4 February 2014

On the identification of the Ceska pistol as the murder weapon

A weapons expert of the federal police today caused some confusion in his failed attempt to orally summarize his written reports on the identification of the silenced Ceska 83 pistol found in the Frühlingsstraße apartment as the murder weapon. For a short moment, the Wohlleben defence scented the morning air, but a closer look at the evidence reveals no doubt concerning the identification.

First off, however, another weapons expert of the federal criminal police, Nennstiel, very clearly explained his inspections of the Ceska and Bruni pistols used in many of the NSU’s murders. He had fired shots with these weapons and had compared the resulting projectiles with those found at the murder scenes. The Ceska had clearly been identified as the murder weapon, with regard to the Bruni pistol, a modified gas pistol, identity with the murder weapon could neither be conclusively confirmed nor denied. He had also succeeded in rendering visible the Ceska’s weapons number.

Nennstiel was followed by weapons expert Pfoser, also of the federal criminal police, who had also written several reports. Most importantly, he had, early on in the investigation, not only found out that the murders had been committed with a Ceska 83, but had also found aluminum particles on the projectiles which could only have come from a silencer.

Sadly he was unable to comprehensibly present his analyses in court, thus inadvertently raising doubts concerning his results. This was all the more inauspicious since, given the clear expert report by Nennstiel, all that remained to be shown was which of the projectiles used in his studies were found at which murder scene.

The court may thus have to have the reports explained again by an expert who is able to present them in a comprehensible way in court. However, should the Wohlleben defence try to use his oral report to raise doubts concerning Wohlleben’s guilt, it will fail – the clear report of Nennstiel and the equally compelling written reports of Pfoser show that the Ceska 83 pistol provided by Wohlleben and Schultze was the gun used in nine of the NSU murders.