This is the man arrested for blowing up his own house before it was due to be auctioned for cash to pay back a 17,700 GBP debt he owed his mum.
The accused man, 59-year-old Rudiger Kohl, was the owner of the house in the picture postcard region of Birkenau im Odenwald, which is in the German province of Hesse.
But a court had ordered him evicted from his home and the house sold over an unpaid debt of 20,000 EUR (17,700 GBP) to his mother. Shortly before they were due to arrive however, the house was destroyed in a powerful explosion that also severely damaged a neighbouring property.
Emergency services that rushed to the scene searched the rubble, and when it was discovered that the explosion appeared to have been deliberately set, a manhunt began. But in a twist it appears that the man had been inside the property when the explosion took place, and had been knocked unconscious.
Bild newspaper reported that the 59-year-old was in the cellar of the property underneath the rubble, where he lay in a gap between two oil storage tankers used for central heating.
The accused man’s lawyer, Miriam Weiss, 32, said: “There has been a test by a doctor of his blood which shows he was unconscious for a long time. When he was arrested his entire clothing was covered in oil, but fortunately he only suffered some bruising and scratches.”
She refused to give any comments on the background but Bild reported that the property was due to be sold at auction because he had not repaid the money to his mother. If convicted of aggravated arson over the explosion, he faces up to 15 years in jail.
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Story By: Michael Leidig, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
