S1 • E1
On their way out to catch a parrot that has flown away, Hubert and Staller are confronted by a horrific sight: a house has been broken into, and behind the broken window lies the body of bird food wholesaler Anton Bayer.
S1 • E2
Bringing two drunken and rowdy teenagers to heel at the S-Bahn station sounds like a routine job for Hubert and Staller. But when one of the rioters can't control his stomach contents and Staller has to go to the public restroom to clean his uniform, he suddenly finds himself in a pool of blood. Murder victim Markus Botzek is still handcuffed, and countless stab wounds suggest that the perpetrator wanted to see his victim suffer. The fact that the deceased had just served an eight-year sentence for rape and the words "Never again!" are emblazoned on his forehead makes Hubert and Staller suspect: Someone considered the sentence too lenient and took the law into their own hands. While Police Officer Riedl is busy analyzing the numerous surveillance videos from the station, Hubert and Staller deliver the news of the death to father Robert Botzek, with whom their son had moved in after his return. Hubert and Staller do not fail to notice that the father already seemed to know about his son's death, but they blame local reporter Barbara Hansen, who is not usually very discreet with confidential information. Markus Botzek's ex-wife Sandra reacted to the death with far more shock than the father. She has since found a new boyfriend and has had little contact with Markus recently, but still lives next door to his father. The somewhat unclear family relationships in the Botzek household no longer seem to play a major role, however, when Hubert and Staller look at the video analyses carried out by their colleague Riedl: One of the tapes clearly shows that a certain Hermann Killer was at the train station at the time of the crime. And Hermann Killer not only has an impressive name, he is also the father of one of the rape victims.
S1 • E3
Murder contracts in a retirement home - a rarity, according to Staller. Pensioner Hannelore Kramer, however, insists that someone there is trying to kill her. When her neighbor then passes away, Hannelore Kramer is absolutely certain that she fell victim to an assassination attempt that was actually intended for her. Hubert and Staller pursue the matter more pro forma, which is why Staller conducts the toxicology test on a supposedly poisoned orange juice on his own body. This lands him directly on the "tablet" of pathologist Dr. Anja Licht. Staller escapes with his life because he only took a small sip of the poisoned juice. However, one thing is now certain: someone actually wants Hannelore Kramer dead. Possible culprits are a spurned lover from the retirement home and Hannelore's stepbrother Jürgen Rollmann, who is currently facing considerable renovation costs. After all, Hannelore Kramer has 60,000 euros in her account, which she would inherit. And even her seemingly caring son, Lorenz Kramer, isn't without suspicion - after all, he put the lethal juice in his mother's refrigerator, and his wife, Karoline, has a particularly frosty relationship with her mother-in-law. Before Hubert and Staller can delve deeper into the family ties, however, the poisoner strikes a second time. This time, not only does the elderly Mrs. Kramer die, but her stepbrother is nearly killed as well. While Police Commissioner Girwidz then warns his men to proceed with extreme caution around the elderly, local reporter Barbara Hansen makes a particularly interesting discovery regarding the past of Hannelore Kramer's caregiver, Boris.
S1 • E4
Helping a friendly young woman who has skidded into a ditch with her tractor is a matter of honor for Hubert and Staller. They also help in the search for her dog, which has run away in shock. But then things take an unexpected turn. A short time later, when Staller tries to get the intimidated animal out of the ditch, the dog bites him in the hand because he wants to defend his find, a wool blanket. In the struggle, a woman's body is discovered under the blanket. The tractor driver, Franzi Hartmann, is shocked: the body is her best friend Marlene Otter. Marlene is the daughter of the prominent plastic surgeon Dr. Pavel Otter and the current Miss Upper Bavaria. Hubert is annoyed because Staller's bite wound has thrown the tried and tested division of roles out of whack. He now has to get back behind the wheel. The two investigators discover that the world of the rich and beautiful is not theirs right from their first encounter with Dr. Pavel Otter is arrested. Otter coldly brushes them off, and his continued strange behavior gives rise to speculation. Hubert and Staller discover that Marlene Otter was not only the cosmetic clinic's visual flagship, but had also suffered from her father's high expectations since childhood. To escape this pressure, she often stayed with her best friend Franzi Hartmann. She rarely found the support she had hoped for from her ambitious and career-oriented fiancé, Marcel Mühlbauer. Hubert and Staller soon discover that the ugliest things happen in the service of beauty.
