- Authorities seek penal consequences for juvenile offenders involved in homicide.
In the trial of a slain doctor hailing from the Eifel area, the defense team has petitioned for lenient sentences for the two young offenders. The 18-year-old suspect is proposed to serve a jail term of nine and a half years, while the 17-year-old should serve six and a half years, argued chief prosecutor Eric Samel on Monday at the Regional Court of Trier.
He maintained that the evidence presented throughout the trial conclusively demonstrated their involvement in the doctor's homicide, carried out in a surprise assault on his Gerolstein home towards the end of 2022. At the time of the incident, both defendants were just 16 years old. As for the former partner of the deceased, who also happens to be the mother of the 18-year-old and half-sister of the 17-year-old, Samel proposed a seven-year-and-six-month sentence for manslaughter.
The prosecution's argument largely held true during the trial, reported Samel. The trio sought to eliminate the unwanted presence of the man who had been overindulging in alcohol and resorting to aggression for some time. Crude words were exchanged, and physical attacks ensued.
The heinous act was prompted by a fresh altercation with the ex on the fateful night. The 18-year-old opted to execute a premeditated plan. He armed himself with a baseball bat and handed his half-brother a wrench. Both then lay in wait for the victim in a storage room, striking him from behind once he appeared. The 17-year-old then secured the doctor's neck with a cable tie and tightened it.
Following the commencement of the crime, the defendant retreated to the upstairs bedroom of their three children, opting to abstain from further violence. However, she was implicated in the disposal of the body and the torching of the car used to transport the victim's remains.
All three individuals have confessed to their involvement in the crime but in varying accounts. A verdict is expected as early as Wednesday.
The doctor's murder took place in the small town of Gerolstein, located near Trier. After committing the crime, the defendants disposed of the victim's car in Trier's industrial area.
