Accused! - Murder or manslaughter?
A young woman is found dead on the North Sea island of Juist on July 25, 2013. The body is undressed. The perpetrator is quickly caught and confesses to the murder of Alexandra Wehrmann. The victim's relatives assume that he must serve life in prison for murder. But the court has doubts. What is the just punishment for someone who has killed? The law distinguishes between murder and manslaughter. Murderers have to serve life imprisonment, whereas someone convicted of manslaughter can hope for a much lighter sentence. A similar case in Berlin: the man who killed an uninvolved passer-by during a car chase is charged with murder. His victim Johanna Hahn wanted to cross a street as a pedestrian on June 6, 2018. The traffic light was green.
But Milinko P. ignored the red light while fleeing from the police and hit the 22-year-old student with his car. She was killed instantly. The public prosecutor later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. The lawyer for the bereaved, Gregor Gysi, however, is convinced that it was murder. In Neuruppin, a mother and her adult son also have to stand trial for murder. But there is no body. 16 years after the disappearance of Maike Thiel, Christine S. and Michael S. are on trial. The two are said to have plotted the murder of their son's pregnant ex-girlfriend and killed Maike Thiel on July 3, 1997. Their alleged motive: the impending maintenance payments for mother and child.
But in court, the question arises: can a murder be proven without a corpse? Every case is different - and there is rarely any certainty about the outcome of a court case after a homicide. Was it murder or manslaughter? Or possibly just "involuntary manslaughter"? What is the evidence for? And what is the appropriate punishment for the perpetrator? The court has to make a decision. According to the law. In the name of the people.
Broadcasting on 03rd of February 2024 at 06.45pm on ZDFinfo
Music: POPVIRUS Library