processes
Death of five-year-old in Berlin – defendant is silent
Flowers, candles and cuddly toys in memory of a five-year-old in Berlin. photo
© Paul Zinken/dpa
A girl disappears from the playground in a Berlin park. After a feverish search, the child is found in the bushes. It dies a little later. A friend of the family quickly comes into focus.
Around six months after the violent death of a five-year-old girl in The trial against the alleged perpetrator has begun in Berlin. The 20-year-old is said to have stabbed the child seven times on February 21 in the Bürgerpark Pankow. The girl died in the hospital. The public prosecutor accuses him of manslaughter. The motive for the crime is unclear. The defendant has not yet commented on the allegations. He also does not want to testify in court, as the young man with German and Turkish nationality explained on Tuesday at the start of the trial before the Berlin district court.
Without recognizable emotion, he followed the testimony of the victim’s mother, who is also a joint plaintiff. According to her own statement, the 25-year-old has known the accused since elementary school. Also because she lived in North Rhine-Westphalia in the meantime, they had no contact for a long time. Since her return to Berlin in the summer of 2022, however, she has taken care of him a lot. He had problems at home and sought refuge with her. “He called me big sister,” she said.
He played with her four children, including twins. He took care of her alone a few times – even on the day of the crime. While he stayed with the siblings on a playground near the Bürgerpark, she wanted to cook food in the nearby apartment. She was then informed that the five-year-old had disappeared. Witnesses said the man had left with the child, allegedly because it had to go to the toilet. A little later he came back alone.
The mother blames herself
He acted as if he was helping to search, described the mother, crying. “He misled us. He didn’t want us to find her,” she said, her voice choking on tears. The 25-year-old blames herself. When she went to wash the accused’s clothes a few days before the crime, she found a kitchen knife in his jacket. “I could have taken it from him.” In retrospect, it was a mistake to entrust the children to him, she said.
The accused was arrested on the day of the crime after the missing girl was found in the bushes. Since then he has been in custody. The adolescent has not learned a trade and has already been caught under criminal law. The trial also deals with other offenses from 2021, including assault, exhibitionist acts and hit-and-run.
The trial is set to continue this Thursday. So far, appointments are planned until November 10th.