German authorities have admitted they were aware of testimony that called a 1981 verdict in a left-wing terrorist murder case into question, but they never acted on it. Now, the investigation into the murder of Chief Prosecutor Siegfried Buback is being re-opened.

Verena Becker told German authorities her version of the Buback murder in 1982. But they never acted on it. Three decades ago, as Germany was overwhelmed by a series of bloody terrorist attacks committed by the home-grown Red Army Faction (RAF), the country was paralyzed by what came to be known as the German Autumn. Now, with new details regarding the dramatic 1977 murder of chief federal prosecutor Siegfried Buback emerging on an almost daily basis, the country may be experiencing a German Spring.

Indeed, on Wednesday it became increasingly clear that the German government had long had information that contradicted the version of the Buback murder used to convict RAF members Christian Klar and Knut Folkerts in 1981. A third attacker, Günter Sonnenberg, was not tried due to major injuries he received during his arrest. Now, though, evidence seems to be mounting that a fourth RAF member, Stefan Wisniewski, may have been involved in the attack. Indeed, he may have been the one to fire the deadly bullets.