The act in April 2021 shocked nationwide: A nurse killed four residents in a facility for people with disabilities. Now the court has sentenced the 52-year-old.
In the process of a bloody act with four dead in an institution for the disabled, the district court Potsdam sentenced the accused 52-year-old nurse to 15 years in prison. The judges found Ines Andrea R. guilty of four murders and three attempted murders on Wednesday. The conviction was also made for dangerous bodily harm and mistreatment of wards that had been committed as a unit of crime. In addition, placement in a psychiatric clinic was determined. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
The defendant urgently needed medical help because of her psychological condition, said the presiding judge Theodor Horstkötter in the verdict – also on the day of the April 28th. If the 52-year-old had gone to the doctor that day – as it would have been right – the victims could still be alive and would not have “died in such a cruel way,” said Horstkötter. According to a psychiatric report, the woman suffers from a severe personality disorder and had committed the acts in a state of significantly reduced culpability.
The court found it proven that the woman attacked four residents between the ages of 31 and 56 in their rooms with a knife on the evening of April 28 and fatally injured them. According to a pathologist, three of the fatalities were completely and one was paralyzed on one side. A 43-year-old resident survived the attack after an emergency operation with serious injuries.
“Abysmal evil”
With its judgment, the 1st Large Criminal Chamber fully complied with the public prosecutor’s request. In her plea last week, public prosecutor Maria Stiller called the act “abysmally evil” and called for 15 years’ imprisonment, the accused to be placed in a psychiatric clinic and a lifelong professional ban.
Henry Timm’s defense attorney had not made a specific motion, but asked the court to recognize that his client was completely incapable of guilt. According to Timm, R. had actually “found himself in a tunnel” and was unable to steer. Following the pleadings, the defendant expressed regret over the crime. Inwardly, she couldn’t believe she had done such a thing. “I’m really sorry,” she said.