. She tried calling Mike's phone, but
it went straight to voicemail. She kept calling, hoping for
a different outcome, but it was the same every time.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Nothing.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Her guy was telling her something was off. She called
the airline for answers, and that's when she got hit
with a bombshell. Mike had never boarded the plane. He
had missed the flight completely. Now panic set in, Suzanne
rushed to the police, filing a missing person report in
the early hours of July twenty third. The authorities immediately
(09:21):
took it seriously and put things into high gear, coordinating
with the Maltese police. As Suzanne tried to piece things together,
another shocker came her way. A German detective working on
the case got word from the Maltese authorities. It turns
out they'd already been searching for Mike for days. He
had actually gone missing long before Suzanne realized something was wrong.
(09:45):
On July eighteenth, the very day he rented that mountain bike,
Mike had never returned the bike, which he was supposed
to drop off the next day. He also never came
back to the Astro hotel to check out or grab
his things. Concerned, the the tail manager reported Mike's disappearance
to the Maltese police on July twentieth, While the search
(10:06):
for Mike was in full swing, his family in Germany had.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
No idea what was happening in Malta.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
No one from the Maltese authorities had contacted them about
Mike's disappearance. Some say it was because they didn't have
the family's contact info. Others claim it was just negligence.
Either way, Mike's dad, Burned, was blindsided when he found out.
Without wasting any time, he paused his vacation, grabbed Mike's
brother Daniel, and hopped on the first flight to Malta.
(10:35):
Though panic was setting in Burne tried to stay calm,
thinking maybe Mike had missed his flight, lost his phone
or something like that. The family held on to hope,
convinced Mike would turn up any minute, but what was
really eating at Bairned was that Mike's phone was off
and there was no sign of him anywhere. Burne stayed
(10:56):
in constant contact with the authorities and even joined the search.
The police combed every inch of Malta, checking ferries and
small aircrafts, while flyers with Mike's face were plastered everywhere.
On the twenty fourth of July twenty sixteen, Interpol stepped
in and the case went international, with Germany and Malta
(11:17):
working together. Then, on the twenty sixth of July, eight
days after Mike vanished, the Maltese police got an anonymous tip.
The caller said Mike was last seen near the Dingley Cliffs,
eight hundred and twenty feet high and a hotspot for tourists.
The guy who rented Mike the mountain bike had even
mentioned that Mike had talked about visiting the Robot Catacombs nearby,
(11:40):
so it was likely Mike had passed through that area.
A full team was sent to the cliffs, sniffer dogs, paramedics, firefighters,
and Burned and Daniel rushed there too. By the time
they arrived, reporters were already asking questions, and emergency crews
were on site. The search dogs soon picked up a scent,
(12:01):
and after hours of searching, the unthinkable happened.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Mike was found, but not alive.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
His body was discovered at the bottom of the cliffs,
hidden under some bushes in a rocky outcrop. The bike
he rented was found ninety eight feet above him, totally wrecked.
Mike's body was sent in for an autopsy, and investigators
found his sneakers and sunglasses nearby, but Mike was barefoot.
His backpack, containing his phone, laptop, GoPro, money, and credit
(12:30):
cards was nowhere to be found. In the strangest part,
fresh hay was found near his body, as if someone
had stepped on it and left a piece behind, but
it couldn't have been Mike. He was barefoot, and his
sneakers were found several feet away. When they asked a
local farmer if he knew anything about the hay, he
simply said he didn't.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Burned Mike's father wasn't about to.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Let anything slide After speaking with the farmer near the cliffs,
he could tell something was off. The farmer seemed overly nervous,
almost like he was avoiding the questions. When Burne asked
if he had seen anything unusual or if he knew
where Mike's backpack might be, the farmer kept insisting he
didn't know anything, but Burne wasn't buying it. His heart
(13:18):
was shattered over the loss of his son, but he
refused to break down completely. He needed to get to
the bottom of what had really happened. Mike's brother, Daniel,
was hit the hardest. Unlike some half siblings who struggled
to get along, Daniel and Mike were inseparable. They had
been thick as thieves, always dreaming about traveling the world
(13:39):
together when they grew older, But now those dreams were
ripped away, leaving Daniel with a pain that was impossible
to ignore.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
My brother is It's a young, tough, athletic guy that
always he always looking for new challenge and a new
target he can go on. And he came here for
holidays and to explore the beautiful island, and he u
(14:18):
had a plan to come back, and we have to
make it sure that he come back.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
When Suzanne, Mike's mother, heard the devastating news, it felt
like she was trapped in a nightmare that she couldn't escape.
The idea that her son was gone was simply unimaginable.
Mike's sister, Maria, was crushed too. The bond they shared
was unbreakable, and now she would never see her brother again.
And then there was Mike's girlfriend, who had already arrived
(14:47):
in Germany, waiting eagerly for his return. She had been
counting down the days, dreaming of finally being reunited with him,
but in the blink of an eye, those plans were
shattered and the future they had imagined together was lost forever.
