Stuttgart Regional Court - Car attack trial is a mystery
At the end of May, passers-by in Reichenbach an der Fils witness a fatal car accident. A woman races through the town in her car - with her partner on the hood. The 32-year-old man clings to the car for almost two kilometers. He finally gets caught under the vehicle on a country road, is dragged along for meters - and dies shortly afterwards from his severe head injuries. A trial observer summarized the whole case in one sentence on Friday in Stuttgart district court: "This only really happens in crime thrillers."
The 34-year-old woman from the Esslingen district has to answer for manslaughter. The two are said to have taken drugs together, had an on-off relationship and argued repeatedly. The alleged car attack is said to have been preceded by an argument, which was probably about jealousy. This cannot be clarified exactly in the trial. The defendant claims that her partner suddenly stood on the balcony with her that day. She left the house in a panic, got into the car in the underground garage and accelerated. "I just drove out. He was on the windshield. And I drove," she testified.
It is unclear how the man got onto the hood in the first place. Was he hit by her or did he jump onto the car himself? Did the man threaten the woman through the window, as she claimed, or did he call for help, as witnesses reported?
According to a technical expert's assessment on Friday, the man held on to the hood for around 1.8 kilometers during the incident. According to the expert, the woman was driving significantly faster than 30 kilometers per hour, but it is no longer possible to determine this precisely. He then slipped, hit his head and fell under the vehicle. He is dragged along for a few meters and remains motionless. The man dies in hospital. The woman drives on to acquaintances, but returns to the scene of the accident with them shortly afterwards and is arrested by the police.
On Friday, one of the accused's best friends is questioned. She describes the 34-year-old as mentally distressed. She had changed a lot in the two years before the crime and was no longer happy at all. She had also repeatedly had "confused moments" and told some unbelievable stories, such as that her ex-partner had kidnapped her or that her cell phone was being tapped. She had already had repeated experiences with violent men in the past, the witness reported.
A psychiatric expert said on Friday that he could not rule out psychosis and an acute stress reaction in the defendant, and that the woman had also been under the influence of amphetamines at the time of driving. He could neither rule out a so-called significantly impaired ability to control the vehicle nor could he establish this without any doubt. Nevertheless, he did not believe that the conditions for placement in a psychiatric hospital were met. Around the time of the crime, the woman had shown "suspicious memory gaps", said the expert. The woman was not really able to remember the decisive moments in the trial.
The pleadings were actually due to be held on Friday - these have now been postponed until December 6. The verdict is scheduled for December 7.
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- The trial at the Stuttgart Regional Court for the fatal car accident in Reichenbach an der Fils is complicated due to numerous unanswered questions, including how the man ended up on the hood of the car.
- The defendant, a 34-year-old woman from Esslingen, claims she was driving her car in a panic after her partner stood on the balcony, leading to the unfortunate incident.
- The evidence suggests that the man clung to the hood of the car for nearly two kilometers during the car journey before slipping and being dragged under the vehicle, resulting in his fatal head injuries.
- The relationship between the woman and her partner was marked by drug use, on-off romance, and frequent arguments, with the alleged car attack being triggered by an argument likely related to jealousy.
- Witnesses report that the man may have threatened the woman through the car window, while the defendant claims he called for help, adding to the puzzling nature of the case.
- The trial in Stuttgart has also focused on the mental state of the defendant, with a psychiatric expert raising the possibility of psychosis and an acute stress reaction, as well as her influence by amphetamines at the time of the accident.
- The city of Baden-Württemberg, where the incident took place, has been left grappling with the shocking details surrounding the case, which has been widely reported in local and national media.
Source: www.stern.de
