Neo-Nazi defendant does crosswords during trial
Journalists at the trial of Beate Zschäpe, the woman accused of being part of a neo-Nazi murder cell, say she is showing little interest in the evidence being presented against her, choosing instead to do crossword puzzles and eat sweets.
The far-right National Socialist Undergroud (NSU) terror cell is accused of the murder of nine people with migrant roots and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007.
The trial in Munich of one of the key members of the cell, Beate Zschäpe, and others accused of facilitating the murders, entered its 50th day on Thursday.
But news site Spiegel reported Zschäpe has been filling the long hours in the Munich court by completing crossword puzzles.
Her associates Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt committed suicide in 2011, prompting Zschäpe to give herself up to the police.
The focus of the trial has recently turned to the 2005 murder of Ismail Yasar, a 50 year-old man of Turkish origin who was shot dead at the doner kebab kiosk in Nuremberg where he worked.
The Munich court had been considering the possibility that Zschäpe may have been behind an untraceable call to the emergency services shortly after the attack.
However, that likelihood was considerably reduced by the testimony of a Chemnitz policewoman who said that the untraceable caller did not make any utterance when put through.
The court also heard from a police officer who examined the mobile home where Zschäpe's associates, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, committed suicide.
Letters addressed to left-wing parties, media outlets and Turkish groups were found at the mobile home, along with wads of cash and USB sticks.
The most disturbing discovery however was a 15-minute video containing clips from the pink panther cartoon series blended with television news reports about the murders.
The handwriting featured in parts of the video is strongly suspected to belong to Mundlos and Böhnhardt. The court heard that the findings at the scene suggest “the cell had many more plans.”
READ MORE: Zschäpe lovely, say neighbours
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The far-right National Socialist Undergroud (NSU) terror cell is accused of the murder of nine people with migrant roots and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007.
The trial in Munich of one of the key members of the cell, Beate Zschäpe, and others accused of facilitating the murders, entered its 50th day on Thursday.
But news site Spiegel reported Zschäpe has been filling the long hours in the Munich court by completing crossword puzzles.
Her associates Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt committed suicide in 2011, prompting Zschäpe to give herself up to the police.
The focus of the trial has recently turned to the 2005 murder of Ismail Yasar, a 50 year-old man of Turkish origin who was shot dead at the doner kebab kiosk in Nuremberg where he worked.
The Munich court had been considering the possibility that Zschäpe may have been behind an untraceable call to the emergency services shortly after the attack.
However, that likelihood was considerably reduced by the testimony of a Chemnitz policewoman who said that the untraceable caller did not make any utterance when put through.
The court also heard from a police officer who examined the mobile home where Zschäpe's associates, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, committed suicide.
Letters addressed to left-wing parties, media outlets and Turkish groups were found at the mobile home, along with wads of cash and USB sticks.
The most disturbing discovery however was a 15-minute video containing clips from the pink panther cartoon series blended with television news reports about the murders.
The handwriting featured in parts of the video is strongly suspected to belong to Mundlos and Böhnhardt. The court heard that the findings at the scene suggest “the cell had many more plans.”
READ MORE: Zschäpe lovely, say neighbours
The Local/kkf
Follow us on Twitter @thelocalgermany
Like The Local Germany on Facebook
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