Who loves a good mystery? The death of King Louis II reconsidered by a forensic economist, part 5
Concurrent and supporting evidence
The art world enters our history with evidence that counteracts the official cause of Ludwig’s death. Seigfried Wichmann is recognized as the leading authority on Bavarian painting of the late 19th century. In 2008, Wichmann published a photograph of a post-mortem portrait painted a few hours after the king’s death that shows blood gushing from the corner of his mouth. Although he is not a doctor, Wichmann survived a similar shrapnel wound that entered his lung while fighting in World War II. He states that the blood in the painting would come from the lungs. However, the thick blood depicted in the painting shows no signs of water. Furthermore, Wichmann claims that the portrait does not present any hint of rigor mortis and that the mouth is open. This evidence contradicts the official autopsy report regarding the water and the official claim that Ludwig died at 6:54 p.m., the time his watch stopped. Therefore, I (Dr. Sase) would request an additional opinion from a medical expert to support this claim.
In the same year as Wichmann’s claim, the Bavarian banker Detlev Utermohle came forward and gave an affidavit that he had seen the gray Loden coat worn by Ludwig on the night of the tragedy. The coat had two bullet holes in the back. At that time, Utermohle was ten years old. He and his mother had visited the home of Countess Josephine von Wrba-Kaunitz, who was looking after some of the Wittelsbach family assets. The countess had the coat with two bullet holes in her possession. Unfortunately for the world of forensic science, the coat was lost after the fire that destroyed the house and killed both Countess Wrba-Kaunitz and her husband in 1973.
An eyewitness report?
The evidence stated in the affidavit agrees with another surviving record of the events at Lake Starnberg on June 13, 1886. A handwritten statement by Jakob Lidl, King Louis’ personal fisherman, tells a story contrary to the official statement. Lidl’s notes, found after his death in 1933, claim that he saw Ludwig’s murder with his own eyes. When Ludwig got into the boat, a shot rang out from the shore. The king fell off the bow of the ship.
Three years after the incident, the state of Bavaria made Lidl swear not to reveal what he heard and saw to his wife, his priest, or anyone else. In exchange for his compliance, the State agreed to take care of his family if something ever happened to him in war or peace.
