Africa-Press – Namibia. DNA test results are linking firearm parts and a gun holster found buried in the desert near Arandis to the man accused of murdering the two top executives of the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (Nimt) in April 2019, according to evidence heard in the Windhoek High Court.
A former chief forensic scientist at the National Forensic Science Institute of Namibia, Maryn Swart, testified in the High Court on Thursday that a DNA profile found on firearm parts and a holster which were submitted to the institute for examination matched the DNA profile of a reference sample, labelled ‘Suspect’, that was also analysed by the institute.
According to previous testimony heard during the trial of Ernst Lichtenstrasser, an ex-employee of Nimt, a medical doctor at Walvis Bay took the reference sample from him in May 2019 – a month after Lichtenstrasser’s arrest in connection with the killing of Nimt executive director Eckhart Mueller and his deputy, Heimo Helwig.
The estimated probability of selecting an unrelated person at random from the Caucasion population with the same DNA profile as the profiles found on the firearm parts and holster is one in 1,62 nonillion, Swart concluded in a report provided to the court. With a nonillion being a figure of one followed by 30 zeroes, that is an extremely miniscule probability.
During Lichtenstrasser’s trial before judge Christie Liebenberg last week, the court also heard that a team of police officers discovered the items which were subsequently sent to the institute for examination buried in the desert about 15 kilometres from Arandis in the Erongo region on 17 May 2019.
A crime-scene officer of the Namibian Police, warrant officer Fernanda Ganda, testified that she was called out to the scene where the items were found at a rocky outcrop to take photographs.
The items found there included parts of a disassembled pistol, a holster and 18 live bullets, Ganda recounted. The firearm parts, holster and ammunition were discovered a month after Mueller (72) and Hellwig (60) had been gunned down at the Nimt head office at Arandis on 15 April 2019.
The state is alleging that Lichtenstrasser (60) shot the two men with an unlicensed 9mm pistol after he had been in a dispute with them about a decision to transfer him from the Nimt campus at Tsumeb, where he had been stationed, to Keetmanshoop.
The state is also alleging that Lichtenstrasser fled from the murder scene after the deadly shooting and drove into the desert near Arandis, where he then allegedly took apart the murder weapon and buried it together with a holster and ammunition.
Lichtenstrasser denied guilt on eight charges – including two counts of murder, charges of possession of a firearm and amunition without a licence, and a count of defeating or obstructing the course of justice – when his trial began in February this year.
At the end of Swart’s testimony on Thursday, the trial was postponed to 14 March next year. The trial is also scheduled to continue during the week from 28 March and the week from 18 July 2022.
Lichtenstrasser, who was arrested at Karibib on the evening of 16 April 2019, is being held in custody. He is being represented by legal aid lawyer Albert Titus. Deputy prosecutor general Antonia Verhoef is representing the state.
