Copyright namibian
Double killer Ernst Lichtenstrasser is suspected to have taken his own life in prison. Lichtenstrasser (64) died at Windhoek Correctional Facility on Sunday, the commissioner general of the Namibian Correctional Service, Raphael Hamunyela, has confirmed. Hamunyela says it is suspected that Lichtenstrasser took his own life, but this is to be confirmed with a post-mortem examination. Lichtenstrasser was sentenced in the Windhoek High Court to two terms of life imprisonment near the end of April 2024. He was convicted of murdering the two top executives of the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (Nimt) at Arandis on 15 April 2019. Nimt executive director Eckhart Mueller (72) and his deputy, Heimo Hellwig (60), were killed when they were both gunned down at the Nimt head office at Arandis. Lichtenstrasser, who was employed by Nimt at Tsumeb, was involved in a dispute with the top management of Nimt before the double murder was committed. He denied guilt during his trial before judge Christie Liebenberg. An application by Lichtenstrasser to be allowed to appeal to the Supreme Court against his conviction and sentence was struck from the court roll by Liebenberg in September last year. Lichtenstrasser also made a suicide attempt in prison in November 2023, after he was found guilty.