Back then, this case didn't just shake Malta, it rocked
the entire world. With Malta having a relatively low crime rate,
(15:11):
something as tragic as this was completely unheard of. The
news spread like wildfire, capturing the attention of media outlets
in both Malta and Germany. But as the investigation dug deeper,
even more strange and bizarre things started to unfold. Mike
had always been obsessed with documenting his travels, filming every moment,
(15:33):
which is why his GoPro was so important. If he'd
captured anything on that last day, it could have been
the missing piece to crack the case. But when Mike's
body was found, only three items were recovered, his sneakers,
his sunglasses, and the GoPro case. The case was attached
to his belt, but no one knew whether it was
(15:54):
empty or if the camera was inside. The GoPro itself
nowhere to be found. The moment Burned Mike's dad arrived
in Malta, he immediately asked about the GoPro. The lead
investigator told him she had seen the GoPro case on
Mike's belt and that it had been cataloged. But when
Bernd went to check at the Astro hotel where Mike stayed,
(16:16):
all of Mike's belongings were handed over except for the
GoPro case, it didn't add up. Burned couldn't shake the
feeling that Mike had taken the case with him and
the camera, possibly holding crucial footage, could be the key
to unraveling everything. But the next day things got even stranger.
(16:36):
All the police officers involved in the investigation suddenly denied
ever seeing the camera case. They claimed nothing of the
sort had been collected. Burn was stunned. How could they
deny it when the lead investigator herself had confirmed it
When he confronted her, she stuck to the same story.
(16:57):
There was no case, something was definitely fit. Just when
it seemed like the case couldn't get any weirder, the
police made a statement declaring that Mike's death was an accident.
According to them, he had simply fallen from the cliff
while riding his bike. But the way Mike's body was
found didn't add up to that explanation at all. If
(17:18):
he had fallen while riding, he would have dropped straight
down right, But Mike's body was found in a position
that suggested he had fallen backward, which was nearly impossible
if it was a natural fall. Despite all the inconsistencies,
the police quickly closed the case, claiming Mike had fallen
from a height of more than thirty meters and had
(17:39):
somehow rolled to the spot where his body was discovered.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
But there was more.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
The coroner who examined Mike's body told Burne that Mike
hadn't suffered because he had broken his neck in two places,
which caused almost instant death. But here's the catch. No
X rays had been done on Mike's body at that point,
so how could the coroner make that call?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Was he just guessing?
Speaker 1 (18:03):
A month later, the autopsy report was finally released. It confirmed,
through DNA testing that the body was Mike's. It also
revealed that Mike had been dead for about eight days
by the time he was found, which meant he likely
died the very same day he left the hotel to
explore the island. But here's the most bizarre part. The
(18:23):
autopsy showed that Mike had no broken bones none. This
was highly suspicious, especially considering he supposedly fell from more
than ninety eight feet. If that were true, he should
have at least broken an arm or something, so why
weren't there any fractures. This revelation cast doubt on the
coroner's statement and made burn suspicions grow. A forensic examination
(18:48):
of Mike's rented bike only deepened the mystery. The bike's
condition didn't match what would be expected from a fall
of over ninety eight feet from a cliff. Everything was
starting to feel wrong, like pieces of a puzzle that
just didn't fit. Then, just days before the official autopsy
report was finalized, an employee from the morgue who had
(19:11):
been responsible for Mike's body, approached Burned with a hushed warning.
She told him that everything about Mike's death seemed suspicious.
No broken bones completely contradicted the police's story that Mike
had simply fallen from the cliff while riding his bike.
She urged Burned to think carefully about his next steps,
(19:32):
suggesting that the police seemed to have no interest in
pursuing the case any further. This only added to Bern's
growing distrust of the investigation. Desperate for answers, Burned went
to speak with the head of the investigation, the same
officer who had first claimed to have seen the go
pro case attached to Mike's belt, only to later deny it.
(19:53):
But this time she refused to speak with him. She
dodged his questions and acted as though the entire matter
wasn't worth her attention. This only fueled Bairn's suspicions Why
was the investigation being handled so poorly? Why were they
denying even the simplest facts. He kept pressing the authorities
(20:13):
about Mike's GoPro, believing it held the key to understanding
what really happened. Just days later, the forensic department in
Malta handed burn to camera, claiming it belonged to Mike.
But what they handed him was an old cannon model
from the early days of digital photography, not the go
Pro hero too that Mike had been using to document
(20:34):
his travels. Along with the camera came a memory card
completely destroyed. The authorities claimed it had been found inside
the camera when it was recovered next to Mike's body.
Burne immediately knew this was not his son's camera. The
authorities were trying to pass off an old, outdated camera
(20:55):
as Mike's, likely hoping he would stop asking questions about
the real GoPro. By now, Mike's family had grown deeply
suspicious of the Maltese police. The lack of interest in
the case, the inconsistencies, and the strange actions of the
authorities were all too much to ignore. Burned confronted some
officers about who might have stolen his son's belongings. The
(21:18):
officers almost dismissively claimed that no one from Malta would
steal items from a body, suggesting it might have been
a tourist. But then there were the phone records the
police claimed they had pulled location data from Mike's phone carrier,
only to report that they found absolutely nothing, no records,
no trace. Everything seemed to be going in circles. Frustrated
(21:43):
with the inconsistencies, the lack of progress, and the growing
feeling that something was being hidden, Bairned was ready to
make serious accusations against the authorities, but before he could
take any action, he had to return to Germany to
arrange his son's funeral and deal with the heart break
breaking aftermath of the tragedy. Mike's body landed in Germany
(22:04):
on August seventeenth, twenty sixteen, and what was supposed to
be a moment of mourning quickly spiraled into something out
of a true crime documentary. The funeral home staff tasked
with preparing his body for burial were immediately disturbed. Mike's
body looked eerily deflated, like someone had let all the
(22:25):
air out of him. It was obvious something was wrong.
