Berlin prosecutors report signs of natural death in Aiwanger autopsy

Further forensic tests remain outstanding as Bavaria's political leaders mourn the deputy state premier and Free Voters leader.

Channel: WELT Nachrichtensender ·

GermanyStory of November 6, 2026Trari Newsroom

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HUBERT AIWANGER: Erste Details nach Obduktion! Staatsanwaltschaft Berlin äußert sich I WELT STREAM

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0:20Prosecutors' preliminary autopsy findings indicate no outside involvement; further forensic examinations remain pending.
0:49A report reconstructs Aiwanger's missed appearance and discovery in his hotel, followed by colleagues' tributes.
3:29Christoph Specht explains possible sudden cardiac death mechanisms, without establishing what caused Aiwanger's death.
7:23Thorsten Frei warns of spending restraint and higher burdens amid strained German public finances.
15:00Philippa Vögeding reports outside the Berlin hotel on political reactions to Aiwanger's death.
17:30An obituary examines Aiwanger's campaigning style and the questions his death leaves for the Free Voters.

An initial autopsy points to a natural death in the case of Hubert Aiwanger, with no indication that another person was involved, according to Berlin prosecutors cited by Germany's WELT Nachrichtensender. Further forensic examinations are still pending, so the preliminary findings do not conclude the investigation.

Aiwanger, Bavaria's deputy premier and economy minister, was found dead in his Berlin hotel room on Wednesday. He was 55. The broadcaster reports that he had missed a speech at the opening of his Free Voters party's new capital office after experiencing health problems, and later could not be reached.

Prosecution spokesman Michael Petzold said the autopsy had provided indications of a natural death. Investigators had attended the hotel with forensic specialists. The report explains that a homicide squad's involvement reflected the significance of the case and the need to exclude outside involvement, rather than a finding that a crime had occurred.

The broadcast combines those findings with reactions from colleagues. Florian Streibl, who leads the Free Voters parliamentary group in Bavaria, describes being shocked and unable to comprehend the news. Bavarian premier Markus Söder remembers Aiwanger both as an effective economy minister and as a warmhearted person.

Reporting outside the hotel, Philippa Vögeding describes the response among political figures and people who knew him. An obituary segment then examines his direct, beer-tent style of campaigning, his relationship with voters on the political right and the uncertainty facing the Free Voters without their leader.

Medical journalist Dr. Christoph Specht also explains possible causes of sudden cardiac death and the purpose of further forensic testing. That discussion offers general medical context, not an established cause of Aiwanger's death.

The wider bulletin briefly turns to Germany's strained public finances, a reported Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia, cyberattacks affecting French blood-bank refrigeration and protests in Greek education, before returning to the hotel and Aiwanger's political legacy.