Erzgebirgskrimi - Der letzte Bissen (2021)

Chief Inspector Robert Winkler and his colleague Karina Szabo investigate the murder of Judge Dr. Drösser, who was shot by an unknown assailant in his hunting grounds. The murder weapon is distinctive, as it was most likely an antique hunting rifle—a muzzleloader loaded with lead balls. Drösser made many enemies through his work as a judge, any of whom could be the killer. Among them are beekeeper Ronny Beer and organic farmer Carmen Weißflog, who feel they were treated unfairly because, in their view, Drösser favored his friend, large-scale farmer Arnold Huber, in earlier cases. When word spreads among the public that the judge was shot with a historical long gun, the legend of “Stülpner-Karl” starts circulating: a man who went down in the history of the Ore Mountains as the “Saxon Robin Hood.” The search for the weapon leads to a theater group in a neighboring town, which reported a similar rifle stolen. The group’s prop master, Martin Ganser, explains, however, that the missing item was not functional. A few days later, large-scale farmer Huber is also found shot dead. Here, too, everything initially points to the unknown avenger, but this time an ordinary hunting rifle was used. According to a text message on Huber’s phone, “Stülpner-Karl” had summoned him to the woods. That very night, the supposed culprit breaks into Huber’s house and takes all the cash he can find there. The next morning, numerous people in town receive gifts of money from “Stülpner-Karl.” During their investigation at the Huber farm, Winkler and Szabo find large quantities of pesticides stored close to the accommodation for the harvest workers, who have since returned to their home country. Karina Szabo cannot let the matter rest, and her research reveals that a woman named Maria had worked there until recently, had been heavily exposed to the pesticides, and then fell seriously ill. Despite a complaint filed by Maria’s boyfriend, Huber was acquitted. Meanwhile, evidence points to Sebastian Kreuzig, Huber’s foreman, as the culprit. Confronted with the facts, he admits to shooting Huber because he could no longer stand watching him mistreat the people around him, especially his wife. The murder of the judge gave him the idea of punishing his loathsome boss for his inhumanity. To solve the murder of Judge Drösser, Robert Winkler receives an important tip that leads to Martin Ganser, the theater group’s prop master. Ganser was the boyfriend of Marie, who was pregnant by him but lost the baby because of the poisoning and also died herself. Her funeral took place the day before the judge was murdered. Ganser is arrested as he is attempting to commit another murder.