process start
Elderly woman murdered in nursing home? – Granddaughter in court
The defendant is sitting in the courtroom. She is accused of murdering her grandmother. Photo: Bodo Schackow/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
An 81-year-old dies violently in a Zwickau nursing home. Shortly thereafter, her granddaughter reports to the police. Eight months later, she is now silent as a murder suspect. That’s what others talk about.
After the violent death of an 81-year-old in a nursing home in Zwickau, her granddaughter has been on trial for murder since Thursday. But at the start of the Zwickau district court, the 32-year-old was silent on the allegations.
According to the indictment, she choked the 81-year-old, who was still sleeping, on the morning of September 12, 2021 and suffocated her with a pillow. The 81-year-old fought back and fell out of bed, said prosecutor Barbara Gremm. But even then, her granddaughter did not let go of her. Ultimately, the elderly woman not only suffered several broken ribs in the agony, but also died as a result of massive violence on her neck.
Money withdrawn from account
According to the information, the granddaughter is said to have diverted around 13,000 euros from her grandmother’s account on her own. According to the public prosecutor’s office, the German wanted to prevent this from being exposed. She had worked in the same nursing home where her grandmother was being placed in respite care after a hospital stay.
“She was a dear elderly lady who was still very clear-headed,” recalled a nurse in court. She had a good relationship with her granddaughter, spoke well of her and slipped her money from time to time. “She never said anything bad about her,” said the dead woman’s sister. She only told her that she had to be careful when it came to money.
The accused reported himself to the police shortly after the crime. A police officer described the situation in court: “I think I just killed my grandmother,” she said at the station. A patrol and an emergency doctor were then called, but it was too late for the elderly woman.
An investigator remembers
Unlike now in court, the accused initially spoke to the investigators about their version of what happened. Accordingly, an argument broke out in the room and she only wanted her grandmother to keep quiet, an investigator recalled from an interrogation in September. At first there was no reason to doubt their statements. It was initially determined because of bodily harm resulting in negligent death and the woman remained at large. Only later did the financial circumstances lead to the suspicion of murder. Since then, the accused has been in custody.
Additional days of negotiations are planned for the process until mid-July, with the next on May 23.