Mushroom Trial Continued - Judge: "We Don't Have to Argue Right Away"

The officers accuse him of defamation due to his criticism of the police in his book about the death of former Justice Section Chief Christian Pilnacek. The community doctor, who confirmed the death at the accident site, contradicted the statements of Pilnacek's then-girlfriend as a witness.

She had stated as a witness at the Vienna Regional Court on Tuesday that the community doctor had told her: "He never killed himself. Men don't go into the water, men shoot themselves, hang themselves, but never in water." The doctor sharply countered: "I certainly didn't say such nonsense."

"If there's a corpse, the police need me. Not the other way around"

At the beginning of today's trial day, which also concerns the plaintiffs' request for the confiscation of the book ("The Death of the Section Chief"), the community doctor described being called to the site to confirm the death. The "deep blue skull" was noticeable. Since she didn't know what he had died from, she suggested an autopsy to the police officers. She encountered "massive resistance" to this. "That has never happened to me before. This is also completely unusual behavior towards a doctor." Normally, she doesn't have a dispute with the police in such a situation. "If there's a corpse, the police need me. Not the other way around."

Eventually, a policewoman called the responsible prosecutor. The doctor can only suggest an autopsy; it must be ordered by the prosecutor's office. She finally got the phone and said to the well-known prosecutor: "Sweetie, if I have a job now, so do you. We need an autopsy." The prosecutor replied: "Just because he's well-known, we don't need an autopsy," to which the community doctor responded: "I don't need an autopsy because he's well-known, but because I don't know how he died." She emphasized again today: "Whether it's Mr. Pilnacek or a homeless person, I personally don't care." Ultimately, she wrote a "two-liner" on the prosecutor's instructions and handed it to the police, after which the autopsy was ordered.

She was "not friends" with Pilnacek's then-girlfriend but had spoken with her about the police's actions "because I was so outraged."

Forensic Pathologist Spoke Out

In the afternoon, the forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsy was called. He found no evidence suggesting a homicide, he replied to a related question. The body showed typical "drowning findings" such as watery stomach contents. He had a few hematomas, but these could be attributed to a fall. Additionally, none of the injuries could be classified as "severe." "These injuries are absolutely atypical for blows," he emphasized. The autopsy also did not reveal any indications of a pre-existing heart condition.

He conducted the autopsy six days after Pilnacek's death because he was traveling at the time of death. This is not an unusual procedure and was also coordinated with the public prosecutor's office. The body was properly cooled and showed no signs of decay. There were no interventions from politicians or journalists to "shape" the report in a certain way. During the autopsy, an alcohol level of 1.4 per mille was found. The time of death is difficult to determine in water corpses.

For the forensic pathologist, suicide is plausible. On one hand, there were shoe prints leading to the water, on the other hand, a fall into the water would generally not leave any injuries. However, it is not his task to judge whether it was an accident or suicide.

Right at the beginning of today's trial day, the statements of Pilnacek's then-girlfriend on Tuesday were a topic. She had testified as a witness that after the death she called the then chancellor's wife Katharina Nehammer and offered support, even though the two did not know each other. Early today, he received an email from Nehammer stating that she does not know Pilnacek's then-girlfriend, said Judge Daniel Potmesil. She accused her of false testimony and announced a factual presentation.

Quite a Rough Tone

As on the last day of the trial on Tuesday, the tone between the parties was quite rough today as well. Only a few minutes after the start, Potmesil had to intervene for the first time: "It is only 9:34 AM, we don't have to argue right away."

This did not change after 1 PM, when the plaintiff's lawyer, Linda Poppenwimmer, called Pilz to the witness stand. She wanted to know from him whether he had asked the many questions he directed at the court expert today during his research for the book. "No, I presented the report to other experts," and asked them for their opinion, said Pilz. He was further questioned about the report by Michael Tsokos, which was published on "zackzack." This report concluded, for example, that relevant drowning findings were missing.

Pilz wanted to call this very expert as a witness, but the judge rejected this, as he (just like the also requested and rejected lawyer Martin Kreutner) had no direct perceptions. "This is not about determining the cause of Christian Pilnacek's death." Potmesil left open whether he would allow the summoning of "Krone" journalist Erich Vogl. The trial was adjourned to find a date for questioning the roommate of Pilnacek's partner, who was unable to attend on Tuesday due to illness. This should "hopefully" take place in November, but maybe not until December. A verdict is also expected on that day.

(APA/Red)

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