Overview
- The Cologne prosecutor confirmed an investigation on initial suspicion of faking crimes, including allegedly self-authored threat messages and staged injuries.
- Police searched a residence in Wermelskirchen on February 13 and seized multiple data carriers, including mobile phones, for forensic analysis.
- IT specialists reported indications that some threatening emails tied to the case may have been manipulated or fabricated.
- Both the referee and his partner underwent medico-legal examinations to determine whether the recorded injuries were self-inflicted or caused by a third party, with findings pending.
- Authorities have not named the suspect due to privacy and the presumption of innocence; media reports identify him as Pascal Kaiser, whose lawyer declined substantive comment.