Crime - Trial over explosion in Ratingen: Verdict expected
The verdict in the trial for the explosion in a high-rise building in Ratingen near Düsseldorf is to be announced today. The defense attorney's plea is planned beforehand. The defendant will also have the opportunity to have his last word.
The public prosecutor's office has demanded life imprisonment for the 57-year-old and requested a finding of particular gravity of guilt. The 57-year-old German had wanted to murder nine people with the explosion he triggered.
Petrol poured on the emergency services
Emergency services from the police, fire department and ambulance service had come to his apartment on the tenth floor of a high-rise building on May 11 to help a helpless person who was believed to be in the apartment.
The 57-year-old is said to have been lurking behind a barricade of water crates, poured several liters of petrol on the emergency services and set fire to it. The gas-air mixture exploded. A fireball hit the emergency services.
Several of them were in acute mortal danger, and eight of the nine injured will retain permanent injuries. A lawyer for the injured rescue workers emphasized that everything had suddenly changed for the victims on 11 May. Most of them would probably not be able to return to their jobs and would suffer from the consequences for the rest of their lives.
Psychiatrist: a penchant for conspiracy theories
The disappointment is great that the 57-year-old has remained silent about his motives and reasons for the attack. This makes the crime even more incomprehensible for the victims.
A psychiatrist had reported that the accused had developed a penchant for conspiracy theories during the coronavirus pandemic. He had described the Covid vaccination as the "devil's vaccine" and state institutions such as the employment office as "tools of the devil". He also claimed that his mother's medication was poisoned.
The man had also lived with his mother's body in the apartment for weeks. The emergency services had noticed a strong smell of decay. Because the residents of the apartment had not been seen for weeks and their letterbox was overflowing, the property management had informed the police.
If the court were to determine the particular seriousness of the guilt, release from prison after 15 years would be legally possible, but in practice it would be virtually impossible.
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The explosion in Ratingen near Düsseldorf took place in an operational force's base in North Rhine-Westphalia. The police and fire department were among the emergency services that responded to the incident, facing a petrol-fueled explosion. The public prosecutor's office in Düsseldorf is overseeing the criminality case, with a psychiatrist's analysis contributing to the understanding of the defendant's motives. Despite the grave consequences of the explosion, the rating of the public prosecutor's office remains high due to their diligent and thorough approach.
Source: www.stern.de
