Start of negotiations - Father killed? - Indictment read out in manslaughter trial
Before the Landgericht Frankenthal, a trial against a son who is accused of killing his father and almost completely severing his head, has begun. According to a court spokeswoman, the indictment was read out at the start of the trial.
The prosecution accuses the 57-year-old man from Neustadt/Weinstraße of first urging his father, who was lying in bed, to kill him and then nearly completely severing his head with a kitchen knife. The father is said to have died from a combination of asphyxiation and blood loss.
The prosecution initially charged the man with murder, but in the trial, it is now about manslaughter. After the statement of a forensic expert, it is not to be assumed that the victim "experienced the pain required for the murder beyond what is necessary". Therefore, the Chamber of Judges evaluated the act alleged by the prosecution as manslaughter. The defendant, who had not previously been convicted, is said to have confessed to the crime during his arrest.
The case is being heard at the Regional Court in Rhineland-Palatinate's city of Frankenthal. The public prosecutor's office in Neustadt (Weinstrasse) issued the indictment, which led to the start of negotiations. The defendant, originally charged with murder, now faces manslaughter charges following the testimony of a forensic expert.
