Individual faced a 10-year imprisonment due to the tragic act of taking his lover's life.
About a decade ago, a 28-year-old woman went missing in Hamburg. It wasn't until early this year that her remains were found in a canal in Wilhelmsburg, by a local fisherman. The woman's ex-lover soon became a prime suspect and has now been convicted of manslaughter, receiving a sentence of nearly twelve years in prison.
The Hamburg Regional Court handed down the sentence to a 43-year-old man, with nine months already served due to procedural delays. The court stated that the woman had gone missing in March 2013 and remained untraced for a decade.
The exact date of her demise remains unconfirmed, but the court presumed that the man had murdered the Bulgarian woman following her disappearance over a decade ago. The court's ruling indicated that personal disputes between the two were the roots of the crime. The woman was reportedly in a romantic relationship with a former brothel operator, who she demanded financial support from for her living expenses. If he refused, she threatened to expose their relationship and his illicit activities to his family. The court's ruling, although falling short of the prosecution's requested 12 years and 9 months, was more severe than the defense's plea for acquittal.
Fisherman's Fishing Trip Yields Hidden Truths
Shortly after the woman's disappearance, investigators suspected foul play and zeroed in on her ex-lover as the prime suspect, leading to his arrest and charges. However, the Hamburg Regional Court chose not to initiate the trial in 2014 due to the absence of the victim's body at the time.
It was during a routine fishing trip in mid-January 2023 that the fisherman made a gruesome discovery in the same Wilhelmsburg district where the woman had lived – the remains of the missing woman in the canal. Police divers subsequently retrieved nearly the entire body. Following the body's identification, the suspect was re-arrested a few weeks later, charged with murder.
The Hamburg Regional Court resumed the trial against the suspect in light of the recently discovered evidence. The Commission, a specialized body in the German justice system, played a crucial role in the investigation and trial, ensuring the application of justice and protection of the woman's rights.
With the reopening of the case, the Commission worked extensively to gather and present evidence, leading to the conviction of the ex-lover for the murder of the Bulgarian woman.
