Christian Pilnaceks was remembered on Saturday during a funeral mass in the Augustinian Church in Vienna. The former powerful department head of the Ministry of Justice died in October. Since the ‘crown’ was confirmed, his autopsy report is now available.
“Christian did not kill himself. His life was taken,” Caroline List, the widow of Christian Pilnacek, herself president of the regional criminal court in Graz, said at the funeral mass in Vienna. During the requiem, she also emphasized that Pilnacek believed until the end that he could achieve victory in the internal judicial dispute and refute the allegations against him. However, due to his death, there will no longer be a legally binding outcome of the proceedings.
Traveling as a ghost driver
Pilnacek was a wrong-way driver on the S5 highway in the Stockerau region (Lower Austria) on the night of October 20. After he was arrested by the police and his driver’s license was confiscated, he allegedly took his own life. His body was found in the Lower Austrian municipality of Rossatz-Arnsdorf and an autopsy was ordered. As now available autopsy results show, Pilnacek also died where the body was found.
As the responsible Krems Public Prosecutor confirmed to the Crown, the cause of death was drowning. According to the Public Prosecution Service, malicious intent can be ruled out. However, the report is “not clear” whether the top official’s death was a suicide or an accident.
Statements included
As the “Krone” and the ORF revealed, Christian Pilnacek was secretly recorded a few months before his death during a meeting with three other people. His statements caused a political earthquake that continues to this day and particularly affects the President of the National Council, Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP).
If you or a person around you is in an exceptional psychological situation or suffers from suicidal thoughts, you can contact the pastoral telephone number 142. Other crisis hotlines and emergency numbers can be found HERE.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