Even worse, he hadn't been embalmed at all, which was
bizarre considering his case was still under investigation. The smell
was unmistakably that of raw decomposition, not the usual chemical
scent you'd expect from a preserved body. The moment they
realized this, the funeral homeworkers called the police. One officer
(22:49):
casually mentioned that airport staff had already thought the coffin
felt way too light when it arrived. That was enough
to raise every red flag imaginable. Mike's body body was
quickly sent to the Medical University of Hanover, and what
they uncovered was horrifying. His body weighed only sixteen kilograms
that's about thirty five pounds. When they opened him up,
(23:11):
almost all of his internal organs were missing. His brain, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas,
adrenal glands, right kidney, bladder, stomach, intestines, Every vital organ
was stripped from his body. Only tiny scraps of his
left kidney, diaphragm, spleen, and colon remained. No wonder he
looked so deflated, he was practically empty. Now, yes, it's
(23:36):
normal to remove organs during an autopsy, but here's the catch.
They's supposed to be either returned to the body or
replaced with something like cotton or sawdust. And if they're
not returned, there should be a full report explaining why
none of that was done. Mike's body was just left
as an empty shell, with no explanation, no documentation, and
(23:58):
no dignity. His family was devastated. His father, Burned, wrote
a heartfelt letter to the Maltese authorities begging them to
send back his son's organs so he could lay him
to rest properly. However, what he got back was shocking.
The coroner claimed that animals had eaten the organs before
Mike's body was found. Seriously, that didn't make any sense.
(24:22):
The original Maltese autopsy made zero mention of animal bites
or injuries, no claw marks, no chewed up skin, nothing
to back up that wild claim, and so the German
authorities stepped in. What once looked like a tragic accident
was starting to look more and more like a crime.
They opened a full investigation. The forensic team in Hanover
(24:45):
asked for a copy of the original autopsy report from Malta,
but surprise, it never came, and without Mike's organs, their
second autopsy was already limited. But that didn't stop Burned
and Suzanne from fight. They filed a formal complaint and
demanded answers. Through their lawyer, they revealed an e mail
(25:06):
from the Maltese coroner where he now claimed rodents had
eaten the organs, and that Mike's brain had liquefied. The
parents were done with the excuses. They took the fight
to court, and the German prosecutors began leaning into a
more sinister theory, what if Mike was murdered. They also
called out the Maltese coroners for doing an incredibly sloppy job.
(25:29):
A new autopsy was ordered, even though the body had
already deteriorated. This time Maltese officials had to be present
so no one could twist the facts, and once again
the findings were disturbing. There were no bitemarks, no signs
of rodents, just a small nibble on the neck and
a faint abrasion on the forearm, definitely not enough to
(25:50):
explain the missing organs. Plus, it was reconfirmed that Mike's
body had been fully intact when it was recovered from
under the cliffs and transported to the malt Morgue. Most importantly,
the new autopsy revealed what might be the biggest failure
of all. Mike had never been embalmed. Because of that,
his body had decomposed too much, destroying any remaining evidence
(26:14):
that could have pointed to what really happened. To top
it all off, there was absolutely no proof that Mike
had died from falling off the cliffs. Nothing matched the
story Malta had been pushing, and just like that, a
simple case of a missing person found dead had transformed
into a full blown mystery. Despite all of this, the
(26:35):
Maltese authorities stood by their version of events, insisting that
Mike had tragically fallen off a cliff. The first autopsy,
done by Malta's own forensic team included three people, including
doctor Mario, the country's chief forensic doctor. Doctor Mario, who
had an impressive reputation, was there when the body was
(26:57):
found and performed the autopsi himself. However, when Mike's parents
and journalists asked for more details, doctor Mario was strangely
tight lipped. He only responded to one email from Mike's father, Baron,
saying the organs were already missing before the autopsy, suggesting
that rodents had eaten them. He also mentioned that Mike's
(27:20):
brain had dissolved due to the son's heat. Doctor Mario
stated that he had shared this information with the head
of the investigation, but the German forensic team didn't buy it.
They quickly debunked the idea of Rodent's having eaten Mike's organs,
as there were no bite marks found on his body.
As for the brain liquefying in the sun, that was
(27:42):
just plain absurd, according to the Germans. They pointed out
that many countries have summer temperatures exceeding forty degrees celsius
and no one had ever seen anything like this happen. Furthermore,
doctor Mario had documented that Mike's body was found lying
on his back, but the German team didn't believe he'd
died where he was found. They theorized that Mike could
(28:04):
have been alive when he hit the beach and crawled
to a shaded area under the cliff. They even considered
asphyxiation as a possible cause of death, especially because Mike's
hyoid bone was missing, an indication of strangulation. By November
of twenty seventeen, Burned had had enough. He returned to
Malta and tried to speak with the police and detectives
(28:26):
involved in his son's case, but they wouldn't cooperate. He
then filed a legal request to access all the case files,
only to be told the judge was sick and known
for being slow in approving judicial decisions. Eventually, barn was
able to gain access to the documents through a German
diplomat in Malta, but when he reviewed the files, several
(28:48):
key pieces were missing. The autopsy results in photos from
the crime scene had mysteriously disappeared. In January of twenty eighteen,
the Maltese govern finally caved under pressure from the German
authorities and reopened Mike's case. The first documents related to
the case were sent to Germany and the German media
(29:10):
began covering the story once again. The German Parliament even
started debating it. However, the new judge assigned to the
case also concluded that Mike's death was due to a
fall from the cliff and nothing really changed. The German authorities,
despite finding numerous inconsistencies in the case, found themselves at
(29:31):
a dead end with the limited evidence they had. Most
people who analyzed the case full of holes and carelessness
from the diplomats, investigators, and journalists have serious doubts about
the Maltese authority's official verdict. Burned became exhausted and disheartened
by all the negligence and decided to stop pushing for
(29:51):
more answers. He shifted his focus to his family, feeling
that they would never truly know what happened to Mike.