S1 • E5
A complaint from guests at the nearby "Waldesruh" hotel leads Hubert and Staller to the farm of farmer Wildmoser. The bone of contention is his allegedly loudly squealing pigs. Staller wants to investigate the matter with a sound level meter when, with a deafening bang, something smashes through the barn roof. Those present already fear a meteorite impact, but upon closer inspection, they discover that a man has fallen through the roof. The dead man is Markus Hartlinger, who is not only the owner of the "Waldesruh" hotel, but also the chairman of the "Friends of King Ludwig" association and an avid balloonist. The latter seems to have been his downfall, but whether it was an accident, suicide, or even murder, Hubert and Staller cannot yet say, especially since there is initially no trace of a balloon. During their investigation, the two not only discover that Hartlinger's hotel was not doing so well financially, but also that the relationship between the deceased and his fiancée, Martina Christ, didn't seem quite as good as Thomas Brenner, a clubmate and financial advisor to the deceased, initially portrayed. When, thanks to tips from tourists, the hot air balloon is finally found, Hubert and Staller are finally able to reconstruct Markus Hartlinger's last flight. Meanwhile, local reporter Barbara Hansen is writing an article about the machinations of a real estate mafia trying to buy up all the hotels in the area cheaply. District Chief Girwidz fears that organized crime is now targeting the Bavarian countryside. And it seems that Thomas Brenner, of all people, maintains contacts within the real estate mafia.
S1 • E6
During a routine walk, Hubert and Staller discover a dead woman on the shore of Lake Starnberg. According to the autopsy results, 31-year-old Sabine Pfeifer drowned two days earlier. Bruises and a cut indicate that the young woman either fell or was violently pushed into the water. In the dead woman's apartment, the police find an invitation to a bachelorette party on the MS Starnberg, also held two days earlier. Hubert and Staller pay the bride and groom a visit. The bride, Eva Kern, is shocked; they learn from her that the dead woman was not only a good friend, but was also supposed to be their bridesmaid. However, Eva Kern allegedly didn't notice Sabine Pfeifer's disappearance that evening, just like Captain Walther Thiel, whom Hubert and Staller visit on board his ship. Ship's waiter Robert Sachs can't provide any clues either, but he seems familiar to the two investigators from somewhere. Meanwhile, the bride's wealthy and influential father, Günter Kern, advises Police Commissioner Girwidz not to spoil the best day of his daughter's life with unnecessary questioning, especially since it could still be an accident. This is also supported by the fact that, according to a pathological examination, the deceased was heavily intoxicated. This is also confirmed by Markus Ziegler, the groom-to-be, who otherwise-like everyone else-claims to have noticed nothing of the young woman's disappearance. However, Hubert and Staller learn from a colleague of the deceased that Markus Ziegler had an affair with the drowned woman not too long ago.
S1 • E7
Holger Döhla wants to pick up his car from the police station after it was towed from a no-parking zone. During the handover, Staller notices that Mr. Döhla's car is leaking fluid. However, the fluid isn't oil, as Hubert initially assumes - instead, blood is dripping from the trunk of the car. A dismembered body without a heart - Hubert and Staller are faced with the task of solving a particularly gruesome murder. They begin their investigation where the car was towed - in front of a hardware store. After a conversation with the saleswoman and a look at the receipts from the morning, Staller concludes that the perpetrator probably bought potting soil to bury the remains. Staller creates a phantom drawing based on the saleswoman's information. Meanwhile, Dr. Anja Licht's pathology department is able to determine the identity of the body based on the dentures: It is Juliya Döhla, Holger Döhla's wife. When Hubert and Staller deliver the news to Holger Döhla, the husband confesses that 200,000 euros disappeared from his private safe on the morning of the murder - it appears his wife was planning to make off with some start-up capital. Where their journey came to its premature end becomes clear shortly afterwards. While Staller's composite sketch leads to the arrest of an innocent woman, Waltraud Fleischer, a walker, provides new leads. The woman actually only wants to bring her dead dog to the station because she suspects it has been poisoned. However, when Staller finds Juliya Döhla's pacemaker in the dog's throat while examining the dead animal, the woman takes them to Patrick Berger's carpentry shop, outside which Mrs. Fleischer's dog had taken the fatal bite. A short time later, not only is it clear that the sawbench in the carpentry shop is the murder weapon, but carpenter Berger also confesses during interrogation that he had an affair with the murdered woman. He just doesn't want to have killed her.
