Rotenburg County Murder Trial: Accused Soldier to Make First Statement
In the trial surrounding the murder series in the Rotenburg (Wümme) district of Lower Saxony, the accused soldier will speak for the first time. The defense has announced that they will make a statement on Friday (9 am) before the Verden Regional Court, a court spokesperson announced. The public prosecutor’s office accuses the defendant of killing four people close to his then-wife.
According to the indictment, the paratrooper acted like an urban combatant on the night of March 1, driven by hatred and a desire for revenge. He is said to have broken into the victims’ houses. In Scheeßel, the German allegedly murdered his former partner’s 30-year-old boyfriend and his 55-year-old mother. The soldier is then said to have shot and killed his estranged wife’s 33-year-old best friend and her three-year-old daughter in Bothel.
Prosecutor’s Case: A Brutal Spree Driven by Revenge
The public prosecutor’s office alleges that the defendant planned the murders over a longer period of time and carried them out in a particularly cold-blooded and cruel manner. The motive for the murders is said to have been the soldier’s inability to come to terms with the separation from his wife.
The prosecutor is convinced that the defendant acted with premeditation and that he was aware of the wrongfulness of his actions. The indictment states that he wanted to "eliminate" his rivals and the people who, in his view, had contributed to the separation.
Defense Strategy: Soldier Not Responsible for His Actions
The defense, on the other hand, is expected to argue that the soldier was not responsible for his actions at the time of the murders. The lawyers have announced that they will present evidence of the defendant’s mental state at the time of the crime.
According to the defense, the soldier was suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at the time of the murders. This condition, which can develop after traumatic experiences, can lead to severe psychological symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares, and emotional detachment.
The defense will likely argue that the soldier’s PTSD symptoms impaired his ability to control his actions and that he was therefore not fully responsible for the murders.
Key Points of the Trial
The trial is scheduled to last several months and will involve numerous witnesses and experts. The court will have to decide whether the defendant was responsible for his actions at the time of the murders and, if so, to what extent.
If the court finds the defendant guilty, it will have to determine the appropriate sentence. The defendant faces a life sentence, as well as additional charges for the attempted murder of two other people.
The trial is not only of national but also of international interest. It is one of the few cases in Germany in which a soldier is accused of such serious crimes. The outcome of the trial will therefore be closely watched by the public and the legal community.
