Which important proceedings are due in 2024

In Bavaria's courts - Which important proceedings are due in 2024

Murder at Neuschwanstein Castle, abuse lawsuit against the Catholic Church, investigation into the Wirecard scandal and trial over the death of a ten-year-old girl: Significant proceedings are due to take place in the courts in Bavaria in 2024. An overview.

- The case of a girl killed in a children's home in Wunsiedel, Upper Franconia, caused horror far beyond the region in 2023. From February 1, 2024, the trial against a 25-year-old man for rape, aggravated sexual abuse of children and other charges will now begin at Hof Regional Court.

An eleven-year-old, who is allegedly responsible for the girl's death, will not be prosecuted due to his age. He has been summoned as a witness. The public prosecutor accuses the accused of first breaking into the children's home on the night of April 4, 2023 to steal valuables. He then came across the eleven-year-old and masturbated in front of her. The man is said to have later raped the ten-year-old girl and then left the children's home again. The boy is said to have strangled the girl during an argument that same night. Nine dates are scheduled for the trial until the beginning of March 2024.

- Murder near Neuschwanstein Castle: A case that caused a worldwide sensation is expected to be heard in Kempten in 2024. In June 2023, two American tourists were attacked near Neuschwanstein Castle in the Allgäu region and thrown down a ravine. The police arrested a fellow countryman of the two victims, and the 31-year-old was charged with murder, attempted murder and other offenses in the fall.

Investigators accuse the man of overpowering, raping and strangling a 21-year-old woman. He is then said to have thrown the woman down a 50-meter drop and she did not survive. Her 22-year-old friend, who tried to intervene, was also allegedly pushed into the depths by the accused and survived with injuries. The Kempten district court has not yet set a date for the trial, according to a spokesperson. As hearing periods for parties to the proceedings are still running, the criminal chamber has not yet decided whether to admit the charges.

- The trial against the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising for compensation for pain and suffering and damages for a victim of abuse is due to continue at Traunstein District Court at the beginning of January. A second trial day has been scheduled for January 10, 2024. On this day, the plaintiff, a former altar boy, will be heard in person. The continuation of the trial had previously been postponed several times.

The man claims to have been sexually abused once by a priest in Garching an der Alz in the mid-1990s. In the civil proceedings, he is demanding at least 300,000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering from the archdiocese. Through its lawyer, the archdiocese had generally accepted at the beginning of the trial that the plaintiff was entitled to compensation, but had not committed itself to a specific sum. The case had made headlines across Germany primarily because the defendants originally included Pope Benedict XVI, who has since died. However, the proceedings against him were severed. After his death, it is still unclear who will be the legal successor and thus, to a certain extent, inherit the proceedings.

- The trial surrounding the fatal shootings in Nuremberg's Südstadt district will keep the regional court busy in the first months of 2024. The chamber is expecting an extensive hearing of evidence. Numerous hearings have been scheduled until March. A 29-year-old Turkish man is on trial for murder and attempted murder. He is alleged to have shot two friends on a busy street in October 2022.

In January, the chamber will first question police officers and witnesses to the crime. The widow of the 30-year-old man who was killed and a 35-year-old victim who survived the attack seriously injured will then be summoned. The chamber also wants to question other family members and friends of the men. The public prosecutor's office assumes that there was an argument between the accused and the two victims before the attack. The exact reasons for this are not known. The chamber now wants to find out in the course of the trial.

- It is one of the first civil proceedings against a coronavirus vaccine manufacturer in Germany: the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Bamberg will continue to hear the lawsuit brought by a 33-year-old woman from Upper Franconia against the manufacturer Astrazeneca from February 19, 2024. The woman is suing for vaccine damage and is seeking at least 250,000 euros in compensation for pain and suffering as well as 17,200 euros for loss of earnings and up to 600,000 euros for future impairments. Astrazeneca's lawyers have so far ruled out a settlement with the plaintiff.

