The Last Witness

Every life ends fatally. Yet often, death comes very suddenly and in a cruel manner. Alfred Riepertinger specializes in restoring corpses so that relatives can say goodbye with dignity – which is especially important in cases of accidents, suicides, or victims of horrific crimes. For the first time, he recounts his most unusual cases from pathology and his touching encounters with the dead and their families. Why he has done this remains a mystery to this day. The boy went into the basement, took his grandfather's shotgun in his mouth, and pulled the trigger. A few hours later, the corpse lay on a stainless steel table – the face unrecognizable, the skull shattered. A complex reconstruction of the face was necessary, as the mother wished to say goodbye to her son.