After the Würzburg Regional Court’s murder verdict for a 15-year-old, the defense appealed. The student’s lawyers had pleaded manslaughter. The youth court, however, considered that the murder characteristic of treachery had been fulfilled, since the defendant had shot his 14-year-old victim in the head from behind. The crime had been planned, and the defendant had acted with direct intent. The court imposed a youth sentence of eight and a half years.
The public prosecutor’s office has not lodged an appeal against the verdict of August 5, said a district court spokeswoman. Media had previously reported that if the defense continues to appeal even after the written reasons for the verdict are available in a few weeks, the Federal Court of Justice will have to deal with the matter. The accused German had confessed in the non-public trial that last September, when he was 14, he shot the Italian, who was the same age, on school grounds in Lohr am Main in Lower Franconia. However, he said that the shot was not intentional.