Trial of pensioner for setting deadly wire traps on bike trail
A retired hunting leaseholder must answer charges before the Heilbronn Regional Court. He is accused of stringing deadly cables across a mountain bike route.
Trial of pensioner for setting deadly wire traps on bike trail
Since Monday, a retired hunting leaseholder has been standing trial before the Heilbronn Regional Court. The prosecution accuses the approximately 60-year-old defendant of repeatedly installing deadly traps across a popular forest cycling path during the summer of last year. The state prosecutor is proceeding on the assumption of attempted manslaughter.
Between June and August 2024, the man is said to have repeatedly laid wires across the Dachstrail, an unsanctioned route frequented by mountain bikers between Eberstadt and Grantschen. The initial constructions could not withstand the wind generated by passing cyclists and tore. Afterwards, the defendant, according to the investigators' assessment, mounted a more robust cable at chest height that was barely visible to cyclists travelling at speed.
One rider spotted the trap at the last moment and was able to stop in time. Because the defendant repeated his action despite the obvious risk to life, the prosecution considers the distinguishing feature of malice aforethought to be established.
Prosecutors suspect frustration over a specific regulation in Baden-Württemberg as the motive. The state is unique in Germany in prohibiting the cycling of forest paths narrower than two metres in width.
Source: tagesschau.de
Source: Google News DE — Crime (de)