A German newspaper that had been following the case from
the beginning even tried to revisit the story, but when
they reached out to the Maltese authorities, they were met
with silence. No one involved in Mike's case seemed willing
(30:11):
to talk, almost as if they were trying to cover
it up. Theories surrounding Mike's case are still floating around,
with one of the most popular being that Mike could
have been a victim of organ trafficking. Mike was a
healthy young man, and the absence of his organs has
made many wonder if he was targeted by traffickers. According
(30:32):
to this theory, Mike could have been approached while cycling
through a remote area of Malta. The traffickers would have
taken him to a location, removed his organs, stitched him
back up, and then dumped him off the cliff to
make it look like an accident. Some believe the Maltese
authorities discovered everything but chose to cover it up because
of the potential damage to tourism. Another theory suggests that
(30:56):
Mike was robbed by thieves who took his belongings and
then threw him off. According to this idea, Mike may
have been strangled and his body was placed where it
was found to prevent further damage to the island's tourism industry.
If Mike had been strangled, authorities might have decided to
remove his hyoid, bone, brain, and other organs to avoid
(31:17):
revealing the truth. There's also the possibility that Mike simply
fell off the cliff on his own and people who
passed by took the opportunity to steal his belongings. The
least accepted theory is that Mike might have taken his
own life, but that was quickly dismissed early in the investigation.
Everything about Mike's life pointed to him being happy, full
(31:39):
of plans, in love, and showing no signs of mental
illness or depression. Mike Mansholtz case remains one of the
most mysterious and incomplete cases ever documented. The Maltese authorities
still maintain their version of events that Mike fell off
the cliff, and anything beyond that is merely a conspiracy theory.
(32:01):
But what do you think happened to Mike? Was it
a tragic accident or was he the victim of something
far more sinister?
This is Mike Mansholt, a seventeen year old from Germany
who went missing under some seriously bizarre circumstances. At the time,
Mike was a healthy teen weighing somewhere between one hundred
forty five and one hundred seventy pounds, but when his
body was found, it weighed us shocking thirty five pounds,
and that wasn't the only strange thing. Nearly all of
(00:22):
Mike's internal organs were missing, including his heart, brain, lungs, liver, pancreas, stomach, bladder,
and small intestine. But what truly baffled investigators and horrified
his family was that his body showed no signs of
being cut open or torn apart, making it nearly impossible
to believe that animals had done this. So the question
(00:45):
remains what really happened to Mike Mansholt, miebist Gustav.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Mike zeitmeertz Ainem Javratrichta's De Familia de de.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Vig sushanimod insrun on zanfarad der Pasnish film Abu Mukhlika
nakodachtp aphileaicht zarfor morotovovden abatas akdazen vivide m Spikula t
ivn Breetia.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Now you might wonder how did such a young boy
end up traveling to another country all alone. Well, Mike
wasn't new to traveling. He had been to many parts
of the world since he was a child. Born on
August twentieth, nineteen ninety eight, in the city of Oldenburg, Germany,
a place with over one hundred sixty thousand residents, Mike
(01:34):
was raised by his parents, Burned and Suzanne Mansholt. His
parents eventually divorced and both moved on to new partners.
Mike stayed with his mother, who later had a daughter
named Maria, while his father also had a son named Daniel.
Despite the family changes, Mike got along well with both
his half siblings and cherished having them around. He had
(01:58):
always longed for brothers and sisters to play with from
a young age. Mike had a heart for adventure. He
inherited his love for traveling from his father, who once
took him on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean in
a sailboat, a trip that lasted over seven hundred days.
They also explored Iceland, Scotland, the Caribbean, and more. Mike's
(02:18):
father described him as a kind, polite and calm boy,
even though he was full of curiosity and wonder about
the world. In July twenty sixteen, seventeen year old Mike
decided to travel alone for the very first time. His
destination Malta, a beautiful island country in the Mediterranean Sea,
(02:39):
just fifty eight miles south of Sicily, Italy, With a
population of around five hundred thousand and just over one
hundred twenty square miles of land, Malta is a popular
summer destination known for its beaches, warm climate, and low
crime rate. Mike flew there to visit his girlfriend, who
was attending a language course, and obviously he was very
(03:02):
excited to visit her now. The meeting with his girlfriend
took place on the eighth of July twenty sixteen, when
Mike landed on the island of Malta. Wasting no time,
he headed straight to Valleda, the capital city, where she
was waiting. The two were overjoyed to be reunited, and
the island seemed like the perfect setting for a romantic
(03:23):
and adventurous getaway. They spent the next few days living
in the moment, laughing, exploring, and soaking in the Mediterranean sun. Together,
they wandered through colorful streets, relaxed on golden beaches, tasted
new foods, and admired Malta's historical charm. It was the
kind of trip that felt almost magical, the kind that
(03:45):
lives on in your heart long after it ends. But
for Mike, the trip wasn't ready to end just yet.
As their final day approached and his girlfriend prepared to
fly back to Germany, Mike had a change of heart.
He re he had fallen in love not just with
the experience, but with Malta itself. He wanted more time
(04:07):
to explore its hidden corners, meet new people, and continue
the journey on.
Speaker 4 (04:11):
His own terms. So he made a choice.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
He gave his girlfriend a warm goodbye, promising to stay
in touch, and then informed his parents that he wanted
to remain on the island for a few more days.
