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Aachen Regional Court: The public prosecutor requested a life sentence subject to subsequent preventive detention
Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
On Friday, the Aachen regional court sentenced a 42-year-old man to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife.
The woman had been missing since 2016 and her body was only found last year.
On October 18, 2016, the man pushed his wife down the stairs during a domestic dispute.
The court found this, according to a spokeswoman.
The woman sustained injuries in this fall.
Out of fear that the crime would become known, the man ultimately suffocated or strangled her.
Before the argument, the woman had told the perpetrator that she wanted to move to southern Germany with her son from her marriage and her new boyfriend.
The public prosecutor's office requested a life sentence for the defendant, subject to subsequent preventive detention.
The defense pleaded for acquittal.
The verdict is not yet legally binding.
The woman's body was found during a search at the 42-year-old's home last August.
According to previous information from investigators, suspicion had already fallen on the husband after the crime.
However, this could not be proven for a long time.
spr/dpa/AFP