Regional court - 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 this Wednesday. 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 seriousness of guilt. The 57-year-old German had wanted to murder nine people with the explosion he had triggered.
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.
There was great disappointment that the 57-year-old had 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.
Read also:
- A clan member is punished here
- Traffic lawyer warns: Don't talk to the police!
- Will he be convicted as Jutta's murderer after 37 years?
- He also wanted to kill his cousin
The regional court in North Rhine-Westphalia is set to deliver its verdict on the defendant involved in the explosion in Ratingen, near Düsseldorf. The incident led to severe criminality, as the defendant intended to harm nine individuals with the explosion. The operational force, including the police, fire department, and ambulance, responded to the scene after receiving reports of a helpless person in distress. Unfortunately, the defendant had set fire to petrol, causing an explosion that put several emergency service personnel in immediate danger and left eight with permanent injuries. The public prosecutor's office has advocated for life imprisonment for the accused due to the gravity of the situation. Despite a psychiatrist's report suggesting the accused's influence by conspiracy theories, his motives and reasons for the attack remain unclear to the victims. The police had been informed of the residents' absence from the apartment due to a strong smell of decay and an overflowing letterbox.
Source: www.stern.de
