Next Round in Trial Against Pilz in Pilnacek Case

Police Director Takacs and others feel defamed by a book by the former parliamentarian Pilz. In a motion, Takacs demands the confiscation of the book and the publication of a judgment. He is suing for compensation for defamation. According to Takacs, the book implies criminal behavior and falsely claims that Pilnacek was murdered in October 2023, while investigations suggest suicide. Additionally, Takacs feels wrongly portrayed as part of allegedly improper official proceedings. Pilz writes that a "turquoise police chain" has closed around Takacs.

Evaluation of Smartwatch Topic in Trial Against Pilz

On Monday, the investigation steps were once again a topic. In contrast to Pilnacek's phone, which was not evaluated by the investigators (and which, according to her own statements, was later destroyed with a blowtorch by Pilnacek's wife after being handed over to her), the smartwatch of the deceased senior official was indeed evaluated by the investigators. The fact that the phone was immediately handed over to the widow and not evaluated, but the smartwatch was later analyzed, was explained by Lower Austrian Chief Inspector Hannes Fellner in the witness stand by stating that in another case a smartwatch had played a role - "and so we had the idea whether the time of death could possibly be traced from the smartwatch or the last path." The intention was therefore to evaluate the watch in this regard - and this was also agreed with the Krems public prosecutor's office.

No Health or Geo Data on Smartwatch

The phone was not treated the same way because Pilnacek had left it in the house in Rossatz before his death, said Fellner. Therefore, it had "no relevance" for the investigators. It was only about evaluating the watch regarding the time of death. However, no "health or health data" could be found on the watch, nor any geo data, according to Fellner on the results of the evaluation by experts. The judge's question whether Fellner had deleted or manipulated any data on the smartwatch was clearly denied by him. A folder with "deleted files," which was reported, can be found on every device, said the officer.

Pilz Sees Contradictions

The fact that the smartwatch was secured, but not the phone, already caused discussion on the previous day of the trial. Pilz already identified a contradiction between the final report of the state criminal office created by Fellner on January 8, 2024, and the IT report of the Krems public prosecutor's office: In his report, Fellner stated that "the evaluation of the data available on the smartwatch did not yield any data relevant to the investigation in question, in particular, there are no entries regarding GPS locations and health data," as stated in the report also available to APA. In the IT report of the Krems public prosecutor's office, however, it is noted that "apparently many data are available in databases that can be used to further investigate the last hours of Mag. Pilnacek. In particular, the database (...) contains, among other things, obvious heart, wrist movement, and other events, which may allow more precise conclusions."

Collection of Pilnacek's Items at the Request of His Partner

The collection of Pilnacek's personal items by police officers from his then-partner and her friend living with her in Rossatz, where Pilnacek was last present before his death, was also discussed. The officers went to Rossatz because the two women had asked what they should do with the items (including Pilnacek's phone and apartment key). Both did not want to have contact with Pilnacek's relatives or his wife - hence this route was taken at their request. The further handover to Pilnacek's wife then took place through her lawyer, according to Fellner.

There was no mention of a Pilnacek laptop during the handover - he only learned of its existence about two weeks later when Pilnacek's wife asked about it, according to Fellner. He then inquired about the laptop in phone calls with Pilnacek's former partner and her roommate. However, they stated that they had no awareness of a laptop. However, the police officers who stopped Pilnacek during his drive under the influence of alcohol the night before his death reported that Pilnacek had taken a black briefcase from his car before getting into the car of his partner's roommate (who picked him up and drove with him to Rossatz). The subject of Fellner's interrogation was also the assessment of Fellner and the investigating officers, who very early assumed the former top official's death was a suicide. All officers on site when the body was found assumed it was a suicide, said Fellner.

Continuation of Trial Against Pilz on Tuesday

The trial will continue on Tuesday. Then, among others, Pilnacek's former partner and her roommate and employee of former National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) are summoned, with whom Pilnacek had lived in Rossatz before his death.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.