After the violent death of six-year-old Joel in a small town in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, a teenager is on trial for manslaughter. The presiding judge opened the session in front of the Neubrandenburg Regional Court.
Because of the defendant’s young age, the trial is being held behind closed doors. He was 14 years old at the time of the crime. He now faces a prison sentence of up to ten years. At the start of the trial, five witnesses from Joel’s environment should be interviewed – according to a spokeswoman for the regional court.
The public prosecutor’s office accuses the teenager of hitting Joel in the face several times on September 14th last year in the municipality of Pragsdorf near Neubrandenburg and stabbing him seven times with a knife with a blade around 15 centimeters long. The boy died, which the defendant at least accepted with approval, according to the public prosecutor.
Nothing is known about a motive yet. It remains to be seen whether the defendant will respond to the allegations during the trial. He has been in custody since September 26th. After the start, six further continuation dates are planned for the process.
