A 42-year-old man has been in front of the district court in Landshut since Thursday because of 56 attempted murders by an arson attack on a refugee home in Lower Bavaria. At the beginning of the trial, the insurance salesman stated that he could hardly remember the night of the crime because of his heavy drinking. The public prosecutor’s office admits that the man was disinhibited by the alcohol, but he was still able to recognize the injustice of his actions.
According to the conviction of the public prosecutor, the accused set fire to several places in the accommodation for asylum seekers in Simbach am Inn one night in October 2021 after a visit to a disco and a dispute with his partner. The reasons are said to have been personal irritation and his “xenophobic attitude”. He accepted the deaths of people because he denied the refugees “the right to live in Germany,” according to the indictment.
The residents were able to put out the fire that had started between 5 and 6 a.m. before the fire brigade arrived. The damage to property was manageable at around 15,000 euros. During the arson, 56 people were in the building, a total of 67 people were reported there.
The main defendant denies a right-wing attitude
Also accused in the proceedings are a 42-year-old acquaintance of the main defendant and the 32-year-old girlfriend of the alleged arsonist. Both are said to have known about the 42-year-old’s plans without reporting this to the police. You are accused of not reporting planned crimes.
In court, the main defendant denied that he had right-wing extremist attitudes. However, the public prosecutor’s office also relies on several voice messages that the man sent to the two co-defendants and his ex-wife on the night of the crime. According to this, he is said to have said, among other things, in dialect: “I’m going to the asylum seekers’ home now (…) And I’ll light it up! And if I die then I’ll die… then I’ll die for my children and for my fatherland,” he said man have told his partner. His children should grow up “without asylum seekers,” it said in the message to the ex-wife. “I’m going to the asylum center now… and then it’s cracking!” He is said to have explained in another message. The main accused said that he could not explain this news and was “extremely shocked” about it himself. He didn’t want to harm anyone. Further days of negotiations are planned in the process.