Justicia Shipena
Former Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) employee and convicted double murderer Ernst Lichtenstrasser has died in custody.
Lichtenstrasser (64) was found dead on Sunday morning at the Windhoek Correctional Facility.
The deputy commissioner general of Namibia Correctional Service (NCS), Sam Shalulange, told the Windhoek Observer that Lichtenstrasser had been ill before his death.
Shalulange said Lichtenstrasser had been receiving medical attention at the facility’s clinic.
“Mr Lichtenstrasser was a patient. He was even at the sick bay when he died. The sick bay is the clinic in the facilities. So, he has been a patient,” he said.
Despite this, he stated that the exact cause of death is still unknown.
“That can only be determined through the post-mortem. We cannot up to now confirm whether it was a suicide. That is just a suspicion that it might have been an overdose,” he said.
Shalulange said there is no official confirmation linking the death to any specific cause until the autopsy results are released.
When asked about the illness, Shalulange said details remain unclear.
“I can’t really say now. I just know that he was ill, and that’s why he was kept at the clinic. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it was,” he said.
Lichtenstrasser was convicted of murdering NIMT executive director Eckhart Mueller and his deputy, Heimo Hellwig, at the institute’s head office in Arandis on 15 April 2019.
He was found guilty on two counts of murder and six additional charges, including possession of a firearm without a licence, illegal possession of ammunition, theft, defeating the course of justice, and unauthorised supply of a firearm and ammunition.
In April last year, High Court judge Christie Liebenberg sentenced him in the Windhoek High Court to two life terms for the murders, equal to 25 years each before parole eligibility. He also received 16 years for the other offences.
Liebenberg at that time said the killings were brazen and merciless and described Lichtenstrasser as a danger to society.
During his time in prison, he attempted suicide last year and went on a hunger strike earlier this year.
He once made headlines for testifying during a bail application that he wanted to be released from jail to have a baby with his wife.
Lichtenstrasser had worked at NIMT and was in conflict with management before the murders.
