process
Police murders: investigators describe interrogations after the fact
Flowers and candles 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
Shortly after the violent death of two police officers at the end of January, the police questioned the two suspects. In the process, the content can now be heard for the first time – one of the two statements is extensive.
Five months after two police officers were shot dead near Kusel (Palatinate), investigators in the ongoing murder trial have reported on the first interrogations of the two accused.
The co-defendant testified shortly after the crime at the end of January and held the main defendant solely responsible for the deadly gunshots at the two officers, an officer said on Thursday in the Kaiserslautern district court.
During the nightly vehicle check by a policewoman and a police officer, the main defendant said “What, hunting poaching?” The policewoman was “taken down by the force”.
The 39-year-old main defendant also shot their colleagues alone. The co-defendant said on February 18 that he heard two shots and heard a cry of pain. After the shots were fired, the main defendant ordered him to look for lost papers and threatened that he would “put them aside otherwise”.
“It’s not about two chewing gums”
While the co-defendant nodded several times when the officer described his statements, the main defendant listened with folded hands or took notes. When the judge said in a description that the main defendant took it very seriously, the 39-year-old flared up. ‘Mr Chairman, you say I’m quite specific. What is this about? It’s not about two chewing gums.”
Another investigator said that in a first interrogation, the co-defendant testified for three hours on the day of the crime, January 31, at his own request without a lawyer. The 33-year-old was nervous, but then objective. He was perceived as authentic. “There were no discernible contradictions for us.”
The co-defendant spoke for the first time on the fourth day of the hearing and said about the interrogation: “I was treated properly.”
Shortly after the crime, the police also questioned the main suspect. The 39-year-old was calm and friendly and thanked that the handcuffs were not too tight, an investigator said. The man did not comment on the matter.
During the trial, the main defendant said that although he shot the police officer with a gun, the man described a kind of self-defense situation. The policewoman in turn shot his accomplice.
Prosecutors accuse the main defendant of murdering the 24-year-old police officer and the 29-year-old police commissioner five months ago to cover up poaching.
Service pistol shot empty – no hit
Investigators assume there was an exchange of fire between the police officer and the main suspect. The police commissioner is said to have shot his service pistol empty – without hitting the attacker.
An investigator spoke of a total of 20 shots on Thursday: 14 from the police service pistol on the one hand and 3 shots from a shotgun and 3 from a hunting rifle on the two police officers on the other. This resulted from the analysis of traces at the crime scene.
The act of violence caused nationwide horror. The prosecution accuses the co-defendant of attempted frustration. He is said to have helped cover up the tracks, but not shot.
The hearing is scheduled to continue next Tuesday.