Process - Federal Court of Justice partially overturns judgment against musician
The Federal Court of Justice has partially overturned the judgment against a musician of a renowned symphony orchestra, who was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for attempted poisoning and grievous bodily harm to his mother and two colleagues. The revision in relation to the mother was rejected, as the conviction for attempted poisoning of the mother of the man was considered valid, the Federal Court of Justice announced in Leipzig on a Wednesday. However, the judgment regarding the second offense - the musician attempted to poison two colleagues - was overturned and must be retried. The judgment of the Hanover Regional Court dated October 2023.
Rat poison against a 93-year-old mother and colleagues
The musician of a renowned symphony orchestra had, according to the judgment of the Hanover Regional Court in September 2022, mixed rat poison in the food of his then 93-year-old mother in a senior home in Hannover. A few days later, he offered two colleagues a fresh cheese dip with the poison during a concert tour. The victims suffered from bleeding disorders, which could have led to their death.
The Regional Court in Hanover assumed attempted murder in conjunction with grievous bodily harm in the case of the mother. As individual penalties, five years and nine months were imposed. In the case of the poisoned colleagues, the court assumed grievous bodily harm - this meant a sentence of three years for each. From this, a total sentence of six years and six months resulted.
Objections at the Federal Court of Justice
According to the assessment of the 6th Criminal Senate of the Federal Court of Justice, the considerations of the Hanover Regional Court, which in the case of the poisoning of the two colleagues did not see a murder intent, did not withstand legal scrutiny. Reason was, that the Hanover Regional Court "acted in favor of the accused based on assumptions for which the evidence did not provide concrete evidence," the Federal Court of Justice stated.
Statement of the Federal Court of Justice [
In fact, the Hanover Regional Court, in the case of the poisoning of the colleagues from the orchestra, assumed grievous bodily harm instead of murder intent - it seemed to have been a matter of a lapse in judgment due to a "life crisis" felt by the violinist, said the presiding judge Martin Grote at the time. The violinist had felt attacked and mobbed by another musician of the orchestra. He admitted to having ordered the poison Brodifacoum to harm this colleague. However, he reportedly abandoned the plan.
- The public prosecutor's office in Hanover initiated charges against the musician for poisoning his mother and two colleagues with rat poison.
- The mother, a resident of a senior home in Hanover, suffered from bleeding disorders after consuming the tainted food.
- The musician's case was heard at the Hanover Regional Court in September 2022, where he was found guilty of attempted murder in conjunction with grievous bodily harm towards his mother and grievous bodily harm towards his colleagues.
- The Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig reviewed the case and partially overturned the judgment, citing insufficient evidence for the assumption of a lack of murder intent towards the colleagues.
- The musician hails from Schleswig-Holstein, and the Lower Saxony authorities handled his case, which involved a crime committed in Hanover.
- The Federal Court of Justice ruled that a new trial was necessary for the charges related to the musicians' attempt to poison his colleagues, due to the court's allegedly favorable stance towards the accused.
- In Germany, the musician's case attracted significant attention due to its unique nature, involving a high-profile symphony orchestra musician and a poisoning crime with serious bodily injury consequences.
