process
Life imprisonment after underground car park murder
The main defendant is led into the courtroom by judicial officers. photo
© Roland Weihrauch/dpa
A 58-year-old is shot dead in his car in a Bochum underground car park. Now the perpetrator has been convicted. The judge calls him a dangerous psychopath.
The shots hit the victim at close range – directly in the face. Almost nine months ago, a 58-year-old Telekom employee was shot dead in his car. The crime scene was an underground car park Bochum. On Friday, the perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. Judge Nils Feldhaus called the crime “an ice-cold execution” in the Bochum jury’s verdict. The 27-year-old defendant is a “dangerous psychopath”.
It was the evening of March 7th of this year when a resident noticed a car with the engine running in the Bochum underground car park. Then she saw the horribly mauled corpse behind the wheel. According to the verdict, the 58-year-old was shot a total of seven times – through the rear window and through the side window. Six shots hit. The judges assume that the defendant ambushed his future victim and fired immediately without warning. The trigger is said to have been a previous dispute in traffic.
According to the verdict, the Turkish defendant was seeking revenge. He is easily offended and excessive in his anger. He also has a “hatred of people – especially Germans,” said Judge Feldhaus.
Preventive detention ordered
The investigators found a list on the defendant’s cell phone that was titled “Hell People.” These were the names and addresses of people on whom, according to the verdict, the 27-year-old wanted to take revenge. These included a former teacher, several entrepreneurs and also family members.
In addition to the sentence of life imprisonment, the judges also recognized the particular gravity of the guilt and ordered subsequent, indefinite preventive detention – to protect the public. According to the ruling, early release after 15 years is therefore ruled out.
During the trial, the Dortmund man confessed to the crime. In a statement from his defense attorneys, however, it was said that the victim had previously insulted him in a xenophobic manner and threatened him with death. In this situation he saw red, freaked out and fired. However, the judges saw it differently. They assume a treacherous murder for base motives.
The judgment is not final.