Q COSTARICA — When Rüdiger and Manuela Schickhaus decided to leave Europe, they weren’t looking for adventure or risk. After decades of work and a stable life in Germany and Austria, they wanted a quiet retirement, surrounded by nature, the sea, and their four dogs.
Their chosen destination was Quepos, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast, a country they described on their personal blog as the place where they could build a new life.
But there was an unexpected twist.
On Monday, September 22, 2025, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) reported the discovery of their bodies buried in the garden of their home. Both had been shot. What was supposed to be a refuge ended up becoming the scene of their violent deaths.
A life of work and reinvention
Rüdiger, born in Germany in 1965, initially pursued a military career, reaching the rank of second lieutenant, as he described on his social media. He then reinvented himself in the IT world, working at companies such as Compaq, INFORMIX, IBM, and later Cloudera, where he specialized in big data, security, and data governance. According to his professional profile, he also gave technical talks and was considered an expert in manufacturing and the Internet of Things.
Manuela, 57, from Bischofshofen, Salzburg, Austria, shared his love of animals and a quiet life. They had been a couple since 2015. Their dogs—Shaba, Bella, Brian, and Lucky—were an essential part of their family, so much so that, as they explained on their blog, any retirement plan had to include space and conditions for them: “There are six of us,” they wrote in a recently published blog.
Rüdiger also held fundraising events for shelters in Germany on several occasions. The couple married in 2015.
The Road to Costa Rica
In 2021, they began searching for a retirement destination. They first explored southern Italy, but “we were sure it wouldn’t be our retirement home,” Rüdiger wrote on the blog. They also considered Mexico and Panama. Mexico was ruled out for safety reasons, and Panama because it didn’t meet their expectations. They ultimately chose Costa Rica for its tropical climate, biodiversity, and image of a safe and stable country.
They sold properties in Munich and Burgenland, Austria, and moved to the central Pacific. In May 2022, they purchased a large property in Quepos, which they named “UFO House” for its unique design. There, they enjoyed scuba diving, paddleboarding, and a tropical garden that served as a refuge. On social media and expat forums, they shared their excitement at having found “the ideal place.”
Unexpected Violence
On September 22, Costa Rican authorities found their bodies bound and buried in bags on the grounds of the house. There were traces of blood in several rooms and signs of an attempted cleanup. The police investigation points to a violent assault as the main hypothesis.
The crime shocked the local community.
In Austrian and German media, the news was echoed with disbelieving headlines: a couple who left everything behind in search of peace in the tropics died as victims of the violence they were trying to avoid.
Their dogs, which survived the attack, were left in the care of relatives.
The Interrupted Dream
On his blog, Rüdiger had said that after 38 years of career, he was wondering if this was the future he wanted: “I started to think, is this what I want to do for the rest of my life?” The answer led them to sell everything and start over.
Costa Rica was their life’s project: nature, the sea, and time to spend with their dogs. The very house they designed as a refuge ended up being their tomb.
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