Processes - Kiel man on trial again for fatal shooting
For lethal shots on a 31-year-old after a slap, a 25-year-old must again appear before the Kiel High Court on Monday (9.30 am) regarding a charge of manslaughter. A revision of the public prosecutor and the co-plaintiff against the first judgment from April 2023 was successful, according to the court. The jury had sentenced the accused to twelve years for manslaughter. Previously, the "Kiel Nachrichten" reported on the successful revision.
According to the court, there was an altercation between the brother of the accused and the victim before the lethal shots on June 27, 2022, in the Kiel district of Gaarden. The accused is said to have decided to kill the 31-year-old. With a sharp firearm, the accused and several witnesses are said to have shot at the man sitting on a bench in Kiel. The accused is said to have approached the man from a distance of only one to two meters, drawn the weapon, and fired. The 31-year-old later died in the hospital from his injuries.
The court saw no murder motive
Unlike the prosecutor and the co-plaintiff, the chamber did not consider the act a murder, but a manslaughter, in the first trial. The chamber did not see the necessary elements of premeditation and a low motive. The motive was reportedly revenge for an ear-pulling that the victim had inflicted on the younger brother of the accused hours earlier. The 31-year-old was not defenseless and unarmed when the accused approached him. In the background story, at least a significant altercation was to be expected.
The accused confessed to the crime and showed remorse. In the judgment of April 2023, the chamber referred to the co-defendant's involvement. In the judgment reasoning, the presiding judge stated that the 31-year-old may have given the impetus for the shots himself through his behavior. Before the lethal shots, he shouted at the accused, "Come on! Come on! Shoot him! Shoot him!" as the accused stood about a meter from him with a firearm in hand. He also called the accused a coward and a weakling, "which triggered the impulse for the shot."
The victim was shot from close range with at least four shots. Two penetrated the chest cavity and were fatal. For the new trial, eight trial days have been scheduled so far. A verdict could therefore fall on September 9.
The public prosecutor's office and the victim's brother filed a revision against the initial verdict, leading to the accused's return to the Kiel High Court. Despite the incident being described as a "slap in the face" by some, the court did not classify it as a murder motive, but instead, deemed it manslaughter. The Kiel News reported on the successful revision, and the Kiel District Court is now set to deliver a new verdict on September 9. During the original altercation in Schleswig-Holstein, the 31-year-old victim allegedly pulled the accused's brother's ear, which was seen as a provocation.
