In the murder trial of fatal shots at two police officers in the Palatinate, the accused 39-year-old blamed his alleged accomplice for the death of one of the victims.
His client heard shots during the incident at the end of January and was "perplexed," said the man's defense attorney on Tuesday in a statement at the start of the trial in the Kaiserslautern district court.
His client also shot afterwards – but "only to ensure that he was no longer shot at," said the defense attorney, describing a kind of self-defense situation.
The 39-year-old saw muzzle flashes in the confusing night-time situation and fired in this direction.
After the incident at Kusel, he wanted to present himself to the authorities in Saarland, but he wanted to speak to his wife beforehand - so a special task force (SEK) preempted him and arrested him.
The 33-year-old accomplice's defense attorney dismissed the account as inaccurate and "predictable".
It was as his client described during the interrogation.
After about an hour, the court adjourned the trial until Monday, June 27 at 9 a.m.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the 39-year-old of having killed a 24-year-old police officer and her 29-year-old colleague with several gunshots during a night traffic check to cover up poaching.
The prosecution accuses the man of two murders, "out of greed and to cover up a crime".
The judiciary accuses the second man of attempted evasion, among other things.
He helped cover up the tracks.
In addition, both are accused of joint nocturnal hunting poaching.
According to the judiciary, the two suspects fled and were arrested a few hours later in Saarland.
The crime caused outrage across the country.
14 appointments are planned up to September 9, and many experts and witnesses have been invited.