FFive days after the escape of convicted murderer Aleksandr P. in Rhineland-Palatinate, the police are still looking for the man. The Pforzheim police confirmed this to the FAZ on Saturday. A “higher double-digit number” of tips from the public had been received by Thursday, a spokesman for the Pforzheim police said on Friday morning. The escaped prisoner had previously been sentenced to prison for manslaughter.
The 43-year-old was serving a life sentence in prison in Bruchsal (Baden-Württemberg) when he was able to escape on Monday in the area of an quarry lake in Germersheim-Sondernheim in the Palatinate – around 30 kilometers from Bruchsal. At that time he was being carried out there under the supervision of two correctional officers and was supposed to meet his wife and two children, the spokesman said. He managed to escape into an adjacent forest. His electronic ankle bracelet was found a short time later in the city of Germersheim.
The fugitive was convicted of, among other things, murder by the Karlsruhe Regional Court on May 7, 2012. According to the court, the then 32-year-old lured his victim from Pforzheim to Gotha on January 7, 2011, tied him up and beat him. He and a co-accused, then 30-year-old woman, then drove with the injured man (44) to the southern Palatinate. There the now 43-year-old strangled the victim.
He could still be in Rhineland-Palatinate, maybe he is hiding in Baden-Württemberg or he has escaped abroad. The police were unable to provide the FAZ with any new status of the investigation. The fact is: the case leaves many questions.
How could that happen?
This actually doesn’t seem to have been resolved yet. “Our focus at the moment is clearly on catching the fugitive,” says Pforzheim public prosecutor Henrik Blaßies. To do this, we also pool our strengths. “We will investigate the more precise circumstances of the escape later.” It is still unclear, among other things, whether the man was helped to escape. The only thing that is certain is that on Monday he was in the area of the quarry pond in Germersheim and was supposed to meet his wife and children under the supervision of two correctional officers.
Is there any information about the man’s whereabouts?
At least not officially. According to a spokesman for the State Criminal Police Office, around 50 tips are being pursued, including statements from witnesses who claim to have seen the fleeing murderer. The police and the public prosecutor’s office in Pforzheim also say that investigations are carried out in all directions and sometimes covertly. According to the LKA, the investigation is not only limited to Germany, but the man is also wanted across Europe. But so far without success. The German-Kazakh has disappeared.
Would he have been released soon?
Not in the next few years. A life sentence can only be suspended after 15 years at the earliest. Since he had to serve another prison sentence in the meantime, the life sentence will be served from the end of October 2028. Actually. Because “a so-called minimum period of serving for his current sentence has not yet been determined by the responsible court,” says the head of the Bruchsal JVA, Thomas Weber, and emphasizes: “In view of the detention dates mentioned above, there was no provision in any way for the prisoner to be released now to prepare for a possible dismissal in the foreseeable future.”
What is a convicted murderer from Bruchsal doing at a quarry lake in Rhineland-Palatinate?
This is by no means unusual, emphasizes the public prosecutor’s office. On the one hand, the “Sollachsee” area seemed “a suitable location” for the correctional facility, says Weber. On the other hand, the trip to the quarry pond is a “prison-opening measure within the meaning of the Baden-Württemberg Correctional Code”. In these cases, a prisoner is allowed to leave the prison for a certain time of the day under the supervision of prison officers. The now fugitive man also “left the walls to protect his own human rights,” says Blaßies. “This wasn’t a special case.”
Has he been outside the prison often?
Yes, since October 2019, according to the prison, the man has been allowed to go on a total of eight so-called executions accompanied by two to three prison employees. He was always accompanied by his wife and two children. There have never been any complaints. In such cases, there is no provision for prisoners to be tied to an employee, says Weber.
How could the man manage to remove his ankle bracelet?
According to the authorities, this also still needs to be clarified. The man’s electronic ankle bracelet was found in Germersheim, Palatinate, a short time after his escape. “How and possibly with what aids the prisoner was able to get rid of the shackles is also currently being examined,” says Weber, head of the Bruchsal prison.
Has there ever been a similar case before?
According to the Ministry of Justice, this year is the second escape during an execution; there were no such cases last year, three the year before and even eight in 2017. Compared to the past ten years, this number has not increased. There are more cases in open prisons, which are also less controlled. The ministry has registered ten cases there so far this year and five last year, although in previous years there were mostly double-digit numbers.
#Prison #break #Pforzheim #Investigators #murderer #Europe