In the circumstantial evidence trial surrounding the death of student Hanna Wörndl, the Traunstein regional court sentenced the accused young man to nine years in prison. 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. The court largely follows the public prosecutor’s request.
They had demanded nine and a half years of youth imprisonment for murder for the 22-year-old defendant, but the defense, after more than 30 days of trial, had seen no evidence of their client’s guilt and demanded an acquittal.
The defense always saw the possibility that the young woman, who had about two per mille of alcohol in her blood when she died, fell into the stream without anyone else’s involvement. However, this possibility was ruled out by an expert. The trial fully confirmed that the defendant “is without a doubt the perpetrator of this homicide,” said prosecutor Wolfgang Fiedler in his plea. An accident is ruled out. The defendant remained silent during the proceedings and also refrained from saying his last word.
“You have nothing against this boy,” said defense attorney Regina Rick. Until the end, the view of evidence, statements from witnesses and the young man’s behavior were diametrically different. The public defenders Harald Baumgärtl and Markus Frank examined statements from important witnesses and unraveled contradictory statements.
The process that started in October 2023 kept jerking. There was an application for bias against the court, a criminal complaint on suspicion of passing on internal information, threats against defense lawyers – and on the day of the plea, the presiding judge Jacqueline Aßbichler announced to the audience in the packed courtroom that there had been indications of a possible rampage.