Life sentence for son-in-law: murder of 58-year-old in Schöntal
Heilbronn Regional Court has sentenced a 47-year-old man from Hohenlohekreis to life imprisonment for the murder of his mother-in-law. He is said to have killed her on the day of his divorce.
Murder on divorce day: Heilbronn court sentences son-in-law to life imprisonment
Heilbronn Regional Court has sentenced a 47-year-old man from Hohenlohekreis to a life sentence because he is alleged to have killed his 58-year-old mother-in-law in Schöntal. This is reported by zeit.de citing the court spokesperson.
The murder weapon and witnesses are still missing. In the court's view, the man beat the woman to death in January of last year with the handle of a car jack. The court cited as motive frustration over the failure of his marriage and a dispute over custody of his daughter: following his separation from his wife, custody had been transferred to the mother-in-law.
He is said to have ambushed and killed the woman precisely on the day of his divorce. The circumstantial evidence was said to have been overwhelming. The defendant had previously made threats and was unable to provide an alibi.
Neither the court nor the public prosecutor nor the defence had fundamental doubts about his responsibility for the act. However, the 47-year-old's lawyer pleaded for manslaughter and twelve years' imprisonment, as he did not consider the murder element of treachery to be fulfilled. The court instead followed the application of the public prosecutor and the co-plaintiff.
The verdict is not yet final. Both the defendant and the co-plaintiff and public prosecutor may lodge an appeal.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)