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Regional Court of Bremen: Defendant in murder trial
Photo: Focke Strangmann / dpa
More than a year after the discovery of a dismembered woman's body in a suitcase in the Weser, the Bremen Regional Court has sentenced the husband of the dead to life imprisonment for murder. According to a court spokesman, the judges considered it proven that the 47-year-old had strangled his wife, dismembered her body and hidden her in luggage.
In February 2022, he threw the suitcase into the Geeste River, which flows through Bremerhaven and flows into the Weser. There he was found about four weeks later at the height of a hotel in the middle of the city. At that time, large-scale searches were already underway for the 32-year-old, who was considered missing. After the body was found, the man was taken into custody, it came to the trial.
During the trial, the defendant's mother, who was only listed as a witness, surprisingly took the blame several times and stated that she had killed her son's partner. As a result, the taking of evidence was extended, and the criminal trial lasted almost nine months.
Ultimately, according to the spokesman, the court had no doubts about the perpetrator of the accused. The mother's statements contradicted the rest of the evidence and, in the opinion of the Chamber, merely constituted a "rescue attempt" to save her son from conviction. The man had acted out of insidiousness.
The public prosecutor's office had also demanded the determination of the particular gravity of the guilt, which would have largely ruled out early release from prison. However, the court did not follow this. The defense, on the other hand, had pleaded for an acquittal for their client.
wit/dpa/AFP