Nine counts of attempted murder: trial for explosion in Ratingen
The devastating explosion in a high-rise building in Ratingen will be on the agenda at Düsseldorf District Court from Friday (10.00 a.m.). A 57-year-old German will stand trial in the dock. On May 11, he allegedly poured several liters of gasoline on police officers, firefighters and rescue workers and then ignited it. The gas-air mixture exploded and a fireball injured the emergency services. Several of them fought for their lives for weeks. One policewoman remained in an induced coma for months.
The accused is charged with nine counts of attempted murder. According to the indictment, eight of the nine victims would foreseeably suffer permanent damage. The police counted 35 people injured after the explosion, most of whom were treated for suspected smoke inhalation.
The explosion triggered a major operation lasting several hours involving 650 officers, at the end of which special police units were able to overpower the 57-year-old. They discovered a partially skeletonized corpse sitting in a wheelchair in the apartment.
It turned out to be the remains of the mother of the neglected-looking Ratinger, with whom he had stayed in the apartment for weeks. He has been in custody ever since and has remained silent about the allegations for a good six months.
The police were called to his apartment because of an overflowing letterbox and the smell of decay. The man's motive for the crime is unclear. The 57-year-old is said to be prone to conspiracy theories and to have stored large amounts of food in his apartment.
A few days before the crime, a police officer had rung his doorbell with an arrest warrant because the man had been issued with two warrants for assault. Among other things, he is said to have beaten a neighbor. Because he had not paid his fine, he was sent to prison.
In another apartment in the tower block, a 73-year-old resident was discovered dead after the eviction. The man, who was in serious need of care, may have died because he had been left unattended for too long due to the evacuation.
Whether his death was actually caused by the operation and whether the 57-year-old Ratingen resident is also to blame is being investigated in separate proceedings. The district court has scheduled nine trial days for the criminal proceedings until January 11 of next year.
The investigation into the 73-year-old's death in a separate proceeding raises questions about potential neglect and the impact of the evacuation processes associated with the explosion. The explosion, triggered by the accused's alleged actions, involved the ignition of a gas-air mixture, raising concerns about potential processes leading to such explosions.
Source: www.dpa.com
