German police believe they've found serial killer

BERLIN, Aug 20 (Reuters) German police said today they believe they have captured a serial killer responsible for the deaths of at least five young women between 1983 and 1990.

Police in the western German town of Aachen arrested a 51-year-old man for stealing scrap metal in March. At the time of his arrest fingerprints and DNA samples were taken and cross-referenced with a central criminal database.

''Two weeks ago the DNA samples showed a match for one of the unsolved murders,'' a police official in Aachen told Reuters.

The man has since confessed to five murders and the authorities are now trying to determine whether he killed anyone else, the police said.

According to a document prepared by the State Prosecutor's Office in Aachen, the victims' ages ranged from 15 to 31.

The crimes followed a pattern. In most cases, the women were tied up, raped or molested, strangled and then the bodies abandoned in a remote forest. In several cases the killer took all or part of their clothing.

The first murder took place in 1983, followed by two in 1984, one in 1987 and a final one in 1990.

It remains unclear why the man suddenly ended his killing spree. The police said the case was still under investigation and the suspect was in custody.

REUTERS SR RK2230