Process - Severed head in front of regional court building: BGH to hear case
The case involving a human head deposited in front of the Bonn Regional Court is now being examined by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe. In January, the Bonn district court sentenced a then 39-year-old man to one and a half years in prison without parole for disturbing the peace of the dead. The defendant and the public prosecutor appealed against this. (Ref. 2 StR 270/23)
The case concerned a "very bizarre event", said presiding judge Ekkehard Appl at the hearing on Wednesday. According to the findings of the regional court, the man had placed the head of his friend, who had previously died of tuberculosis, in front of the court in June 2022. Both are said to have been homeless. However, the court was unable to determine with certainty whether the man had also cut off the head beforehand. During the trial, the then 39-year-old remained silent about the allegations. His motivation remained unclear.
In the hearing before the BGH, the man's defense lawyer criticized the district court's legal assessment in particular. In her opinion, the offense of disturbing the peace of the dead was not fulfilled. Therefore, her client should have been acquitted. The man himself had not come to Karlsruhe. The representative of the federal prosecution criticized, among other things, that the regional court had drawn conclusions from the circumstantial evidence that were not comprehensible. The second criminal division will announce its verdict on Wednesday afternoon (3.15 pm).
Announcement by the court
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- The controversial case of criminality in North Rhine-Westphalia, involving the placement of a human head in front of a regional court, is currently under examination at the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.
- Despite the Bonn Regional Court's ruling in January where a man was sentenced to prison for disturbing the peace of the dead, allegedly placing his friend's head outside the court, both parties, the defendant and the public prosecutor's office, have appealed to the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe.
- During the hearing in Karlsruhe, the defense lawyer argued against the district court's legal assessment, claiming the offense of disturbing the peace of the dead was not fulfilled, thus the man should have been acquitted.
- The Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, after hearing arguments from both sides, will announce its verdict on the case pertaining to the troubling event in North Rhine-Westphalia at 3:15 pm on Wednesday.
- The public prosecutor's office, representing the state, criticized the Bonn Regional Court's interpretation of circumstantial evidence, suggesting their reasoning was not entirely clear to the higher court.
Source: www.stern.de
