An application is an important thing, probably not only in Germany, but definitely here. It is certainly not without reason that the word belongs to the list of expressions that German learners should be able to master if they want to acquire the B1 certificate from the Goethe Institute. Which most likely also requires another application, but only marginally. In any case, on that Goethe list is “the application, ¨-e” and the unfortunately realistic example sentence “Have you already completed an application for housing benefit?” The so-called poisoner from Tegernsee doesn’t need any housing allowance. After all, she is imprisoned for life and is unlikely to be released early because of the severity of the guilt. She made a few applications anyway, and that’s why she may not get housing benefit now, but at least she will get back a survivor’s pension from her husband’s insurance for a year and a half. Although she poisoned it herself.
It remains to be seen whether there was a classic proposal at the very beginning of this ultimately fatal marriage. The woman and the several years older doctor were definitely married when she poisoned him in August 2018 with several doses of insulin and morphine. After that, she was accordingly a widow and received a total of 27,186 euros survivor’s pension until March 2020. Last December, the Munich II Regional Court finally sentenced her to life imprisonment for murder plus disturbing the peace of the dead, because she later opened her husband’s grave, took the urn and put parts of his ashes in her pillow.
Against this judgment, however, the woman appealed – Warning: application! – Revision a. In its decision, which has now been published, the Federal Court of Justice confirms the regional court – but with one exception: the federal judges do not consider it legal that it had the survivor’s pension withdrawn as “an asset obtained through murder”. Because, according to the BGH, there is no direct connection between murder and retirement. The woman did not collect the money as a direct result of her act, but – in short – had to apply for it after the murder. It was worth it.