crime
Murder trial for killed police officers: court hears witnesses
Flowers and candles stand at the scene where two police officers were shot dead during a traffic check near Kusel at the end of January 2022. Photo: Sebastian Gollnow/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
What happened at the crime scene after the violent death of a police officer and her colleague during a traffic stop? That’s what the court wants to know from witnesses. Relatives of the main accused are also invited.
The hearing of evidence in the murder trial of two police officers who were shot near Kusel (Palatinate) began with drastic descriptions of the night of the crime.
Emergency services and paramedics, who arrived at the scene a few minutes after the crime at the end of January, were the first witnesses summoned to the Kaiserslautern district court on Monday. “The blood ran down the street,” said a 27-year-old colleague of the two police officers, clearly shocked.
The last radio message from the police commissioner who was shot was also recorded in the courtroom. “The shoot, the shoot,” calls the 29-year-old in mortal fear before a shot is heard, then silence.
Prosecutors have accused a 39-year-old man of shooting dead the police commissioner and a 24-year-old police officer during a vehicle check in late January to cover up poaching. The violence caused horror. The prosecution accuses a 33-year-old accomplice of attempted evasion. He is said to have helped cover up the tracks.
A total of 13 witnesses were invited on Monday, including the wife and mother-in-law of the alleged shooter. They invoked their right to refuse to testify and did not testify. The accomplice’s fiancee also did not testify.
A few hours after the dead police officers were discovered on the edge of a remote district road, the two suspects were arrested in Saarland. So far, the district court has scheduled appointments up to September 9th. The interrogation was scheduled to resume on Monday at 1:30 p.m. after a break.