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Suicide did not make sense. It was unbelievable. Karl Koch had disclosed himself to the authorities and had co-operated fully. He had provided them with some good information and they had found him accommodation and a job with the Christian Democratic Party. He was also getting help with his drug dependency and seemed on his way to rehabilitation. Murder seemed much more likely than suicide. And there were many people who could have had a motive.

There was much speculation. He was murdered to prevent him testifying; it was a warning to other hackers not to disclose themselves; perhaps it was even to embarrass Gorbachev who was due for a visit. Or perhaps to protect people in high places . . .

After the unification of Germany the authorities gained access to police files in what had been East Germany. According to Hans Gliss, who maintains close contacts with the intelligence services, there was 'a strong whisper' that the Stasi - East Germany's secret service - was responsible for Koch's death. The motive remained a mystery, though there were any number of arcane theories: that the agency was jealous of Koch's ties to the KGB; conversely, that they were protecting a KGB source who was proving too talkative; that they wanted to embarrass the KGB; that they had also been getting information from Koch . . .

The Staatssicherheit, or Stasi, has acquired a formidable reputation. Its foreign service, led by the legendary Marcus Wolf, was reported to have planted thousands of agents in West Germany's top political and social circles, most notoriously Gunther Guillaume, who became private secretary to Chancellor Willy Brandt. The revelation caused the fall of the Brandt government.

The Stasi has become a convenient villain: since the collapse of East Germany the shadowy secret service's reputation for skulduggery has grown to mythic proportions. In mysterious cases, like the death of Karl Koch, the sinister hand of Stasi will be detected by all those who want to see it.

None the less, murder can't be ruled out. There is the evidence - the missing shoes, the controlled fire - that suggests another party was involved in Koch's death. Then there is motive. Koch had little reason to kill himself. He had a job; he was getting treatment for his

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