After almost 17 years in prison, a man convicted of murdering a Munich parking garage millionaire is now free again. Benedikt T. was released on Monday, said the Munich I public prosecutor. The “Süddeutsche Zeitung” had previously reported on it.
The rich widow was killed in her apartment in May 2006. A little later, her nephew was arrested and convicted in 2008. The then 33-year-old had always denied his guilt and saw himself as a victim of justice. His third application for a retrial is currently with the Augsburg public prosecutor’s office.
The case had repeatedly caused a stir in recent years, also because family and friends tried to prove the innocence of the convict. Now the story is to be filmed. The pay-TV channel Sky and the production company Bavaria Fiction announced that the documentary “Der Parkhausmord” in true crime format is currently being filmed. It is one of the most spectacular criminal cases in Germany and is still keeping the judiciary and the media in suspense with the numerous unresolved questions. The broadcast on Sky and the streaming service Wow is planned for the coming year.
The lengthy circumstantial process had lasted 15 months. The Munich I district court charged the former favorite nephew of the dead with murder out of greed and malice and determined the particular severity of the guilt. According to the jury, he was afraid of being disinherited by his aunt because his law studies had failed.
The defendant at the time always protested his innocence and even went on a hunger strike during the trial. “That’s wrong, every sentence is wrong,” he commented on the verdict in August 2008. Cries of protest also came from the audience, which was made up of friends and family who were convinced of his innocence. However, the Federal Court of Justice rejected its 2009 appeal as unfounded.
Actually, the Munich would only have been released on May 17th. According to the public prosecutor’s office, however, his work activities resulted in so-called days off, so that the dismissal could be brought forward. Experts would also have attested to a positive social prognosis. According to his lawyer, the man still wants to hold on to the application for reopening. “The goal of overturning the verdict remains unchanged,” he said.
According to the radio station Gong 96.3, the man from Munich wants to use his newly gained freedom to support his family, also on business. “Holiday? No. I’ve sanded long enough now,” he told the Munich radio station. He also wants to keep up with the legal workup: “I can’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. For me, the case is far from over. For me, it’s just really starting.”
