The slurry pit containing Sabine Back’s body is sealed with a concrete lid, and the 13-year-old may never have been found: More than 30 years after the girl’s violent death in Lower Franconia, the trial of a man who was previously the focus of investigations begins on September 9th at the Würzburg Regional Court. The accused is said to have killed the schoolgirl as a 17-year-old shortly before Christmas 1993 in Karlstadt (Main-Spessart district) – to satisfy his sexual urges. 36 days of hearings are scheduled for the trial until the end of January next year.
Because the accused was a juvenile at the time of the crime, the proceedings are being held in private – even though the man is now 47 years old. “He denies having committed the crime,” says his defense attorney Hans-Jochen Schrepfer. In juvenile proceedings, the focus is on education. However, according to the regional court, elements of amicable compensation can also be taken into account when punishing the crime, particularly in the case of serious crimes. For juveniles, the maximum youth sentence for murder is ten years. However, preventive detention is possible under strict conditions.
Sabine Back was reported missing on a Wednesday, December 15, 1993. The police, fire department and technical relief organization then launched a major search operation. Two days later, she was discovered on a farm in the Wiesenfeld district, where she had often fed horses. The girl’s jacket and other clothing were lying in a pit – but not the 13-year-old. When the heavy concrete lid of a manure pit located in a remote location was lifted, the investigators found the body.
The police formed a special commission of 30 officers, checked numerous leads and questioned several people. On December 21, 1993, a 15-year-old who, like Sabine Back, came from Wiesenfeld, was arrested on suspicion of murder. Two days later, however, the Würzburg district court lifted the arrest warrant due to a lack of evidence. In mid-February 1994, the youth was arrested again and later charged with manslaughter. The student denied the crime and was acquitted. Witness statements, among other things, exonerated him.
There was no movement in the case for years. However, murder does not expire – so the file on this case was not closed. In January 2021, investigators then made a surprise announcement: a man from the Main-Spessart district had been arrested after further searches. Among other things, more detailed DNA analyses had provided new clues. A few weeks later, however, the murder suspect was released again, but the investigation was ongoing. The police had already had their eye on the German man earlier. Nothing is publicly known about the cause of death – it was simply said that he had been subjected to massive violence.
In December 2021, the public prosecutor’s office charged the man with murder. However, the Würzburg Regional Court did not admit the charge due to a lack of solid evidence. The court stated that, based on the results of the investigation, the defendant’s involvement in the crime could be considered. Nevertheless, the evidence did not allow a reliable reconstruction of the course of events that could prove a murder charge. Charges for other offenses – such as manslaughter – were no longer possible due to the statute of limitations.
The public prosecutor and the co-plaintiff then turned to the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Bamberg. The court ruled last December that the case must be heard in the regional court. The defendant was sufficiently suspicious. Based on the results of the investigation documented in the files, proof of the crime was possible and a conviction for murder was “at least as likely as an acquittal”. There was sufficient suspicion of murder to satisfy sexual urges. Defense attorney Schrepfer expects the proceedings to be tough. “This is a classic circumstantial evidence trial that we are facing.” He does not see that murder can be proven, and taking evidence will be difficult.