Life sentence for murder of eight-year-old Fabian in Güstrow
Rostock Regional Court sentences a 30-year-old to life imprisonment for the murder of eight-year-old Fabian. The court saw no doubt of the defendant's guilt based on 44 pieces of evidence.
Verdict without doubt
Rostock Regional Court has sentenced a 30-year-old to life imprisonment for murder. The presiding judge Holger Schütt emphasised in the verdict reasoning: "There was no doubt" about the defendant's guilt. The court also determined that the crime constituted particularly serious guilt, which effectively excludes early release after 15 years. According to tagesspiegel.de, the verdict is not yet final.
The victim, eight-year-old Fabian from Güstrow, was collected from his mother's flat on 10 October under a false pretext. According to the court's conviction, the defendant led the boy first to a forest in the Güstrow area and then to a pond near Klein Upahl. She seized the boy from behind and inflicted "six forceful knife wounds to the chest area". Fabian died within minutes.
Motive stemming from failed relationship
The court saw the motive in the defendant's failed relationship with Fabian's father. He had become close to his son again in summer 2025 after they had not been in contact for a long time. The defendant had viewed the boy as an "existential obstacle" to the continuation of her relationship with the father. According to the court, she wanted to convince the boy to break off contact with his father. When this failed, she decided to kill him.
Judge Schütt described the defendant's relationship with Fabian's father as characterised by "quarrelling, jealousy and a need for control". Immediately before the act, the two even had sexual contact again, but could not resolve their conflicts. According to statements by the father, after their separation prior to the act they grew closer again later.
44 pieces of evidence against the defendant
The verdict was based on a circumstantial evidence trial. Judge Schütt listed in detail 44 pieces of evidence that spoke against the defendant. The prosecution had spoken in its closing argument of a "complete and unambiguous chain of evidence" and emphasised that without a confession or direct witnesses to the act there were no reasonable doubts about the defendant's guilt.
The judge ascribed to the defendant "pathological lying" and "manipulative and fraudulent behaviour". A psychological expert had established a "parasitic lifestyle". The 30-year-old had profited financially from support from the father and from acquaintances. She has been receiving an employment disability allowance of over 1,400 euros per month for years.
Persistent denials of guilt
The defendant repeatedly asserted her innocence during the trial, which had been running since the end of April. After more than 30 days of trial, the defence saw many unanswered questions and argued for acquittal based on the principle "in dubio pro reo" – when in doubt, for the accused. Judge Schütt countered that evidence is fact and circumstantial evidence trials are generally the rule rather than the exception.
During the verdict reasoning, Fabian's mother visibly struggled to maintain her composure. She sat next to her lawyer Christine Habetha in the courtroom.
Appeal announced
The defendant can lodge an appeal against the verdict. The defendant announced she would go to the "highest court" to achieve her release. The Federal Court of Justice would then decide. An appeal must be entered in the record within one week and substantiated in writing within one month. Unlike an appeal, in a revision hearing the evidence is not re-examined. Rather, it is examined whether the trial and verdict are legally sound.
Source: Die Zeit Kriminalität