crime
Nine attempted murders: trial over explosion in Ratingen
An injured police officer is taken into an ambulance in front of a high-rise building. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
An explosion in a Ratingen high-rise six months ago is said to have been a murderous attack on emergency services. The alleged perpetrator is now coming to court.
The defendant is charged with nine counts of attempted murder. According to the indictment, eight of the nine victims are expected to suffer permanent damage. The police counted 35 people injured after the explosion, most of whom were treated for suspected smoke inhalation.
The explosion triggered a large-scale operation lasting hours with 650 forces, at the end of which special police units were able to overpower the 57-year-old. They came across a partially skeletonized body sitting in a wheelchair in the apartment.
As it turned out, they were the remains of the neglected-looking Rater’s mother, with whom he had stayed in the apartment for weeks. He has been in custody ever since and has remained silent about the allegations for a good six months.
Police were called to his apartment because of an overflowing mailbox and the smell of decay. The man’s motive for the crime is unclear. The 57-year-old is said to be prone to conspiracy theories and to have built up large stocks in his apartment.
A few days before the crime, a police officer rang his doorbell with an arrest warrant because the man had been issued with two criminal warrants for bodily harm. Among other things, he is said to have hit a neighbor. Because he hadn’t paid his fine, he was going to prison.
A 73-year-old resident was discovered dead in another apartment in the high-rise building after the evacuation. The man, who was in serious need of care, may have died because he remained uncared for for too long due to the evacuation.
Whether his death was actually caused by the operation and whether the 57-year-old from Ratingen is also to be blamed will be determined in a separate procedure. The regional court has scheduled nine days of hearings for the criminal trial until January 11 next year.