Trial over murdered eight-year-old: Neighbour gives damaging testimony against defendant
A witness testifies in court how the defendant Gina H. allegedly led him deliberately to the body of eight-year-old Fabian. The murder trial is set to begin in December.
Decisive witness statement in Güstrow murder case
As reported by Die Zeit Kriminalität, a neighbour from Reimershagen has given highly incriminating testimony to the 3rd Criminal Chamber of Rostock Regional Court against defendant Gina H. The 37-year-old described how the suspected woman allegedly led him deliberately on the night of 14 October to the location where the body of eight-year-old Fabian from Güstrow was found — three days after the boy disappeared from his mother's flat.
The witness testified in court that he initially discovered nothing suspicious when he was supposed to assist H. in what was supposed to be a search operation using a thermal imaging camera. The woman justified her request by saying that she had previously gone sledging with Fabian and her own son on the country lane near Klein Upahl. However, she then allegedly led him deliberately from the country lane to the pond. "She knew exactly where she wanted to go," according to the neighbour's testimony. In the light of her mobile phone torch, the woman allegedly said: "There he is" or "There's something there."
The behaviour in the weeks preceding the discovery suggests, according to the witness's account, a planned involvement. Over four weeks, he and H. had exchanged approximately 1,500 WhatsApp messages and numerous voice messages. The witness usually never had to wait longer than five minutes for a reply — with one striking exception: on the morning of 10 October, H. was temporarily unreachable. The prosecution suspects this was the period in which Fabian was killed.
Secured voice messages support this chronology. H. had asked the neighbour if he could help her in the evening in the forest and in the field to search for Fabian — under the pretext of their earlier shared activities. After meeting with the witness on the afternoon of 10 October, H. sent him photographs of her pick-up vehicle, which appeared to have been cleaned. The witness could offer no explanation for this. According to the charges, the defendant allegedly drove the child to Klein Upahl in this vehicle.
The neighbour expressed deep remorse for his behaviour. After the discovery at the pond, the amateur hunter withdrew to a hunting platform and brooded. Shortly afterwards, he broke off contact with H. Before the court, he admitted that it had been wrong not to go to the police immediately, and spoke of himself as having been "pretty stupid". He did not want to be "drawn into it."
According to his own account, H. contacted the police herself the next morning and stated that she had found Fabian by chance during a walk with a female neighbour. These two women are due to be heard as witnesses in the coming week.
The prosecution accuses Gina H. of luring the eight-year-old from his mother's flat in Güstrow, stabbing him to death near Klein Upahl, and setting the body on fire. According to investigators, H. may have believed that Fabian stood in the way of a reconciliation with Fabian's father. H. had been the partner of Fabian's father for four years but separated from him in August 2025.
The murder trial against the 37-year-old is scheduled to begin in December. The charges are expected to be for treacherous murder.
Source: Die Zeit Kriminalität