Five arsons in the Freiamt: Court to decide on outpatient measure
A 31-year-old is alleged to have set five fires in Uezwil, Büttikon and Wohlen. According to an expert report, he was not criminally responsible – the Bremgarten District Court is now hearing the case.
Arson series in the Freiamt: Accused deemed not criminally responsible
According to Google News CH — Crime (de), a 31-year-old in Canton Aargau is appearing before the Bremgarten District Court, facing five counts of arson in the Freiamt region. The Muri-Bremgarten State Prosecutor's Office has concluded its investigation and is not seeking a custodial sentence, but rather outpatient psychiatric treatment.
On an August night last year, the accused allegedly set four fires within a few hours, according to the charges. An owner-occupied house in Uezwil, the former Raiffeisen Bank in Büttikon, a Migrolino petrol station, and a driving school truck in Wohlen were affected. About two weeks earlier, he had already set fire to another owner-occupied house in Uezwil. Following the intense night of fires in August, the suspected perpetrator was arrested.
Some of the five acts are being treated as attempted arson. However, a psychiatric expert report is crucial for the further proceedings: according to this, the 31-year-old today suffers from a paranoid-hallucinatory disorder and was not criminally responsible at the time of the acts. In August last year, he is said to have suffered an acute episode of his illness.
Forensic psychiatrist Josef Sachs explains the diagnosis to Tele M1: "This is a serious mental illness that causes a person's thought process to be disrupted." According to Sachs, those affected often feel observed or persecuted, develop delusions, or hear voices.
Since the law does not provide for punishment in cases of lack of criminal responsibility, the state prosecutor is instead requesting an outpatient measure aimed at long-term treatment. Sachs emphasises that relapse is nonetheless possible: "Either the man does not respond to the medications and treatment – but that should become apparent early on. Or he withdraws from treatment."
For the victims of the arson attacks, the situation is distressing. After the arrest, they had hoped the perpetrator would remain in custody for a long time and gradually felt safe again. The shock was all the greater for the affected family when they saw the accused – who is also their neighbour – at large once more. "We are living in fear again, even though we have done absolutely nothing wrong," the family told the Aargauer Zeitung in early June.
The Bremgarten District Court must now decide what treatment measure will be ordered.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)