Murder trial of Fabian in Rostock: child witnesses provide exonerating evidence for defendant Gina H.
Three child witnesses testified in the Rostock murder trial – their observations contradict the prosecution's account of events.
Child witnesses in murder trial: observations on the day of the crime in Güstrow
As reported by Google News DE — Crime, three children testified on Thursday in the murder trial concerning eight-year-old Fabian before the Rostock Regional Court. Their statements contradict in parts the course of events reconstructed by the public prosecutor.
Two schoolmates of the boy stated that they had seen Fabian on 10 October 2025 — the day he went missing — in the early afternoon in Güstrow outside a bakery near his school. Fabian was travelling by bicycle. One of the two boys claimed to have spotted him a second time shortly afterwards, this time near a church. He acknowledged, however, that he was not one hundred per cent certain whether he had made these observations on that Friday or already on Thursday.
Testimony at odds with prosecution
The public prosecutor accuses defendant Gina H. of luring the boy out of his mother's flat on Friday morning. According to the prosecution, Fabian was probably already dead at the time of the afternoon sightings described. Defence counsel Andreas Ohm described the schoolmates' statements as "very convincing", as they could exonerate his client. The prosecutor, however, considers it likely that the boys confused the dates and that Fabian was actually seen on Thursday.
A girl from Fabian's neighbourhood also described an observation that is difficult to reconcile with the prosecution's timeline. She said she had seen Fabian on that Friday between 14:00 and 15:00 hours near his home. Two men dressed in black with black hair had been walking behind him; Fabian had started running faster, as had the men. She had not seen whether the men had spoken to or touched the child. During her questioning by police last autumn, the girl had spoken of only one man who had also touched Fabian, and had suggested that he might have been a foreigner. Neither the prosecution nor the defence attached greater weight to this statement.
Questioning via video from adjacent room
The three children were not questioned in the courtroom. The 3rd Criminal Chamber had them joined by video from a separate room. All questions — from the court, prosecution, co-plaintiff and defence — were posed exclusively by the presiding judge. In this manner, the chamber had already questioned two further friends of Fabian as witnesses.
Defence counsel Ohm had previously criticised that the chamber had summoned the children as witnesses only after he had explicitly pushed for it — even though all parties to the proceedings had known that their testimony could exonerate the accused. He received no explanation for the late timing of the questioning.
Accused adds to her statement
On the same trial day, Gina H. supplemented her four-hour statement read out in August with a few details. She attempted to establish that she had been on her way to a bank in Güstrow shortly before 11:00 hours on the day of the crime — precisely the timeframe in which the prosecution accuses her of luring Fabian out of his mother's flat.
Furthermore, Gina H. mentioned a brother of her ex-boyfriend — Fabian's father — who had had a close relationship with both Fabian and her own son. He had occasionally driven the approximately 15 kilometres to Güstrow by tractor, although he presumably did not possess a driving licence. She left open what conclusions the court or prosecution should draw from this. Observers interpreted the hint as an attempt to divert suspicion to other persons. In her earlier statement, Gina H. had already stated that the investigators had focused too hastily on her during the search.
Next Thursday, Gina H. intends to answer questions from the court and prosecution regarding her previous testimony.
Background to the case
Eight-year-old Fabian was the son of the accused's then ex-boyfriend. Seven weeks before the child went missing, he had ended his relationship with Gina H. The prosecution accuses her of luring the boy out of his mother's flat in Güstrow on 10 October of last year and subsequently stabbing him to death at a pond near Klein Upahl — approximately 15 kilometres south of Güstrow. She is alleged to have later returned to the crime scene to set fire to the body.
The prosecution attributes as motive that Gina H. believed Fabian stood in the way of her intention to resume her relationship with his father. A verdict is expected by October at the latest.
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)