"We did not expect that," said defender Alois Kovac. What is meant: Kovac and his colleague Stefan Bonn did not assume that their client Nedzad A. would remain in custody. But that is precisely the decision of the three professional judges of the 2nd Grand Criminal Court of the district court of Giessen. They have rejected the lawyers' request to lift the arrest warrant against A.

Family members, friends, and journalists had to wait during the announcement in front of the hall 207 in Gießen district court, just under 20 minutes long. Then there were tears with the relatives. They did not expect Nedzad A. to stay in custody.

The 48-year-old has since September because of the allegation of blackmail robbery in court to answer. He is said to have abducted in June 2015, together with accomplices the son of the Baden-Württemberg billionaire and so-called screw king Reinhold Würth to extort three million euros ransom.

The son, Markus Würth, has been mentally retarded since childhood vaccination. One day after his kidnapping from an integrative institution in the Hessian slot, he was released. The perpetrators chained the then 50-year-old to a tree in a forest near Würzburg. One of the kidnappers told the mother, Carmen Würth, where she could find her son.

Voice opinion is the strongest indication of the prosecution

Several phone calls of the offender with Carmen Würth were recorded. A vote of two experts from the University of Marburg came to the conclusion that it is the voice of the caller "almost certainly" is the voice of the defendant. But there are doubts about the validity of the report. The voice of a human being is not as distinctive as a DNA trace.

Two people who grew up under almost identical conditions and in a very, very similar environment could also be difficult to distinguish in their language and voice. This theoretical possibility exists, said the voice experts. The presiding judge Jost Holtzmann, also the adjudicating judges and the aldermen were always behind. They did not seem to know exactly what probative value they can attach to the report. It is the strongest evidence the prosecution has. But is it enough to convict Nedzad A.?

The defenders Bonn and Kovac had taken up the skepticism of the judges and requested the release of the defendant on the day of the expert survey. An urgent suspicion was no longer given, they submitted.

The three professional judges saw it differently now, the two aldermen were not allowed to co-decide. The judges still regard the urgent suspicion as given. The decision is based on the vote, said a court spokesman after the non-public meeting. A clear signal for or against a conviction that is not, the further evidence remains to be seen.

However, it is coming to an end. On November 14, more witnesses will be heard. Already on 22 or 26 November could be pleaded. Unless the defense insists on hearing two of their own reviewers. Defense attorney Kovac left this open after the arrest warrant.

The judges smile, the defenders laugh

In public hearing, a police officer had previously commented on details of the failed transfer of money. What he described caused happiness in the hall. The couple Würth should dig out a glass behind a tree at night in a forest. There were radios in the glass. Your car should spray the parents with fluorescent paint, attach a flashlight on the car roof and drive with speed 80 flashing on a highway. You should pay attention to a radio or light signal.

The Würths would then stop immediately and throw a backpack with three million euros over a guardrail. In fact, it was not the Würths but the police squad with colleagues who drove the route. They did not meet the perpetrators.

The policeman spoke of several "planning errors" of the kidnappers:

  • The radio had no reliable reception at 80 km / h.
  • Three million euros did not fit in a backpack. Three bags were needed.
  • Also, the requirement to mark the car with fluorescent paint, had not been complied with. They have some equipment, but even the police do not have that color, said the witness.

In addition, the kidnappers had taken a significant risk of discovery: "If I were kidnapper, I would have opted for a less obvious variant than someone with 80 kilometers per hour, a flashlight on the car roof, permanently flashing and send with three million euros in the trunk at night on the highway" said the policeman.

The judges smile, even the lawyer of the Würth family and the defenders laugh. Only the accused is not laughing.

Not an hour later, the judges decide on his freedom. Nedzad A. remains in custody.