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Hunting

Police murder Kusel: Hobby hunter sentenced to life

Editorial Wild beim Wild — 30 November 2022

Earlier this year, a 24-year-old police cadet and a 29-year-old senior officer were shot and killed during a traffic stop on a district road in Rhineland-Palatinate near the district town of Kusel.

The cold-blooded hobby hunter Andreas S. (39) must now spend life in prison!

Poaching with fatal consequences

The two hobby hunters are said to have poachers who were caught in the police check. Exactly how the officers became aware of the two remains unclear. The loading area of their van allegedly contained numerous killed wild animals, said chief prosecutor Stefan Orthen.

The Kaiserslautern Regional Court convicted the poacher of double murder of police cadet Yasmin B. and senior officer Alexander K. on 31 January 2022. The two had caught Andreas S. and his accomplice Florian V. at night during illegal hobby hunting activities.

Andreas S. shot the uniformed police officers with a hunting rifle and a shotgun, according to the judges' conviction, in order to cover up the act, writes Bild.de.

He then fled with Florian V. to Sulzbach in the Saarland, where the court refrained from punishment in view of his contribution to solving the murders. There, Andreas S. calmly butchered the poached animals. When a special operations unit arrested him, he was still wearing his blood-soaked butcher's apron.

Life imprisonment for double murder

The insolvent police killer — he had driven an inherited bakery chain into the ground and had around two million euros in debt — denied the charges until the very end.

Andreas S. and his defence lawyers will likely not accept the verdict and will file an appeal.

«It is good that the court has delivered its verdict. However, this cannot alleviate the immeasurable suffering of the victims' families. Two people are missing. My thoughts are with the bereaved and the members of our police family. The large number of condolences has shown how deeply this act — as brutal as it was senseless — has moved people», said Interior Minister Ebling.

Following the act, a wave of profound grief and mourning swept through the Rhineland-Palatinate police force, the state, and the entire federal territory. Well over 20’000 messages reached the Rhineland-Palatinate police by post, by email, or via social media.

«This enormous outpouring of sympathy from the public provided great comfort during this difficult time. At the same time, it is also a sign that the vast majority of citizens not only stand behind the police, but are also by their side in their darkest hour», emphasized Dreyer and Ebling.

You can help all animals and our planet with compassion. Choose empathy on your plate and in your glass. Go vegan.
More on the topic of hobby hunting: In our Dossier on Hunting we compile fact checks, analyses, and background reports.

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