The hearing of evidence in the murder trial of two police officers who were shot dead 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. “They’re shooting, they’re shooting,” the 29-year-old shouts in mortal fear before a shot can be 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 act of 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.
