"Krone" has call log

Pilnacek’s last call was to Kurz

The telephone list of the deceased section chief is available to the "Krone" newspaper.(Bild: APA/EXPA/JOHANN GRODER)

Sensational revelation in the Christian Pilancek case: the last person the section chief spoke to on the phone before his death was former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. This is evident from the analysis of Pilancek's smartwatch, which is available to "Krone." 

The call was made by Pilnacek at 8:55 p.m. on October 19 and lasted only eleven seconds. The documents do not reveal whether a short conversation took place or whether Pilancek left a message on the voicemail. However, Sebastian Kurz will probably have to provide information about this before the ongoing investigative committee.

So far, Kurz has only admitted that he was in contact with Pilancek on the evening in question. Nothing is known about the content of the conversation, nor is it known that it was Pilancek's last phone call.

From the outset, Kurz spoke of suicide in connection with Pilancek's death.(Bild: Eva Manhart)

Criticism of suicide claims from the outset
In the Pilancek case, Kurz is primarily quoted and criticized for having spoken of suicide from the outset. Perhaps the statements can be traced back to this very phone call. The parliamentary investigation will bring clarity.

Dispute over Kurz's summons
A dispute has recently arisen between the NEOS and the ÖVP over Kurz's appearance as a witness before the investigative committee. The Pinks want Kurz to appear, but the Blacks are not so enthusiastic. According to the Salzburger Nachrichten, the chancellor's party is said to have "friendly but firmly reminded its small coalition partner in the three-party government of the joint government program" behind the scenes. The FPÖ could also summon Kurz on its own, but has not yet decided to do so. However, this is likely to happen soon.

Messenger services are still being evaluated
The call list of the deceased section head also includes calls from his girlfriend Karin Wurm on the evening of his death. She tried unsuccessfully to reach him later that evening, after the phone call with Kurz. There were also several calls before that. Frequent phone calls with a journalist in the days and weeks before are also striking.

However, the analysis that has now become known only refers to Pilancek's smartwatch. Analyses of messenger services such as Signal are still to follow.