Trial after the police murder in Kusel: the accused surprised with a personal statement in tears

Created: 06/28/2022, 17:45

By: Nadja Zinsmeister

The 39-year-old main defendant is sitting in the courtroom of the district court in Kaiserslautern.

© Uwe Anspach/dpa

The trial in the case of the murdered police officers in Kusel is currently taking place in the district court of Kaiserslautern.

The main defendant denies the murder charge.

Several witnesses describe dramatic scenes.

Kaiserslautern - It is the third day of the trial in the case of the two police officers who were shot in Kusel.

The district court of Kaiserslautern is investigating the main defendant, 39-year-old Andreas S. He is accused of having shot two police officers during a police check on January 31, 2022.

Now the accused made a personal statement in the courtroom, sometimes in tears.

On Tuesday, the main defendant made a first personal statement in the police murder trial.

In it, the 39-year-old man denied the murder charge.

Although he fired three shots at a police officer during a nightly vehicle check at the end of January, he said the officer fired first.

Process after police murders: the main defendant surprises with a personal statement

The statement was previously unannounced and came as a surprise amid questioning of witnesses in court.

"It flashed in front of me, it hit the vehicle.

I couldn't grasp the situation at all," said the main suspect.

The interlude, in which he described a kind of self-defense for himself, lasted two hours.

The explanation was occasionally interrupted by sobs.

According to his own statement, he decided to make the statement because the process was fair.

Andreas S. blamed the death of the 24-year-old police candidate on Tuesday on the co-accused, his accomplice on the night of the crime.

He is accused of helping to cover tracks but not shooting.

According to the main defendant, however, the 33-year-old co-defendant shot the policewoman.

Judge Raphael Mall said after the admission: "I have to let that sink in for a moment." Already at the beginning of the trial, the lawyer for the main defendant had read out such an assignment of blame, which was rejected by the lawyer for the 33-year-old.

Video: Police murders - the accused accuses accomplices

Kaiserslautern district court: Witnesses describe shots at the time of the crime

Witnesses to the night of the crime were also interviewed on Tuesday and audio recordings were played from a surveillance camera located near the crime scene.

The shots that were heard were confirmed by witnesses in court.

"It was a series of shots.

Almost like a battery of fireworks,” said a 47-year-old man, among others, and banged his fist on the table four times.

Another witness said he heard someone yell "stop" next to the shots.

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A particularly dramatic statement followed after witnesses reported a clear, hard last bang on Tuesday.

According to a 65-year-old witness, this sounded “like a final shot of an animal”.

The next day of the trial is scheduled for Thursday (June 30).

On Monday, police colleagues also testified in court in the case of the police murders.

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