Back in Germany, Mike's mother, Suzanne was at home, while
his father, Burned, was on vacation in Croatia with other
family members. Neither parent hesitated when Mike told them about
(04:38):
his change of plans. They trusted him deeply. As mentioned earlier,
Mike wasn't just any teenager. He had been traveling since
he was very young, visiting almost every corner of the world.
His parents often said that he was unusually mature for
his age. Calm, independent, and resourceful, Mike had a quiet
(04:59):
confidence that se set him apart. He knew how to
handle situations that would rattle even some adults, so when
he told them he wanted to stay a bit longer,
they didn't worry.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
They believed in him. After his girlfriend flew back to Germany, Mike.
Speaker 1 (05:14):
Was ready to experience Malta in his own way, solo,
spontaneous and unfiltered. He checked into a hotel in Sliema,
a lively coastal city on the northeastern edge of the island.
Speaker 4 (05:27):
If you've ever been to Sliema, you'll.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Know it's a hotspot, bustling with tourists, lined with stylish cafes,
restaurants and boutiques, and always humming with activity. It's also
the most densely populated city in Malta, which means something's
always happening no matter the time of day. Mike booked
a room at the Astro Hotel, a well known place
in the area that was popular among solo travelers. It
(05:51):
wasn't too fancy, but it had everything he needed. A
clean room, decent Wi Fi, and a view of the Mediterranean.
It was the perfect for a young adventurer wanting to
explore the island at his own pace. On the morning
of the eighteenth of July, things started off pretty normal,
or at least they seemed normal. Hotel surveillance footage captured
(06:13):
Mike leaving Room one oh five at exactly eight thirty
nine in the morning. He looked calm, casual, just a
guy starting his day. Around nine ten, he was seen
again at the hotel reception desk. He asked a few questions,
nothing unusual, just small talk with the staff, probably about
local attractions or bike rentals. He was polite, smiling, the
(06:36):
same laid back vibe he always carried. After a brief chat,
he headed back upstairs. He stayed in his room for
almost an hour, Then at nine point fifty five he
left Room one oh five again, and that's the last
confirmed sighting of Mike in the hotel's security footage. He
was wearing a blue T shirt with a black backpack
(06:58):
slung over one shoulder and his phone in hand. He
looked ready for another adventure under the warm Maltese sun.
Inside his back pack, he had packed the essentials, his
GoPro camera, a portable charger, his ID, a credit card,
and some cash, just enough for a day trip. It
(07:18):
was a bright, cloudless day, the kind that makes you
want to explore every hidden corner of the island. From there,
Mike walked to a nearby port where he rented a
mountain bike. It was a blue and black Lombardo, sturdy,
perfect for off road trails. Just minutes later, at exactly
ten eleven that morning, he sent a voice message to
(07:40):
his dad via WhatsApp. His voice sounded upbeat and chill.
He talked about the bike rental and how he was
planning to cycle around the island. He mentioned the steep
hills and how he might need to walk the bike
in some parts. Mike even promised to send a photo soon,
but that picture never came, and that was the last
(08:00):
anyone heard from him. For a couple of days, no
one heard from Mike, and at first no one freaked out.
Mike was always the adventurous type. He loved exploring on
his own, soaking up new places and living in the moment.
It wasn't unusual for him to go quiet for a while.
Fast forward to July twenty second. That was the day
(08:21):
Mike was supposed to fly back to Germany. His mom, Suzanne,
and his sister Maria headed to the airport to pick
him up. They stood at the arrival gate, scanning every
face that walked through, expecting to see Mike rolling in
with his backpack in a big smile. But Mike never
showed up. At first, they figured maybe he had a
(08:41):
layover in Frankfort and had landed there instead. But then
Suzanne's anxiety kicked in. She tried calling Mike's phone, but
it went straight to voicemail. She kept calling, hoping for
a different outcome, but it was the same every time.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
Nothing.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Her guy was telling her something was off. She called
the airline for answers, and that's when she got hit
with a bombshell. Mike had never boarded the plane. He
had missed the flight completely. Now panic set in, Suzanne
rushed to the police, filing a missing person report in
the early hours of July twenty third. The authorities immediately
(09:21):
took it seriously and put things into high gear, coordinating
with the Maltese police. As Suzanne tried to piece things together,
another shocker came her way. A German detective working on
the case got word from the Maltese authorities. It turns
out they'd already been searching for Mike for days. He
had actually gone missing long before Suzanne realized something was wrong.
(09:45):
On July eighteenth, the very day he rented that mountain bike,
Mike had never returned the bike, which he was supposed
to drop off the next day. He also never came
back to the Astro hotel to check out or grab
his things. Concerned, the the tail manager reported Mike's disappearance
to the Maltese police on July twentieth, While the search
(10:06):
for Mike was in full swing, his family in Germany had.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
No idea what was happening in Malta.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
No one from the Maltese authorities had contacted them about
Mike's disappearance. Some say it was because they didn't have
the family's contact info. Others claim it was just negligence.
Either way, Mike's dad, Burned, was blindsided when he found out.
Without wasting any time, he paused his vacation, grabbed Mike's
brother Daniel, and hopped on the first flight to Malta.
(10:35):
Though panic was setting in Burne tried to stay calm,
thinking maybe Mike had missed his flight, lost his phone
or something like that. The family held on to hope,
convinced Mike would turn up any minute, but what was
really eating at Bairned was that Mike's phone was off
and there was no sign of him anywhere. Burne stayed
(10:56):
in constant contact with the authorities and even joined the search.
The police combed every inch of Malta, checking ferries and
small aircrafts, while flyers with Mike's face were plastered everywhere.
