Student killed
Hanna murder case: Regional court sentences 22-year-old to youth prison
The defendant in the trial of the murdered student Hanna on the bench in the Traunstein regional court
© Uwe Lein / DPA
The judges in Traunstein have passed a verdict in the trial of the murdered student Hanna. The man now has to serve a youth sentence of almost ten years.
In the circumstantial evidence trial surrounding the death of student Hanna, the Traunstein regional court sentenced the accused young man to nine years in prison on Tuesday. According to the Youth Chamber’s opinion, the then 20-year-old pursued the young woman for sexual motives on her way home from the “Eiskeller” club in Aschau im Chiemgau in the early morning of October 3, 2022, attacked her from behind and then seriously injured her in nearby Bärbach thrown. He was convicted of grievous bodily harm and murder. “It was not an accident,” said the presiding judge.
According to an autopsy, the 23-year-old drowned. Because the defendant was still 20 years old at the time of the crime and experts confirmed that he had a delay in maturity, the court imposed a youth sentence.
Defenders see contradictions
The public prosecutor’s office had demanded a nine and a half year youth sentence for murder for the now 22-year-old defendant. After around half a year of trial and more than 30 days of trial, the prosecution saw the defendant’s guilt fully confirmed.
The young man’s lawyers, however, had called for an acquittal. They saw many contradictions, including in the statements of important witnesses – and do not consider their client’s guilt to be proven at all. In their opinion, Hanna, who had about two per mille of alcohol in her blood when she died, could have fallen into the stream without anyone else’s involvement.
Why did Hanna have to die?
Hanna’s parents took part in the trial as co-plaintiffs. Their lawyer agreed with the public prosecutor’s request to sentence the defendant to nine and a half years in prison. In his plea, he said that parents were faced with the question a thousand times over: “Why?” Unfortunately, this question remained unanswered in the process.
Hanna celebrated every night in October 2022 in the “Eiskeller” and left the disco early in the morning. She never arrived home. Hours later, a passerby found her body many kilometers away in the Prien River, into which the Bärbach flows.