Processes - Murder trial: Defense files for revision
After the judgment against a 43-year-old man for Murder of a 17-year-old inline skater and two attempted Murders of women in Lower Saxony, the defense has filed for revision. This was confirmed by the defense attorney and a spokesperson of the Landgericht Verden upon request. The Federal Court of Justice must now review the judgment for legal errors. It could take months until a decision is made, the spokesperson of the Landgericht stated.
The 43-year-old received the maximum sentence last week: life imprisonment with the determination of aggravated circumstances. In addition, the Landgericht ordered the placement in a preventive detention. This means that the man cannot be released before 15 years.
Defense sees no aggravated circumstances
The German man is alleged to have killed a schoolgirl in Barenburg, approximately 70 kilometers northwest of Hannover, in September 2023 in a home invasion and with base motives using a knife. Three days after the crime, the man, according to the court's assessment, attempted to murder two more women. Both survived with severe injuries.
In their plea, the defense saw in the murder an act of murder, but only base motives as a murder aggravating circumstance. They assessed the two other acts as attempted manslaughter or negligent bodily harm. They pleaded for life imprisonment without determination of aggravated circumstances and without preventive detention.
The defense argues that the Federal Court of Justice may find legal errors in the judgment, leading to a potential reduction in the 43-year-old's penalty for attempted murder. Despite the life imprisonment sentence and preventive detention order, the defense disputes the existence of aggravated circumstances in the murder case. The accused is also under scrutiny for allegedly attempting to murder two women in Lower Saxony, which the defense characterizes as attempted manslaughter or negligent bodily harm.