On the twenty fourth of July twenty sixteen, Interpol stepped
in and the case went international, with Germany and Malta
(11:17):
working together. Then, on the twenty sixth of July, eight
days after Mike vanished, the Maltese police got an anonymous tip.
The caller said Mike was last seen near the Dingley Cliffs,
eight hundred and twenty feet high and a hotspot for tourists.
The guy who rented Mike the mountain bike had even
mentioned that Mike had talked about visiting the Robot Catacombs nearby,
(11:40):
so it was likely Mike had passed through that area.
A full team was sent to the cliffs, sniffer dogs, paramedics, firefighters,
and Burned and Daniel rushed there too. By the time
they arrived, reporters were already asking questions, and emergency crews
were on site. The search dogs soon picked up a scent,
(12:01):
and after hours of searching, the unthinkable happened.
Speaker 4 (12:04):
Mike was found, but not alive.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
His body was discovered at the bottom of the cliffs,
hidden under some bushes in a rocky outcrop. The bike
he rented was found ninety eight feet above him, totally wrecked.
Mike's body was sent in for an autopsy, and investigators
found his sneakers and sunglasses nearby, but Mike was barefoot.
His backpack, containing his phone, laptop, GoPro, money, and credit
(12:30):
cards was nowhere to be found. In the strangest part,
fresh hay was found near his body, as if someone
had stepped on it and left a piece behind, but
it couldn't have been Mike. He was barefoot, and his
sneakers were found several feet away. When they asked a
local farmer if he knew anything about the hay, he
simply said he didn't.
Speaker 4 (12:52):
Burned Mike's father wasn't about to.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
Let anything slide After speaking with the farmer near the cliffs,
he could tell something was off. The farmer seemed overly nervous,
almost like he was avoiding the questions. When Burne asked
if he had seen anything unusual or if he knew
where Mike's backpack might be, the farmer kept insisting he
didn't know anything, but Burne wasn't buying it. His heart
(13:18):
was shattered over the loss of his son, but he
refused to break down completely. He needed to get to
the bottom of what had really happened. Mike's brother, Daniel,
was hit the hardest. Unlike some half siblings who struggled
to get along, Daniel and Mike were inseparable. They had
been thick as thieves, always dreaming about traveling the world
(13:39):
together when they grew older, But now those dreams were
ripped away, leaving Daniel with a pain that was impossible
to ignore.
Speaker 2 (13:50):
My brother is It's a young, tough, athletic guy that
always he always looking for new challenge and a new
target he can go on. And he came here for
holidays and to explore the beautiful island, and he u
(14:18):
had a plan to come back, and we have to
make it sure that he come back.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
When Suzanne, Mike's mother, heard the devastating news, it felt
like she was trapped in a nightmare that she couldn't escape.
The idea that her son was gone was simply unimaginable.
Mike's sister, Maria, was crushed too. The bond they shared
was unbreakable, and now she would never see her brother again.
And then there was Mike's girlfriend, who had already arrived
(14:47):
in Germany, waiting eagerly for his return. She had been
counting down the days, dreaming of finally being reunited with him,
but in the blink of an eye, those plans were
shattered and the future they had imagined together was lost forever.
Back then, this case didn't just shake Malta, it rocked
the entire world. With Malta having a relatively low crime rate,
(15:11):
something as tragic as this was completely unheard of. The
news spread like wildfire, capturing the attention of media outlets
in both Malta and Germany. But as the investigation dug deeper,
even more strange and bizarre things started to unfold. Mike
had always been obsessed with documenting his travels, filming every moment,
(15:33):
which is why his GoPro was so important. If he'd
captured anything on that last day, it could have been
the missing piece to crack the case. But when Mike's
body was found, only three items were recovered, his sneakers,
his sunglasses, and the GoPro case. The case was attached
to his belt, but no one knew whether it was
(15:54):
empty or if the camera was inside. The GoPro itself
nowhere to be found. The moment Burned Mike's dad arrived
in Malta, he immediately asked about the GoPro. The lead
investigator told him she had seen the GoPro case on
Mike's belt and that it had been cataloged. But when
Bernd went to check at the Astro hotel where Mike stayed,
(16:16):
all of Mike's belongings were handed over except for the
GoPro case, it didn't add up. Burned couldn't shake the
feeling that Mike had taken the case with him and
the camera, possibly holding crucial footage, could be the key
to unraveling everything. But the next day things got even stranger.
(16:36):
All the police officers involved in the investigation suddenly denied
ever seeing the camera case. They claimed nothing of the
sort had been collected. Burn was stunned. How could they
deny it when the lead investigator herself had confirmed it
When he confronted her, she stuck to the same story.
(16:57):
There was no case, something was definitely fit. Just when
it seemed like the case couldn't get any weirder, the
police made a statement declaring that Mike's death was an accident.
According to them, he had simply fallen from the cliff
while riding his bike. But the way Mike's body was
found didn't add up to that explanation at all. If
(17:18):
he had fallen while riding, he would have dropped straight
down right, But Mike's body was found in a position
that suggested he had fallen backward, which was nearly impossible
if it was a natural fall. Despite all the inconsistencies,
the police quickly closed the case, claiming Mike had fallen
from a height of more than thirty meters and had
(17:39):
somehow rolled to the spot where his body was discovered.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
But there was more.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
The coroner who examined Mike's body told Burne that Mike
hadn't suffered because he had broken his neck in two places,
which caused almost instant death. But here's the catch. No
X rays had been done on Mike's body at that point,
so how could the coroner make that call?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
Was he just guessing?
