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Flowers and candles at the crime scene near Kusel (photo from February)
Photo: Sebastian Gollnow / dpa
In the murder trial of two police officers who were shot near Kusel in Rhineland-Palatinate, evidence has begun before the Kaiserslautern district court.
The first witnesses on Monday were emergency services and paramedics, who arrived at the scene a few minutes after the crime at the end of January.
"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.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the 39-year-old Andreas S. of having killed the police commissioner and a 24-year-old police candidate with gunshots during a vehicle inspection at the end of January in order to cover up poaching.
The violence caused horror.
The prosecution accuses the 33-year-old accomplice Florian V. 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 – possibly to protect themselves.
Because Andreas S.'s wife is said to have given him the weapons for hunting.
S. himself was not allowed to own any weapons at the time of the crime.
The accomplice's fiancee also did not testify (Read a summary of the previous day of the trial here).
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 to continue on Monday afternoon after a break.
Defendants blame each other
At the start of the trial, the defendants had incriminated each other.
S. stated, for example, that he only fired his rifle in self-defense.
His comrade-in-arms V. went to the police officer and shot her in the face.
V., on the other hand, admitted all the allegations against him and thus confirmed the indictment: Andreas S. shot both police officers, he himself was only there.
fek/dpa
