negotiation
Trial about suffocated toddler fails due to holiday plans
After the death of a two-year-old boy in a mini-daycare center in Gelsenkirchen, two childminders are on trial. photo
©Oliver Berg/dpa
According to plan, the process would have continued next week after today’s starting signal. Then the curious coincidence: a lay judge prevented further proceedings.
Because of the holiday plans of a jury, the trial of the death of a little boy in a Gelsenkirchen mini-daycare center was canceled shortly after it started. The parents of the dead two-year-old reported today how they experienced the dramatic events surrounding their son’s death almost two years ago. Then, during the first break in negotiations, a jury told him about his vacation plans.
The result: the honorary judge would not be there for the second planned day of the trial in a week. However, the process cannot continue without him. An alternative date within the legally prescribed period of three weeks could not be found.
The trial against the two childminders was then broken off and is scheduled to start again in October. The victim’s parents must then testify again. The trial is now scheduled for October 20th. and 27.10. rescheduled.
What happened?
The two-year-old boy suffocated during the lunch break in day care almost two years ago. According to the investigation, his head was so unhappily pinched in his bed that he couldn’t breathe. The two 26 and 38-year-old childminders are on trial for negligent homicide.
The prosecution accuses them of breaching their duty of care. The city of Gelsenkirchen also drew consequences after the incident and screwed the wooden beds, which were also used in another daycare center, better.
The trial day had already started unusually. Initially, there were no interpreters for communication between those involved. It later emerged that the coroner declined to testify on the day of the trial because he was now retired.