Speaker 1 (18:03):
A month later, the autopsy report was finally released. It confirmed,
through DNA testing that the body was Mike's. It also
revealed that Mike had been dead for about eight days
by the time he was found, which meant he likely
died the very same day he left the hotel to
explore the island. But here's the most bizarre part. The
(18:23):
autopsy showed that Mike had no broken bones none. This
was highly suspicious, especially considering he supposedly fell from more
than ninety eight feet. If that were true, he should
have at least broken an arm or something, so why
weren't there any fractures. This revelation cast doubt on the
coroner's statement and made burn suspicions grow. A forensic examination
(18:48):
of Mike's rented bike only deepened the mystery. The bike's
condition didn't match what would be expected from a fall
of over ninety eight feet from a cliff. Everything was
starting to feel wrong, like pieces of a puzzle that
just didn't fit. Then, just days before the official autopsy
report was finalized, an employee from the morgue who had
(19:11):
been responsible for Mike's body, approached Burned with a hushed warning.
She told him that everything about Mike's death seemed suspicious.
No broken bones completely contradicted the police's story that Mike
had simply fallen from the cliff while riding his bike.
She urged Burned to think carefully about his next steps,
(19:32):
suggesting that the police seemed to have no interest in
pursuing the case any further. This only added to Bern's
growing distrust of the investigation. Desperate for answers, Burned went
to speak with the head of the investigation, the same
officer who had first claimed to have seen the go
pro case attached to Mike's belt, only to later deny it.
(19:53):
But this time she refused to speak with him. She
dodged his questions and acted as though the entire matter
wasn't worth her attention. This only fueled Bairn's suspicions Why
was the investigation being handled so poorly? Why were they
denying even the simplest facts. He kept pressing the authorities
(20:13):
about Mike's GoPro, believing it held the key to understanding
what really happened. Just days later, the forensic department in
Malta handed burn to camera, claiming it belonged to Mike.
But what they handed him was an old cannon model
from the early days of digital photography, not the go
Pro hero too that Mike had been using to document
(20:34):
his travels. Along with the camera came a memory card
completely destroyed. The authorities claimed it had been found inside
the camera when it was recovered next to Mike's body.
Burne immediately knew this was not his son's camera. The
authorities were trying to pass off an old, outdated camera
(20:55):
as Mike's, likely hoping he would stop asking questions about
the real GoPro. By now, Mike's family had grown deeply
suspicious of the Maltese police. The lack of interest in
the case, the inconsistencies, and the strange actions of the
authorities were all too much to ignore. Burned confronted some
officers about who might have stolen his son's belongings. The
(21:18):
officers almost dismissively claimed that no one from Malta would
steal items from a body, suggesting it might have been
a tourist. But then there were the phone records the
police claimed they had pulled location data from Mike's phone carrier,
only to report that they found absolutely nothing, no records,
no trace. Everything seemed to be going in circles. Frustrated
(21:43):
with the inconsistencies, the lack of progress, and the growing
feeling that something was being hidden, Bairned was ready to
make serious accusations against the authorities, but before he could
take any action, he had to return to Germany to
arrange his son's funeral and deal with the heart break
breaking aftermath of the tragedy. Mike's body landed in Germany
(22:04):
on August seventeenth, twenty sixteen, and what was supposed to
be a moment of mourning quickly spiraled into something out
of a true crime documentary. The funeral home staff tasked
with preparing his body for burial were immediately disturbed. Mike's
body looked eerily deflated, like someone had let all the
(22:25):
air out of him. It was obvious something was wrong.
Even worse, he hadn't been embalmed at all, which was
bizarre considering his case was still under investigation. The smell
was unmistakably that of raw decomposition, not the usual chemical
scent you'd expect from a preserved body. The moment they
realized this, the funeral homeworkers called the police. One officer
(22:49):
casually mentioned that airport staff had already thought the coffin
felt way too light when it arrived. That was enough
to raise every red flag imaginable. Mike's body body was
quickly sent to the Medical University of Hanover, and what
they uncovered was horrifying. His body weighed only sixteen kilograms
that's about thirty five pounds. When they opened him up,
(23:11):
almost all of his internal organs were missing. His brain, heart, lungs, liver, pancreas,
adrenal glands, right kidney, bladder, stomach, intestines, Every vital organ
was stripped from his body. Only tiny scraps of his
left kidney, diaphragm, spleen, and colon remained. No wonder he
looked so deflated, he was practically empty. Now, yes, it's
(23:36):
normal to remove organs during an autopsy, but here's the catch.
They's supposed to be either returned to the body or
replaced with something like cotton or sawdust. And if they're
not returned, there should be a full report explaining why
none of that was done. Mike's body was just left
as an empty shell, with no explanation, no documentation, and
(23:58):
no dignity. His family was devastated. His father, Burned, wrote
a heartfelt letter to the Maltese authorities begging them to
send back his son's organs so he could lay him
to rest properly. However, what he got back was shocking.
The coroner claimed that animals had eaten the organs before
Mike's body was found. Seriously, that didn't make any sense.
(24:22):
The original Maltese autopsy made zero mention of animal bites
or injuries, no claw marks, no chewed up skin, nothing
to back up that wild claim, and so the German
authorities stepped in. What once looked like a tragic accident
was starting to look more and more like a crime.
They opened a full investigation. The forensic team in Hanover
(24:45):
asked for a copy of the original autopsy report from Malta,
but surprise, it never came, and without Mike's organs, their
second autopsy was already limited. But that didn't stop Burned
and Suzanne from fight. They filed a formal complaint and
demanded answers. Through their lawyer, they revealed an e mail
(25:06):
from the Maltese coroner where he now claimed rodents had
eaten the organs, and that Mike's brain had liquefied. The
parents were done with the excuses. They took the fight
to court, and the German prosecutors began leaning into a
more sinister theory, what if Mike was murdered. They also
called out the Maltese coroners for doing an incredibly sloppy job.
