Because he caused a fatal accident at high speed in the middle of Heilbronn city center, a 21-year-old has to go to prison for many years. The Heilbronn regional court sentenced the defendant on Monday to a youth sentence of nine years in prison for, among other things, murder and attempted murder in three cases. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
The court saw the murder characteristic of treachery fulfilled. The victim could not have expected the approaching speeder and was unsuspecting and defenseless, said the presiding judge in his verdict. The speeder, on the other hand, could not have expected that his journey through the city center at such a high speed would end easily.
According to the court’s conviction, the then 20-year-old defendant lost control of his 300 hp sports car in downtown Heilbronn in February last year while traveling at far too high a speed. In the 40 km/h zone he crashed into the car of a 42-year-old at around 100 kilometers per hour. The man died in the rubble of his car, his wife was seriously injured and their two children were slightly injured. Before the impact, the young driver, who was already known to be a speeder, is said to have almost run over a pedestrian who was just able to get out of the way.
From the point of view of the public prosecutor’s office, it was at this point at the latest that the young Turk made a conditional intention to kill. Among other things, the prosecutor is calling for a nine-year youth prison sentence for murder and three counts of attempted murder.
In the original indictment she had assumed manslaughter and attempted manslaughter, but in the course of taking evidence she agreed with the arguments of the Second Large Youth Chamber. For her part, she had indicated that it could also be murder or attempted murder. The judge explained that insidiousness was a possible factor in murder.
The lawyer for the father’s widow made a harsher plea. She had demanded a sentence of life imprisonment for murder under adult criminal law. The defense attorneys, on the other hand, assumed negligent homicide and three counts of negligent bodily harm. Illegal car racing has been a criminal offense since October 2017. Since then, participation can be punished with up to two years in prison. However, “racing against yourself” is also punishable.
