Mother murdered - Responsibility for orphans disputed in homicide case
The responsibility for the care of four half-orphans from Göttingen is in dispute following the mother's death. The city of Göttingen and the Kreis Steinburg in Schleswig-Holstein are at odds over guardianship of the children, as the city of Göttingen reported. The issue of guardianship affects the children in their daily lives to a lesser extent, according to media reports from the "Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine" and NDR. The children's aunt criticized the Youth Office Göttingen for not taking sufficient care of the children.
The 39-year-old father of the children is suspected of having killed his separated wife in her apartment. The Syrian suspect is being held in pretrial detention in Rosdorf near Göttingen.
Location of the children undisclosed
Immediately after the incident, the four children were taken in by the Youth Office of the City of Göttingen and placed in a foster care family. The next day, they were taken to their aunt in Itzehoe (Kreis Steinburg) in Schleswig-Holstein upon their request. The city did not disclose where the children had been living for over a month after the incident. Their current residence is reportedly still in the Itzehoe area.
The Youth Office of the City of Göttingen now sees guardianship of the children as the responsibility of the Kreis Steinburg. The Göttingen authority received custody two days after the incident from the local court. The city does not expect the children to return to Göttingen. They had only recently moved from Schleswig-Holstein to Göttingen and had few social ties there. The Kreis Steinburg sees it differently. The matter is to be discussed between the municipalities in the background.
The City of Göttingen also reported that it continued to care for the children after their move to their aunt. The Youth Office organized 1,200 euros in emergency aid through the White Ring's victim support and offered therapy. Negotiations with the Kreis Steinburg, which is initially responsible for their care, were reportedly difficult.
"The well-being of the children was always our top priority," said Göttingen's Youth Welfare Officer Maria Karaus. The case presented many challenges for the authorities, but the social workers and social workers handled it with great engagement and empathy, added the head of the Youth Office Göttingen, Klaus Dieter Schmidt.
The City of Göttingen now sees itself as no longer responsible for the matter beyond guardianship. It was determined in mid-May that the financial matters of the children were the responsibility of the Landkreis Göttingen and its Youth Office. Since the father's last known residence and the detention center Rosdorf are located in the district, the responsibility was therefore transferred on May 30th. The city was only temporarily responsible, as the children had been living there with their mother prior to the incident.
The children's aunt, living in Itzehoe in Kreis Steinburg, Schleswig-Holstein, requested for the children to join her after their mother's death. Ms. Karaus, the Youth Welfare Officer in Göttingen, expressed that the city continued to provide emergency aid and therapy for the children after their move. The ongoing discussions regarding the children's guardianship have been described as challenging. The senior official of the Youth Office in Göttingen, Klaus Dieter Schmidt, commended the social workers for their engagement and empathy during this difficult situation. Despite the transfer of financial responsibility for the children to the Landkreis Göttingen and its Youth Office, the city of Göttingen maintains that it no longer bears the primary responsibility for the children's welfare.
