Bernd Weimann will remain behind bars until the end of his life.
This 52-year-old German was sentenced on Tuesday to life imprisonment and an obligation of psychiatric care by the regional court of Trier (Rhineland-Palatinate).
In December 2020, this man suffering from psychosis drove drunk and at high speed down a pedestrian street in his 4x4.
He then aimed indiscriminately at passers-by.
Five people, including a baby, had died.
Many other bystanders had been injured and a sixth victim died nearly a year after the attack.
A “general hatred of humanity”
During the year-long trial, prosecutors argued the defendant planned the attack with the intent to "kill or injure as many people as possible".
An expert report prepared before the trial determined that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.
The accused was only able to give an approximate and sometimes contradictory account of the events.
Investigators at the time ruled out any political, terrorist or religious motives, and none were established during the trial.
According to the prosecution, the crazed driver felt frustrated with his personal situation.
Prior to the attack, he had no fixed address and lived in his vehicle, developing a "general hatred of humanity".
World
Germany: A car drives into the crowd in Berlin, one dead and eight injured by firefighters
World
Germany: A car drives into the crowd in Münster and kills at least two, the driver commits suicide
Justice
Car
Germany
Conviction
Jail
Psychiatry