Processes
Double murder in Albstadt – defendant must be in prison for life
The defendant (r) is brought into the courtroom before the trial begins. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. photo
© Silas Stein/dpa
He killed his niece and a friend of hers because he believed they had stolen from him. Now the verdict was issued in the case, which the judge called “unusual” and “sometimes bizarre”.
The Hechingen regional court found the defendant in the case of Sentenced to life imprisonment for a double murder in Albstadt in the south of Baden-Württemberg. It also noted the particular gravity of the guilt. As a rule, an early release from prison after 15 years is almost impossible. The defendant’s motive was that he believed he had been robbed. It was an unusual and sometimes bizarre case, said the judge.
The chamber considered it proven that the 53-year-old defendant first strangled his 20-year-old niece last December, then dismembered her and buried her in the garden. The court also considered the murder of a 23-year-old friend of his niece to be proven. The Italian lured him out of his house under a pretext and shot him.
Both the prosecution and defense had previously called for a life sentence for the double murder. The verdict is not yet legally binding.