Defendant remains silent in trial over explosion in Ratingen
In the trial for the devastating explosion in a high-rise building in Ratingen near Düsseldorf, the 57-year-old defendant remained silent about the charges at the opening on Friday. The German is accused of nine counts of attempted murder. On May 11 of this year, he allegedly poured several liters of gasoline on police officers, firefighters and rescue workers and then set them on fire. The gas-air mixture exploded and a fireball injured the emergency services. Several of them fought for their lives for weeks.
The first witness to testify at the trial was the police officer who had been the first to enter the apartment. He said that it had been quiet in the apartment. Then he suddenly saw the defendant with a burning piece of fabric in his hand. There had been a heat stroke and his colleague was on fire, he reported. He accompanied her downstairs. Later, he himself was in a coma for weeks due to serious injuries.
The police had been called to the apartment because of an overflowing letterbox and the smell of decay. The police later found the body of the 57-year-old's mother in the apartment. She had presumably died several weeks earlier.
The police counted 35 people injured after the explosion, most of whom were treated for suspected smoke inhalation. Eight of the nine victims were expected to suffer permanent injuries, the public prosecutor's office announced.
The court has scheduled nine trial days for the criminal proceedings until January 11 of next year.
The defense attorney argued that their client's silence in court should not be considered as admission of guilt, as it could be attributed to the mental trauma caused by the explosions. In the investigation leading up to the trial, it was discovered that the defendant had a history of arson related crimes, raising concerns about potential negligence leading to the explosions.
Source: www.dpa.com