S1 • E8
An unknown person is plundering swan nests on Lake Starnberg. Hubert and Staller are tasked with catching the perpetrator(s)-preferably in the act, of course. However, they don't find the egg thief, but rather the body of art dealer Alexander Wächter, floating in the water next to a rowboat. Wächter was presumably beaten to death. Could the militant swan and nature conservationist Mara Laudinger have had a hand in it? When Hubert and Staller search the dead man's apartment, they discover that Wächter was not only an art collector, but also a collector of women, who kept meticulous records of his numerous love affairs. Hubert and Staller conclude that with so many women, there must have been one or two jealous husbands who might have had their sights set on the charming Mr. Wächter. One example is Dr. Barth, the extremely proper head of the monument preservation department and husband of the attractive Friederike Barth, whose name is also in Wächter's address book. When Hubert and Staller discover a bag of swan eggs in Barth's car, Barth becomes increasingly the focus of the investigation. Someone had stuffed a swan egg into the unconscious Alexander Wächter's mouth before throwing him into the lake. Hubert and Staller suspect that someone was trying to make a statement, as swan eggs play an important role as evidence in their investigation. The fact that twelve-year-old "hobby detective" Timo Weidner keeps getting in their way doesn't exactly make their work any easier. The boy is not only a gifted detective and clever, but also a good friend of the journalist Barbara Hansen.
S1 • E9
Hubert and Staller have just laboriously positioned a mobile speed trap when they are ordered to immediately investigate a missing person report. The mere fact that they are not supposed to wait the usual 24 hours in this case demonstrates the sensitivity of the situation: Thorsten Hackmeyer, an influential investment advisor, did not return home as planned after office hours, according to his partner, the well-known actress Monika Felsner. Staller's euphoria at finally meeting one of his favorite actresses in person quickly fades upon their first meeting. The diva's concern for her partner seems exaggerated, and the officers have serious doubts about her credibility. However, when a call comes in from a kidnapper and local reporter Barbara Hansen finds the investment advisor's car abandoned, Hubert and Staller slowly realize the seriousness of the situation: The Hackmeyer villa's telephone system is bugged, and Police Chief Riedl is assigned to protect and monitor Monika Felsner. At his local pub, Staller discovers that, due to poor investment advice, quite a few of those present have a motive to take revenge on Thorsten Hackmeyer. Farmer Josef Gretzer is particularly suspect. He is initially arrested, but appears to have an alibi for the time of the kidnapping. When the money is finally supposed to be handed over, Hubert and Staller plan to outwit the kidnapper on the spot with an elaborate plan.
S1 • E10
An anonymous tip about a case of swine fever leads Hubert and Staller to Jonas Hartmann's farm. But instead of infected animals, they find only the farm owner himself in the pigpen - murdered with a bolt gun. Lena Vorreiter, the dead man's shocked girlfriend, states that no animals have been kept on the farm for years, which inevitably leads Hubert and Staller to wonder how Jonas Hartmann had earned his money. When the two investigators encounter several attractive young women, mostly of Eastern European origin, in the farm's restaurant, "Zur scharfen Haxen," their suspicions quickly grow that Jonas Hartmann was running an illegal business on the farm. District Chief Girwidz cannot believe that such an establishment has existed unnoticed for years in his area of responsibility. He immediately closes the business and urges the utmost discretion to prevent the case from causing a major stir. In fact, it soon emerges that among the more prominent "guests" at the house was City Councilor Dizinger, of whom the deceased had kept some racy photos in his safe. Could this have been a case of blackmail? Or did the deceased's brother, Rolf Hartmann, have something to do with the matter? The prospective priest had only recently returned to the countryside after studying theology - and was anything but happy with what his brother had done with the family farm. The murdered man's girlfriend confirms that a heated argument had broken out between the brothers. Hubert and Staller are about to confront Rolf Hartmann when they learn from local reporter Barbara Hansen that one of the girls, Katarina Stastny, had still received male visitors despite a strict ban. When the two try to confront the visitor, he escapes by jumping out the window.
