process
Violent death of Joel – verdict against 15-year-old expected
The verdict in the case of a six-year-old who was killed will be pronounced today. A now 15-year-old has been charged and has confessed. photo
© Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
The death of six-year-old Joel in the community of Pragsdorf near Neubrandenburg caused consternation nationwide. The verdict is now to be made in the trial against a young person.
More than a dozen trial days since February, over 50 witnesses and surprising twists: the trial of the killed six-year-old Joel from Pragsdorf The verdict is to be announced in Neubrandenburg today. The hearing took place behind closed doors due to the age of the 15-year-old defendant. Journalists are allowed to announce the verdict.
Last week, the teenager’s comprehensive confession caused a surprise. According to the representative of Joel’s parents, lawyer Christine Habetha, the defendant – unlike before – said that he had acted alone.
According to the prosecution, the then 14-year-old allegedly hit Joel in the face several times in the bushes at the football field in Pragsdorf last September and stabbed him with a knife. According to previous information, the teenager had become entangled in contradictions, and his DNA trace was also found on the murder knife. There were still angel figures, memorabilia and crosses where Joel died.
Prosecutors plead murder
At the beginning of April, after a long silence, the defendant made a partial confession and spoke of the involvement of another person who was not his brother. It became known shortly after the trial began that the public prosecutor’s office had also initiated investigations against him.
The court’s decision to release the defendant from custody also caused a stir. According to a statement at the time, there was no reason for detention. The public prosecutor’s office lodged an objection, and the Rostock Higher Regional Court overturned the decision.
The teenager was originally charged with manslaughter. According to Habetha, the public prosecutor’s office has pleaded for murder and is demanding an eight-year youth sentence. The lawyer demanded a maximum sentence of ten years, including for murder, and the reservation of preventive detention. The defendant’s defense attorney pleaded for manslaughter and demanded seven years.