However, though the examination of the partially skeletonised corpse could exclude the use of dull (hammer), stabbing and cutting (not to mention shooting) weapons and poison, the real cause of Rudolf Rupp's death is still unclear.

:: :: :: :: ::

What now? There are no legal consequences as yet: the judge who rejected the appeal by the defence for a retrial turned the burden of proof upside down. Justice cannot have erred!

The judge would consent to a retrial only if evidence pointing to the innocence of the family members would turn up. He maintained that the motive and the part of the confessions up until the dismemberment of the corpse are still valid -- without attempting to explain why only part of the confessions was a lie. (The defense attorneys point out that most of the confessions were taken in poorly documented hour-long interrogations without a lawyer present.)

The judge also claimed that an accident or suicide can be excluded (even though he was last seen leaving a pub at 1am in his car after drinking lots of beer), and hypothetised that Rudolf Rupp was knocked unconscious. Defense counters the judge's hypothesis with the time factor: the time of unconsciousness would last only minutes, not enough to transport him to the Danube.

The request for retrial will now go one instance higher on appeal.