S1 • E11
When Hubert and Staller inspect a burned-down forest cabin, they find a body burned beyond recognition among the remains. Could this be the victim of an insurance fraudster's own crime? But Horst Vogl, the cabin's owner, is alive and well and assumes a stranger must have gained unauthorized access. A conspicuous signature in the grass suggests that the fire in the cabin could be part of a series of fires that the local fire department has been dealing with for some time. When Rosa Koller arrives at the station to report her daughter Tina missing, two distinctive pieces of jewelry found with the body provide the sad certainty: the dead woman found in the forest cabin is Tina Koller. Her boyfriend, Tobias Ringsdorfer, a small animal lover and member of the fire department, is shocked but emphasizes that he always gave his friend complete freedom and therefore wasn't immediately concerned about her whereabouts. Hubert and Staller learn from Fire Chief Sedlmeier that Tina Koller is alleged to have had an affair with firefighter Mario Pichler - Tobias Ringsdorfer's former best friend. When twelve-year-old Niko Allert admits to the other small fires but claims he had nothing to do with the fire in the cabin, much seems to point to a crime of passion. In their further investigation, Hubert and Staller must deal with online dating sites and ultimately plan to use this modern method of initiating relationships to convict the perpetrator. Their colleague Sonja Wirth plays a special role in this.
S1 • E12
At the "Fairy Tale Forest" in Wolfratshausen, a purse thief is detained by an employee. When Hubert and Staller arrive, the perpetrator takes advantage of the general chaos to escape, but in the excitement, he trips over the legs of a man sitting on a park bench. Hubert tries to thank him for his help, but the leg-puller shows no reaction - the man is dead. He is identified as Vladimir Tscherpenko, a Russian artist who was supposed to start working as a clown and entertainer at the "Fairy Tale Forest." The investigation reveals that he was murdered. Franz Pernikar, the head of the "Fairy Tale Forest," is horrified by the death of his future employee, especially since Tscherpenko had shown great enthusiasm for his new job. He had come directly from Russia and had no contacts in Germany. So who would have an interest in the man's death? Only Peter Dressel, who had been working as a clown at the "Fairy Tale Forest" for years, would have a motive to get rid of the talented competition from the East. But Dressel was busy pursuing the handbag thief at the time of the crime and thus has an alibi. This also applies to Dressel's wife, Ina, who, as secretary, is responsible for the business affairs of the "Fairytale Forest" and could be considered a possible accomplice of her husband. Precinct Chief Girwidz already fears that organized crime is behind the murder and is now also active in the tranquil town of Wolfratshausen. The whole thing becomes even more puzzling for Hubert and Staller when Dr. Licht discovers during the autopsy that Tscherpenko was killed with a very rare arrow poison. Who could be in possession of such a poison and capable of handling the dangerous substance?
S1 • E13
A scantily clad woman allegedly jumped around in a field early in the morning: possibly a case of "causing public nuisance." This crime, at best a moderate one, quickly fades into the background when Hubert and Staller arrive at the farm in question for their investigation. A television crew's ongoing filming there is abruptly interrupted when a woman's body appears in a haystack. It is Tamara Glinski, one of the three candidates vying for the favor of farm owner Alois Gschwendtner on the show "Ich mach dir den Hof" (I'll Farm You). Did the woman have to die because she was the farmer's clear favorite? Were her fellow contestants, the frivolous Kirsten Ullmann and the Christian-minded Melanie Bülow, truly willing to walk over dead bodies for their material security? Or was jealousy simply at play? As they delve into the world of television, Hubert and Staller primarily target the slick and self-satisfied producer Konstantin von Appen. When their brave colleague Riedl, after spending nights reviewing the footage shot so far, stumbles upon a piquant scene, the case seems as good as solved. But parallel research by local reporter Barbara Hansen leads the investigators to another person: What role does Felix Thurnbichler, the victim's stepson, play? Could the motive for the murder possibly date back much further than initially appeared? A banal allergy finally puts Hubert and Staller on the right track.
