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The judge first quoted comments from the Internet: It should be locked away, it should be allowed to starve, it said.
But: That goes on Facebook, but “not in this courtroom,” said the presiding judge at the Hanover District Court, Laurin Osterwold, on Tuesday.
He admitted the case was emotional and difficult to put into words.
In the end, the 74-year-old, whose mother with dementia he was caring for, died undernourished at the age of 93, was sentenced to a suspended sentence of one year and four months.
Despite the Internet comments, the punishment was severe, the judge emphasized.
Because the man was overwhelmed with the care.
(Ref .: 236 Ls 439/19)
The man was convicted of dangerous bodily harm by omission and exposure, albeit in less serious cases.
"The exhausting performance of the care can lead to excessive demands," emphasized the judge.
“Caring for the elderly is time-consuming.” The convict tried to look after his mother, but in the end he couldn't do it.
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The 74-year-old was a court-appointed carer for the woman suffering from dementia.
In December 2016, he brought his mother from a senior citizens' residence in Hanover, where she was poorly looked after, to her own apartment.
She lived there until her death.
There was no care by a nursing service, the son lived in Hamburg and only came to Hanover temporarily.
The woman died in June 2017, severely dehydrated.
The elderly weighed only 26 kilograms at the time of her death.
Half a year earlier she had weighed 38.2 kilograms.
For the 74-year-old, however, his detailed confession, his dismay, and he regrets that he did not give his mother the care she needed, said the judge.
Even after four months she was still in good physical condition: "This is a job, you can be proud of yourself."
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Two weeks before her death, her condition worsened significantly, but there were no emergency contacts.
Yet the man did not act willfully;
he actually tried his best, but the best would have been to call in an outpatient care service: "You should have done that."
The public prosecutor had previously demanded a suspended sentence of one year and four months - for dangerous bodily harm through omission and suspension in less serious cases.
The man abandoned his mother in a helpless position, although he actually wanted to improve her situation.
The defense attorney spoke out in favor of a suspended sentence of no more than a year.
The convict himself seemed to want to put a burden off his mind in his long closing remarks: he was still shaken, had made big mistakes, he slept badly and was “ready to go”.
He finally emphasized: "I can't say anything more, I could cry."