A sobbing 20-year-old admits to committing a gruesome act.
A young man struggles to handle a break in his relationship. During a heated argument in the car, he ends up stabbing his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend with a knife. This event leads to a severe accident, and help arrives too late for the girl. Now facing trial for manslaughter, the 20-year-old German reflects on his actions.
In a very emotional video confession, the young man confesses to murdering his 17-year-old ex-girlfriend in October 2023. The manslaughter trial against the 20-year-old began in Kiel. "I didn't want to hurt her, I never did," he said, showing signs of distress in the video recording presented by the district court during the detention hearing. "I was there, and it happened. I'm the one who took her life."
Prosecutors have charged him with manslaughter and several other criminal offenses. He has been in custody since the crime. The 20-year-old German, who had previous criminal history, described the sequence of events leading up to the crime during the hearing, which lasted several hours.
His girlfriend had been in a relationship with an ex-boyfriend, which upset him. The 17-year-old and he, therefore, agreed to take a break from the relationship. On the day of the crime, he encountered both his ex and her ex at the main station. They drove to his mother's apartment together in a friend's car to talk. However, an argument developed. The 20-year-old admitted to shooting his ex-girlfriend and her ex-boyfriend with a fake gun in the apartment. "I couldn't stop shooting. I didn't want to."
The situation moved to the street where the fourth person, who had been waiting in his car, actively participated in the event. He took the keys from the man and forced his ex-girlfriend to leave with him alone in this car, said the accused. He just wanted a quiet place to talk to her. During the drive, he had a knife in his hand. When his girlfriend didn't stop screaming, he wanted to silence her. "I wanted to stop her screaming. I then stabbed her with the knife, which I didn't want to do," the accused said, struggling for words.
Speeding through a red light
After he realized that his girlfriend was in grave condition, all he wanted was to take her to the hospital to save her life. "She was the most important person in my life. And now she's gone." In a panic, he drove past the station at high speed, honking his horn, and barreled through a junction in the city center at a red light. "I had no idea where I stabbed her."
A collision with another vehicle took place. Rescue workers tried to revive the 17-year-old. Sadly, she didn't make it and succumbed to her injuries in the hospital. The knife thrust hit the teenager's heart. The driver and passenger in the other car were injured, as was the defendant.
"I'm so sorry for what I've done," said the 20-year-old, seemingly overwhelmed by guilt. He watched his own testimony in the courtroom while appearing mostly motionless and pale. Ever cautious, the accused avoided looking at the projection and kept his eyes averted from the other trial participants.
Ten-year maximum sentence
The interrogation revealed that the accused had difficult relations with his divorced parents. He lived with his mother in Kiel. His defense lawyer promised to provide more information about his client's personal circumstances during the trial.
The penalty range for manslaughter starts at five years' imprisonment. If the defendant - who was 19 years old at the time of the crime - is sentenced as a minor under juvenile criminal law, the maximum possible juvenile sentence for manslaughter is ten years. The trial continued on May 23, with nine more hearings scheduled until July 12.
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The international community has shown interest in the manslaughter trial, given its complex nature and the young age of the accused. The process of determining the appropriate sentence for the 20-year-old German, who stabbed his ex-girlfriend, will involve examining various aspects of the case, including his previous criminal history. The consequences of the accused's actions, including the use of a knife and the subsequent accident, led to severe penalties, including a potential keel involving his legal confinement.
Source: www.ntv.de
