Murder of Michèle Kiesewetter

(Redirected from Michèle Kiesewetter)

Michèle Kiesewetter[1] (10 October 1984 in Oberweißbach – 25 April 2007 in Heilbronn), a German police officer, was killed by neo-Nazi terrorists. On the 25 April 2007, Kiesewetter and her partner were on patrol in their police car. At approximately 2:00 p.m., they stopped in a corner of a large parking lot in Heilbronn to have a lunch break. Shortly after, both officers were ambushed and shot in the head by two gunmen, approaching from behind the vehicle. Kiesewetter, sitting in the driver's seat, was fatally injured. Her partner, sitting in the passenger's seat, was badly injured, but survived the attack. When the police and the ambulance arrived on the scene, both officers were lying on the ground, next to their car, and their handguns and handcuffs were stolen. The gunmen have also been implicated with the murders of nine other people, most with Turkish roots, between 2000 and 2006, the so-called NSU murders.

Commemorative marker near the site of Officer Kiesewetter's murder

Aftermath

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Following Kiesewetter's death, the investigation focused on the so-called Phantom of Heilbronn. The investigations were concentrated in a special task force "parking lot" at the Heilbronn police department. In January 2009, the reward for clues regarding the whereabouts of the person was increased to €300,000.[2][3]

Kiesewetter's service pistol, a Heckler & Koch P2000, was later retrieved, along with that of her colleague, when Uwe Böhnhardt and Uwe Mundlos, two German neo-Nazis, committed suicide in Eisenach, Germany, on 4 November 2011, revealing the connection to the "Bosphorus murders".[clarify] Forensic experts also found traces of DNA on evidence recovered from among the remains of the neo-Nazi trio's flat at Zwickau that further strengthen the link.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Spelling of first name according to: Buchholz, Helmut (18 April 2012). "Polizistenmord: Neue Gedenkstele, anderer Akzent". www.stimme.de. Heilbronner Stimme GmbH & Co. KG. Heilbronner Stimme. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  2. ^ ""Phantom von Heilbronn" hat es nie gegeben" (in German). News von Morgen. 2009-03-26. Archived from the original on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-03-28.
  3. ^ Q-Tip-Off - Police Fear 'Serial Killer' Was Just DNA Contamination Der Spiegel. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  4. ^ DNA Tests Solidify Suspicions in Police Killing Case Der Spiegel. Retrieved 15 August 2012.