The woman had been vaccinated with the British-Swedish company's Covid-19 vaccine Vaxzevria in March 2021 and subsequently suffered a so-called intestinal vein thrombosis. She went into a coma and ultimately had to have part of her intestine removed. The Hof Regional Court dismissed the claim at first instance. The Higher Regional Court has since come to the conclusion that the plaintiff would not have been vaccinated with the Astrazeneca vaccine if the risk of intestinal vein thrombosis had been described in the manufacturer's product information. An expert opinion should now provide clarity. The parties were able to comment on this. The trial will be continued in February to discuss the statements.

- The Traunstein District Court is continuing to deal with the alleged murder of a 23-year-old student in Aschau in Chiemgau. As the hearing of evidence dragged on, the court recently scheduled further dates until March. The young woman was in a club in Aschau im Chiemgau on the night of October 3, 2022 and had set off home from there in the early morning - but she never made it home. A passer-by discovered the woman's body in the afternoon in the Prien River, around twelve kilometers downstream.

A 22-year-old man was arrested six weeks after the crime and subsequently charged with murder. The young man denies the crime. So far, it has remained unclear whether the young woman may have fallen into the river and drowned through no fault of her own. The court is hoping for clarification with the help of an expert opinion.

- Teenager killed: In September 2023, a 14-year-old is alleged to have killed a peer in Lohr am Main, Lower Franconia, with a shot to the head. The public prosecutor's office in Würzburg is expected to charge the suspect with murder and the trial could follow in 2024. The German has remained silent about the charges since his arrest. According to the public prosecutor's office, there are still no definite findings regarding the motive for the crime.

The murder weapon, a nine-millimetre pistol, legally belonged to a neighbor of the teenager. According to the police, he had all the necessary permits. He had also stored his weapons properly. It is not yet clear how the pupil got hold of the pistol because the owner of the weapon could not be questioned due to hospitalization and died a few weeks after the crime. However, the 66-year-old is said to have known the boy. Should the juvenile be brought to trial, the juvenile chamber of the Würzburg Regional Court would be entrusted with the case.

- The Munich Wirecard trial will continue from January 10, 2024. In the largest fraud case in German post-war history, former CEO Markus Braun, the former head of the Dubai business, Oliver Bellenhaus, and the former Wirecard chief accountant are accused of suspected commercial gang fraud. They are alleged to have falsified Wirecard balance sheets since 2015 and defrauded lending banks of 3.1 billion euros.

In the meantime, the public prosecutor's office has also brought charges against a former Wirecard CFO. The man is accused of commercial and gang fraud, market manipulation, misrepresentation and breach of trust. No decision has yet been made on whether to admit the charges. The Bavarian Supreme Court is also expected to deal with claims for damages from former Wirecard shareholders in 2024. According to the court, more than 8,000 applications for the model case have already been registered so far. A trial date has not yet been set.

- "Reichsbürger" proceedings: The Higher Regional Court in Munich is expected to deal with charges against alleged "Reich citizens" in 2024. Following the large-scale anti-terror raid in 2022, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office has brought several charges against so-called "Reichsbürger". "Reich citizens" are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany and its democratic structures.

On December 7, 2022, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office had 25 men and women arrested in several federal states, Austria and Italy. The businessman Heinrich XIII Prince Reuß is considered one of the ringleaders. According to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the alleged ringleaders will be charged in Frankfurt, the military arm in Stuttgart and the other alleged members in Munich. The higher regional courts in the three cities must now decide whether to admit the charges and schedule a trial.

- Wife murder trial: In March 2023, a man is alleged to have killed his wife in Marktheidenfeld, Lower Franconia. In November, the public prosecutor's office in Würzburg charged the 36-year-old with murder. Investigators assume that he killed the 33-year-old woman out of base motives, as he believed the wife had brought shame on the family. The woman wanted to separate from her husband, but he was unable to accept this. During an argument in their shared home, the man is said to have stabbed the woman at least eight times. She later died in hospital. The man also inflicted several stab wounds on himself with the intention of committing suicide. The Afghan was arrested after the incident and has been in custody ever since. The couple have four children. They were taken into the care of the youth welfare office. The Würzburg Regional Court has not yet set a trial date.