(25:29):
A new autopsy was ordered, even though the body had
already deteriorated. This time Maltese officials had to be present
so no one could twist the facts, and once again
the findings were disturbing. There were no bitemarks, no signs
of rodents, just a small nibble on the neck and
a faint abrasion on the forearm, definitely not enough to
(25:50):
explain the missing organs. Plus, it was reconfirmed that Mike's
body had been fully intact when it was recovered from
under the cliffs and transported to the malt Morgue. Most importantly,
the new autopsy revealed what might be the biggest failure
of all. Mike had never been embalmed. Because of that,
his body had decomposed too much, destroying any remaining evidence
(26:14):
that could have pointed to what really happened. To top
it all off, there was absolutely no proof that Mike
had died from falling off the cliffs. Nothing matched the
story Malta had been pushing, and just like that, a
simple case of a missing person found dead had transformed
into a full blown mystery. Despite all of this, the
(26:35):
Maltese authorities stood by their version of events, insisting that
Mike had tragically fallen off a cliff. The first autopsy,
done by Malta's own forensic team included three people, including
doctor Mario, the country's chief forensic doctor. Doctor Mario, who
had an impressive reputation, was there when the body was
(26:57):
found and performed the autopsi himself. However, when Mike's parents
and journalists asked for more details, doctor Mario was strangely
tight lipped. He only responded to one email from Mike's father, Baron,
saying the organs were already missing before the autopsy, suggesting
that rodents had eaten them. He also mentioned that Mike's
(27:20):
brain had dissolved due to the son's heat. Doctor Mario
stated that he had shared this information with the head
of the investigation, but the German forensic team didn't buy it.
They quickly debunked the idea of Rodent's having eaten Mike's organs,
as there were no bite marks found on his body.
As for the brain liquefying in the sun, that was
(27:42):
just plain absurd, according to the Germans. They pointed out
that many countries have summer temperatures exceeding forty degrees celsius
and no one had ever seen anything like this happen. Furthermore,
doctor Mario had documented that Mike's body was found lying
on his back, but the German team didn't believe he'd
died where he was found. They theorized that Mike could
(28:04):
have been alive when he hit the beach and crawled
to a shaded area under the cliff. They even considered
asphyxiation as a possible cause of death, especially because Mike's
hyoid bone was missing, an indication of strangulation. By November
of twenty seventeen, Burned had had enough. He returned to
Malta and tried to speak with the police and detectives
(28:26):
involved in his son's case, but they wouldn't cooperate. He
then filed a legal request to access all the case files,
only to be told the judge was sick and known
for being slow in approving judicial decisions. Eventually, barn was
able to gain access to the documents through a German
diplomat in Malta, but when he reviewed the files, several
(28:48):
key pieces were missing. The autopsy results in photos from
the crime scene had mysteriously disappeared. In January of twenty eighteen,
the Maltese govern finally caved under pressure from the German
authorities and reopened Mike's case. The first documents related to
the case were sent to Germany and the German media
(29:10):
began covering the story once again. The German Parliament even
started debating it. However, the new judge assigned to the
case also concluded that Mike's death was due to a
fall from the cliff and nothing really changed. The German authorities,
despite finding numerous inconsistencies in the case, found themselves at
(29:31):
a dead end with the limited evidence they had. Most
people who analyzed the case full of holes and carelessness
from the diplomats, investigators, and journalists have serious doubts about
the Maltese authority's official verdict. Burned became exhausted and disheartened
by all the negligence and decided to stop pushing for
(29:51):
more answers. He shifted his focus to his family, feeling
that they would never truly know what happened to Mike.
A German newspaper that had been following the case from
the beginning even tried to revisit the story, but when
they reached out to the Maltese authorities, they were met
with silence. No one involved in Mike's case seemed willing
(30:11):
to talk, almost as if they were trying to cover
it up. Theories surrounding Mike's case are still floating around,
with one of the most popular being that Mike could
have been a victim of organ trafficking. Mike was a
healthy young man, and the absence of his organs has
made many wonder if he was targeted by traffickers. According
(30:32):
to this theory, Mike could have been approached while cycling
through a remote area of Malta. The traffickers would have
taken him to a location, removed his organs, stitched him
back up, and then dumped him off the cliff to
make it look like an accident. Some believe the Maltese
authorities discovered everything but chose to cover it up because
of the potential damage to tourism. Another theory suggests that
(30:56):
Mike was robbed by thieves who took his belongings and
then threw him off. According to this idea, Mike may
have been strangled and his body was placed where it
was found to prevent further damage to the island's tourism industry.
If Mike had been strangled, authorities might have decided to
remove his hyoid, bone, brain, and other organs to avoid
(31:17):
revealing the truth. There's also the possibility that Mike simply
fell off the cliff on his own and people who
passed by took the opportunity to steal his belongings. The
least accepted theory is that Mike might have taken his
own life, but that was quickly dismissed early in the investigation.
Everything about Mike's life pointed to him being happy, full
(31:39):
of plans, in love, and showing no signs of mental
illness or depression. Mike Mansholtz case remains one of the
most mysterious and incomplete cases ever documented. The Maltese authorities
still maintain their version of events that Mike fell off
the cliff, and anything beyond that is merely a conspiracy theory.
(32:01):
But what do you think happened to Mike? Was it
a tragic accident or was he the victim of something
far more sinister?
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