Lübcke murder: Files in the Stephan Ernst case are missing

Murder of Walter Lübcke, President of Kassel: There is now news about the Stephan Ernst case. According to "Welt am Sonntag" files are missing.

• New insights into the murder of Walter Lübcke, President of Kassel
• Federal Court of Justice considers Stephan Ernst to be a likely shooter despite the changed statement
• The alleged helper Markus H. was checked by the police in 2019

Update from Sunday, April 5th, 2020, 7:38 pm: Kassel - According to a report by the “Welt am Sonntag”, files are missing in the investigation against the alleged murderer of the Kassel government president Walter Lübcke. It concerns an investigation against Stephan Ernst in connection with a shot at a left-wing activist and teacher in 2003.

A spokesman for the prosecutor said on Sunday that the investigation was ongoing. He did not comment on the newspaper's report. "Welt am Sonntag", citing the public prosecutor's office in Kassel, reported that the files and the projectile seized had been destroyed ten years after the unsuccessful investigation ended.

Suspected # Lübcke murderer Stephan #Ernst: investigation file and evidence destroyed. The federal prosecutor's office is investigating Ernst in three complexes: two are to be charged, and the third is difficult to clarify. #WELTAMSONNTAG @uwemueller_welt @welt https://t.co/tGEkvlKw6Q

The federal prosecutor wants to charge Stephan Ernst for the murder of Walter Lübcke in early June 2019 on his terrace and a knife attack on an Iraqi asylum seeker in 2016. Since September, the federal prosecutor's office has also been investigating an unsettled attack on a young Iraqi nearby. A stranger stabbed the man in the back from behind on January 6, 2016 in Lohfelden near Kassel. The Iraqi had to go to the intensive care unit.

Kassel: Murder case Lübcke - Markus H. did not stand out as a right-wing extremist

Update from Wednesday, April 1st, 2020, 10:27 am: Markus H., one of the two suspects in the Walter Lübcke murder case , is said to have been subjected to a "security check" by the authorities last year.

According to NDR and “Zeit Online”, he did not appear to be a right-wing extremist. Accordingly, a few days after the fatal assassination attempt on the President of Kassel in Kassel , the police reported to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution that Markus H. had "no current state police intelligence".

Kassel: Murder case Lübcke - Markus H. was checked by the police

Such a check was necessary because the neo-Nazi worked for an armaments company. A company spokesman said that nothing was known about the employee's attitude. He had no access to weapons or sensitive documents in the company.

For the SPD member of parliament Günter Rudolph (Edermünde), the new revelation "does not shed light on the security authorities". The breakdown speaks "for a worrying lack of attention in dealing with the right-wing terrorist threat".

Kassel: Information about Markus H. was not forwarded

According to NDR and “Zeit Online”, the ex-girlfriend of the 43-year-old is also said to have informed the family court in a custody dispute that Markus H. had illegal weapons and chemicals for producing explosives and was close to the citizens of the Reich. The court did not forward this information to the authorities.

Murder case Lübcke: Police checked suspected helpers https://t.co/Ik8XpbuyWX #Investigativ # Lübcke #Mord

The woman had described her former partner to the investigators as a driving “thinker”, while his buddy Stephan Ernst was the “doer”. This now coincides with statements made by the prison psychologist at the JVA I in Frankfurt. She describes Markus H. as "manipulative-calculating". Most recently, Stephan Ernst had accused his friend of shooting Lübcke. He denies the fact.

Kassel: Murder of Walter Lübcke - Second indictment against Stephan Ernst

Update from Friday, March 27th, 2020, 10.20am: The alleged murderer of the Kassel government president Walter Lübcke should be charged with a second crime. According to “Zeit Online” and NDR, Stephan Ernst has to answer for the attack on an Iraqi asylum seeker who was seriously injured with a knife in Lohfelden in January 2016.

The federal prosecutor's office, which plans to file the indictment soon, has not yet commented on this. The then 22-year-old Iraqi, who lived in a refugee shelter in Lohfelden, was attacked two and a half kilometers from Ernst's house. Ernst's defense attorney Frank Hannig said "Zeit Online" and NDR, the authorities tried to "put every unsolved crime in Kassel in the shoes of his client in recent years".

First report from March 9, 2020: Stephan Ernst does not believe the court

This emerges from a current decision of the Federal Court of Justice. It also shows that Markus H., like Stephan Ernst, remains in custody.

The 43-year-old is said to have helped to kill the Kassel government president Walter Lübcke. The decision also provides new insights into the murder case. Questions and answers.

How does the Federal Court of Justice justify its decision to leave Markus H. in custody?

The latest decision states that it is still highly likely that Stephan Ernst shot the President of the Government of Kassel Walter Lübcke for minor motives and that Markus H. contributed to this.

Murder of Walter Lübcke: Federal Court of Justice upholds Stephan Ernst's first statement

In his second confession at the beginning of January, Stephan Ernst charged Markus H. and said that it was not himself but his accomplice who shot Markus H. Walter Lübcke - accidentally. Does the latest decision also address this?

Stephan Ernst's latest confession is mentioned in the decision. However, since Ernst's statements do not coincide with the previous findings of the investigators, it is further assumed that the event took place as Stephan Ernst described it in his first confession - a few days after his arrest in June last year. Accordingly, the statements of the first confession that he had knowingly and willfully shot the President of Kassel, Walter Lübcke, fit into the evidence at the scene of the crime.

Are there other points that support this thesis?

The latest decision of the Federal Court of Justice reads that only DNA traces of Stephan Ernst, but not of Markus H., were found on the murder weapon and the ammunition contained therein. The original presentation is also in line with the autopsy result: that Ernst went unnoticed to Walter Lübcke on the terrace of his house in Wolfhagen-Istha in the Kassel district and shot specifically.

Murder of Walter Lübcke: autopsy result contradicts Stephan Ernst's changed statement

What is the autopsy result?

This is also listed in the latest decision. It states that the shot channel of the skull-brain bullet that caused the death was almost horizontal. This finding is much more difficult to explain in a dispute. In this respect, the result of the autopsy contradicts Stephan Ernst's statement in his second confession at the beginning of January. He had spoken of a dispute in the course of which Markus H. accidentally shot Walter Lübcke, the President of Kassel.

Is there any new information about what happened in the decision?

What is new is that, according to the latest decision, “camouflage marks” have been used to drive to the crime scene in order to minimize the risk of detection. This planned procedure would be in line with the precautionary rules that have been ensured by Stephan Ernst. The Federal Court of Justice sees this as another reason why Stephan Ernst's second admission is not true. Accordingly, he and Markus H. Walter Lübcke are said to have unmasked. This procedure can also be difficult to reconcile with the intention of only intimidating the President of Kassel, as this would have jeopardized Lübcke's identification.

Murder of Walter Lübcke: witness describes close friendship between Stephan Ernst and Markus H.

Do other reasons support the suspicion that Markus H. Stephan Ernst contributed to the murder?

The close relationship between Markus H. and Stephan Ernst is evidenced by Markus H.'s former partner. It confirms, as can be read in the decision, the joint participation in demonstrations and target practice. She also says that between October 2016 and October 2018 they were together five times at the shooting range of the shooting club in Niestetal.

When should Stephan Ernst and Markus H. be charged?

According to our newspaper, the charges against Stephan Ernst and Markus H. are currently being prepared. It should be collected in the coming weeks.

By Kathrin Meyer and Matthias Lohr (in collaboration with dpa)

The arrest warrant for Elmar J. was lifted in January - he had been accused of getting weapons for Stephan Ernst.

List of rubric lists: © Uli Deck / dpa