Crimes and Arson – A woman has spent twelve years in prison for the murder of her own mother

A woman from Hanover was sentenced to twelve years in prison for the murder of her own mother. The Hanover District Court also convicted the 50-year-old woman of serious arson and disturbing the peace of the dead. Due to her severe depression, the judges considered the suspect legally incompetent. The tenant had confessed to surprising and murdering her 74-year-old mother in her sleep on December 29, 2023, and to setting fire to the shared apartment on New Year’s Day.

“I didn’t want to kill my mother,” said the woman. She had beaten her mother unconscious with a hammer, tied her up and planned to interrogate her. Then she planned to commit suicide. The 37 stab wounds to the victim were explained by the daughter as having occurred in panic.

In her judgment, the President of the Court ruled Britta Schlingmann described the act as a “tragic and very sad case.” The suspect had felt rejected by her mother since childhood, but could not escape her. In her notebook, the woman wrote about torture fantasies. “What do you do with a monster? You don’t kill it, you punish it,” the judge quoted.

According to the court, the 50-year-old German woman only made the decision to kill her mother when she woke up and started screaming. “She was completely defenseless, she could not resist at that moment,” Schlingmann said. Therefore, the murder was considered a gruesome murderThe execution of the crime – hitting her mother on the head with a hammer and inflicting 37 stab wounds – was “truly brutal”, the judges ruled.

The defendant was also convicted of disturbing the peace of the dead. Because she had partially acted out the fantasies she had written in her notebook, the woman, who had lived with her deceased mother for three days, was in a “psychologically exceptional situation”, according to the judge. On the penultimate day of the trial, the psychiatric expert had classified the woman as legally disabled.

The Public Prosecution Service had demanded a prison sentence of 14.5 years. They assumed that the suspect did not want to kill herself in the fire. Instead, she had prepared all the rooms in the apartment, except her own room, with flammable materials. However, the defense had only demanded a prison sentence of six years and five months.

The fire department was alerted to the burning apartment on New Year’s Day and found the daughter in her room with a handkerchief over her mouth. The emergency services prevented the fire from spreading. At the time of the crime, there were eight residents in the apartment building.

“I agree with the verdict,” the suspect said after the judge’s statements. However, the verdict is not yet legally binding, as the Public Prosecution Service can still request a review.

1. The woman’s case was heard by the Higher Regional Court of Hanover, presided over by Judge Britta Schlingmann.
2. Ms Schlingmann noted that the defendant suffered from depression, which affected her limitations during the trial (court).
3. The crime took place in the shared apartment in Lower Saxony, Germany, where the daughter and mother lived.
4. The Public Prosecution Service stated that the suspect’s horrific crime consisted of hitting her mother on the head with a hammer and inflicting 37 stab wounds on her.
5. Despite the severe punishment, Britta Schlingmann quoted, “You don’t kill it, you punish it,” referring to the mother’s influence on her daughter’s criminality.
6. Britta Schlingmann added after the verdict: “She was completely defenseless at that moment” and expressed her condolences to the victim.
7. The suspect had written about torture fantasies in her notebook, indicating that she had been struggling with psychological problems even before the crime and subsequent prison sentence.

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