process - Court imposes 13-year youth sentence for murder
Moved and with downcast gaze, the 21-year-old defendant heard the verdict at the Bielefeld District Court today. The nurse had stood trial in a closed session on a previous court day, confessing to stabbing a colleague multiple times. The court considered it a heinous murder because the victim had no chance to defend herself and could not have anticipated such an attack. Now, the nurse is to spend 13 years in prison. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The defense announced an appeal to the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe.
The defendant committed the crime during a party in the Bielefeld district of Senne. A colleague was celebrating an inauguration party on October 28, 2023. The mood was lively, carefree, and joyful. During the party, the 21-year-old German was flirting with the colleague, but she rejected him. In response, he struck the young woman several times fiercely with a stuffed animal. She reprimanded the defendant publicly in front of colleagues. According to the court, this humiliation in front of witnesses was the sole reason the young woman was murdered. The defendant himself admitted that he formed the intent to kill at that moment. Then, as the court found, he went purposefully and systematically to carry out his intent.
Kitchen knife hidden under jacket
During the party, he took a kitchen knife with him, hid it under his jacket, and approached the young woman from a circle of friends to speak with her again. They walked a few meters to an unlit area, where the defendant suddenly pulled out the knife and stabbed his colleague in the neck. She fell heavily to the ground. There, he stabbed her repeatedly.
Only when neighbors, alerted by a scream, approached him did the defendant, who was still 20 years old at the time of the crime, flee on foot to his home and go to sleep. Shortly thereafter, the police arrested him. His colleague died from her injuries in the hospital.
Heinous murder
For the youth chamber, it was a heinous murder committed for petty reasons. The humiliation had no relation to the crime. The court did apply juvenile law due to signs of immaturity, but exceeded the maximum sentence of ten years due to the aggravated nature of the offense. He had committed two murder aggravating circumstances, brought a significant criminal energy to bear, and carried out his murderous intent consistently and purposefully, the court stated in the judgment.
The court considered 13 years to be appropriate to rehabilitate him. The presiding judge addressed the sister of the victim at the end of the verdict reading. Because she had given a statement after the closing arguments that deeply moved the judges. However, this part, as well as the defendant's statement, were made in the absence of the public.
The defense, which had demanded an eight-year juvenile sentence, announced an appeal against the judgment. The prosecution had demanded life imprisonment under adult sentencing in its closing argument.
Upcoming hearing on Monday
The defense, represented by Ms. Schmidt, will present their arguments at the upcoming hearing on Monday at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. In their appeal, they argue that the process at the Bielefeld District Court did not adequately consider mitigating circumstances.
Despite the nurse's conviction for the heinous murder of her colleague in North Rhine-Westphalia, the final judgments are not yet in place. Any changes in the verdict will depend on the Federal Court of Justice's review and interpretation of the district court's process and judgments.
At the heart of the defense's appeal is their belief that the court's focus on the defendant's humiliation as the motivating factor for the murder overshadowed potential extenuating circumstances. They argue that the court should have placed more emphasis on the defendant's emotional state and history.
As the case moves forward, the nurse's 13-year prison sentence remains on hold, pending the outcome of the appeal to the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.
