process - Murder of a care-dependent woman: Nine years of prison for pensioner
A 72-year-old retiree has been sentenced to nine years in prison for the murder of his care-dependent wife. The 59-year-old woman was killed with a hammer, a cable, and a knife, according to the Berlin Regional Court. The caregiving had become "too much" for him, but the defendant was not in a hopeless situation, there were concrete offers from the care service, stated Presiding Judge Thomas Groß. The court followed a psychiatric report and assumed significantly reduced control ability of the retiree.
It is the duty of spouses to "support each other even in difficult times," the judge said. The retiree had initially taken care of his wife, who was in need of help after a stroke in November 2022 - "but she was not a serious care case." It was then that the terrible deed occurred.
On December 29, 2023, he lured the 59-year-old into the former children's room of their shared apartment in Hellersdorf under a pretext. There, lethal weapons were ready. Cruelly, he attacked the unsuspecting woman, whom he had trusted.
The man called the police: "I want to confess to a murder."
According to investigations, the German defendant had struck his wife 13 times with a hammer, strangled her with a cable, and then stabbed her 18 times with a knife. Two days after the woman's death, the 72-year-old reported to the police and declared: "I want to confess to a murder." When the police arrived at the apartment on Neue Grottkauer Straße, he opened the door "calmly and friendly," according to a police officer in court.
At the police station, the 72-year-old had given a statement that he and his wife had spent 26 "wonderful" years together. After her stroke, he had taken care of the 59-year-old and the household. At the end, he was "at his wit's end," he said shortly after his arrest. He had not asked for further help from the care service, which came twice a week, he thought he could manage on his own. Through the stroke, his wife had become an "impossible person."
The defendant, who was wheelchair-bound, only spoke briefly at the end of the trial. He expressed remorse for "losing control." His defense attorney pleaded for a verdict of manslaughter and a six-year prison sentence. The court followed the prosecution's request for a ten-year prison sentence for murder. The judgment is not yet legally binding.
- The murder took place in Berlin, a city in Germany.
- During the court process, the defendant's attorney argued for a reduced sentence due to the retiree's reduced control ability, which was attributed to a stroke.
- The case involved criminality, as the 72-year-old was charged with a serious crime: the murder of his care-dependent wife.
- Following his confession, the police in Germany took the defendant into custody for further investigation and processing of the case.
