Murder of four-year-old Fabian: Gina H. sentenced to life imprisonment
Rostock Regional Court has sentenced Gina H. to life imprisonment for the murder of her ex-partner's four-year-old son. The child stood in her way as she sought to win back the boy's father.
Life imprisonment in the Fabian murder case
Gina H. has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of four-year-old Fabian. The Rostock Regional Court found the 30-year-old guilty before more than a hundred observers in the courtroom of killing the boy from Güstrow on 10 October 2025 with six knife wounds and setting his corpse on fire. The judges established the particularly grave nature of the guilt – an indication that release on probation is already ruled out after 15 years.
According to the judgment, Gina H. killed Fabian by treachery and for base motives. Presiding Judge Holger Schütt justified his verdict in detail over almost three hours. He said the chamber had "no doubts whatsoever" about the guilt of the accused. The verdict is based on 44 pieces of circumstantial evidence – including shoe prints, fibres, a pre-arranged false alibi and so-called perpetrator knowledge. According to the evidence, Gina H. was in the vicinity each time Fabian disappeared, when he was murdered and when his corpse was found.
The sequence of events according to the court differs from the prosecution's case. According to Schütt, Gina H. drove to Güstrow to persuade the boy to break off contact with his father – a plan that had succeeded two years earlier. During a walk in the woods near Klein Upahl, Fabian is said to have refused to give up his father. Only then did the accused decide to kill the child. This version of the sequence of events had surprised the defence – according to lawyer Andreas Ohm, it had never been mentioned during the trial which began at the end of April.
Judge Schütt described Gina H. as deeply egocentric, controlling and jealous – a woman who had reduced Fabian to an object and sacrificed him to her wishes. The judges had read 33,000 voice messages on her seized mobile phone and found much in them that was demeaning and controlling, but "there was nothing appreciative". A diagnosed borderline personality disorder had nothing to do with the deed, the court found. For Gina H., Fabian had been a "disruptive factor" in her desire to win back Fabian's father and lead a life with him that she controlled.
Defence counsel Ohm announced that Gina H. would lodge an appeal against the verdict. The accused had repeatedly protested her innocence during the trial and accepted the verdict calmly during the pronouncement of judgment. Fabian's mother can now breathe a sigh of relief, her lawyer Christine Habetha said after the verdict – a "tremendous burden" had been lifted from her. "This is a milestone today."
Judge Schütt thanked the police for their investigative work and sharply criticised activity on social media. It had been disturbing how many "amateur investigators" and "clueless" people had attempted to do the professional work of the police and judiciary. He warned the public to refrain from commenting – but at the end of the trial, the observers were briefly moved to restrained applause.
Source: Die Zeit Kriminalität