S1 • E14
As Hubert and Staller investigate a complaint of illegal dumping of waste at the edge of the forest, an unfortunate incident occurs in which Staller accidentally shoots a deer. The two are about to load the animal when local reporter Barbara Hansen happens to appear at the crime scene. To avoid making headlines as a police officer shooting wildly, Staller spontaneously invents a story: poachers are causing trouble in the forests. Staller has no idea what he's triggering with this story. The reporter finds the story so interesting that she begins to do her own research. She learns from Toni Jger that for almost a year now, he has repeatedly found headless and antlerless red deer carcasses in the forests around Wolfratshausen and has even contacted the police about it. However, the police - much to Jger's annoyance - have not taken any action so far. When Barbara Hansen confronts Police Commissioner Girwidz about the case, he feels compelled to act and assigns Hubert and Staller to the case. Staller, in particular, now has to fear that he's not only tracking down the real poachers, but also betraying himself. Toni Jger leads the two to the feeding trough and there they discover that the poachers have already become so active that only a single red deer remains. In addition to innkeeper Josef Breitner, who owns an exceptionally large antler collection in his "Jagdschløssl" (hunting lodge), Georg Steiner, the owner of a souvenir shop that sells antlers, soon also comes under suspicion. However, nothing can be proven against either of them. Staller then comes up with the idea of equipping Wolfratshausen's last deer with a GPS transmitter and setting a trap for the poachers.
S1 • E15
The fact that young people in Upper Bavaria are sometimes too loud is nothing new to Hubert and Staller. However, when they investigate a case of disturbance after a concert at the town hall, they are met with complete silence: A young woman is sitting lifeless on a park bench. According to the initial assessment by forensic pathologist Dr. Anja Licht, a cocktail of drugs is likely the cause of Julia Schwarz's death. Her roommate, Nina Haase, shows a certain affinity for the drug scene, but a motive is not apparent at first glance. Florian Grünert, Nina Haase's friend and also a member of the three-person shared apartment, also appears to be a non-suspect. However, he points out to Hubert and Staller that the dead woman had an affair with rock singer Johnny Silver. He is married and, by his own admission, does not attach much importance to his affair with Julia Schwarz becoming public. To get to the bottom of whether the young woman's death was a tragic accident, suicide, or even deliberate murder, Hubert and Staller attempt to determine how the drugs were distributed. Although their colleague Riedl's undercover operation yields no results, and Johanna Girwidz, the daughter of the station chief, doesn't reveal everything she knows, it seems to be an open secret that a certain Patrick Mitschke is the key figure in the local scene. He, in turn, has an unusual relationship with Holger Schneider, the lawyer and former employer of the deceased.
S1 • E16
An atmospheric raft trip on the Isar River begins with a riot even before it sets off. Hubert and Staller are called to bring Sepp Liegl, the rowdy drummer of the raft band, to heel. When some of those present finally drag Sepp Liegl to the shore to cool off, they make a terrible discovery: Josef Trager, a local antiques dealer, is lying dead in the water. He would probably have drifted away, never to be seen again, had his clothes not become entangled in the bushes along the riverbank. After an examination by Dr. Licht, it is determined that Trager was already dead when he was thrown into the water - thus, it is a case of murder. But who could have had a motive to get rid of the man? Trager's shocked partner, Uta Habermann, is able to present Hubert and Staller with all of her friend's valuables - so robbery is ruled out. While visiting Trager's antique shop, Staller accidentally discovers his grandfather's police uniform and is completely beside himself. His colleague Hubert, in any case, struggles to refocus Staller's attention on the murder case. Apart from Uta Habermann's ex-husband, Andreas Habermann, Trager appears to have had no enemies. During questioning, he is the only one who appears to have no involvement in Trager's death. Even the Hamburg antique dealer Helge Petersen, who is in Wolfratshausen to visit his friend and colleague Trager, cannot explain the crime. However, Hubert and Staller discover that Petersen has been doing business with another antique dealer in Wolfratshausen for some time. And he has kept this secret until now.
Franz Hubert
Reimund Girwidz
Martin Riedl
Yazid
Johannes Staller
Anja Licht
Sonja Wirth
Dr. Caroline Fuchs
Barbara Hansen
Sabrina Rattlinger