A sports shooter must serve lifelong imprisonment
In a multi-family house, regular disputes among neighbors often occur. One day, a 65-year-old man living there loses his temper - and shoots three people in the stairwell. A court sentences him to life imprisonment. After the verdict, the offender is given a reflection period.
Bloody Ending of Long Feuds: One year after the murder of three neighbors, a 65-year-old man from Augsburg was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Regional Court. The Chamber also acknowledged the particular severity of the offense. If the judgment, due to triple murder and two attempted murders, becomes legally binding, the German citizen's release from prison after 15 years on parole would be significantly complicated.
With the verdict, the Chamber followed the prosecutor's request. However, the defense lawyer immediately filed a revision application with the Federal Court of Justice. Defense attorney Walter Rubach had requested a maximum 15-year prison sentence because his client, due to a psychological illness, was less criminally responsible. This was confirmed by a defense-appointed expert.
Background of the shooting with a pistol were recurring disputes between neighbors in the multi-family house in Langweid, Augsburg district. According to investigations, the accused shot a 49 and a 52-year-old couple and a 72-year-old woman in the stairwell with headshots within just 16 seconds. The trigger was reportedly an altercation with a neighbor, after which the neighbor also called the police.
"It was supposed to be the motive of self-justice"
Since one of the murder victims had activated the recording function on their cell phone a few minutes before the crime, there is an exact audio document of the gruesome crime. The 65-year-old man had reportedly cornered a neighboring couple in the stairwell and shot them with a pistol he legally owned, effectively executing them. He then shot an elderly woman through her apartment door.
The accused reportedly fired deliberately in the vicinity of the peephole, suspecting that the woman was looking through it - which was indeed the case. He then went to the home of two tenants of the murdered elderly woman and injured them severely with further shots through their apartment door. Both are still suffering psychologically from the crime.
According to the Chamber's conviction, the accused acted out of anger towards the neighbors, hatred, and revenge. He had wanted to clean up the house. "It was supposed to be the motive of self-justice," said Presiding Judge Michael Eberle. The man had pronounced a death sentence over the other tenants and carried it out immediately after the verdict. After the verdict, Eberle gave the defendant an additional 15 minutes to reconsider the immediate acceptance of the judgment - an unusual procedure. The judge thought the man might still have a chance to correct the image people had of him.
Discussion on Gun Laws Triggered
However, defense attorney Rubach stated after the quarter-hour reflection period that his client did not accept the verdict. "I have never experienced anything like that in my 45-year career," commented the experienced criminal defense lawyer later on the final reflection period. The defendant had followed the judgment's justification with a stern gaze for the most part, largely emotionlessly, as he had sat on the defendant's bench during most of the trial. He had claimed not to remember the crime. The court did not believe him.
The crime once again sparked a discussion about gun control a year ago. The accused had possessed a gun license for decades as a hunter, the weapon in question he had owned for nearly half a century. The Augsburg Landratsamt stated that the man had been regularly and without incident controlled by the weapons authority. Landrat Martin Sailer showed understanding for the renewed gun control discussion a few days after the incident: "However, as a regulatory authority, we are not responsible for that, it is purely a political decision."
- The case, involving the 65-year-old man's conviction for triple murder and two attempted murders, has led to an appeal at the Federal Court of Justice, requesting a review of the International Judgments, considering the defendant's reduced criminal responsibility due to a psychological illness.
- In light of the global discussions on gun control, this particular case of Murder and Manslaughter in Germany, where the offender used a legally owned weapon, has prompted calls for reevaluating the Processes around gun ownership and regulation.
