Culpable or not - this question was at the center of the trial of a driver's fatal drive into a group of children in Witzenhausen, Hesse. The district court in Kassel ruled that the accused was innocent at the time of the crime. In the security procedure, it ordered the 31-year-old to be placed in a psychiatric hospital. The placement is open-ended but must be reviewed every year.

"The accused suffers from paranoid schizophrenia," said presiding judge Jürgen Dreyer. "For us, this diagnosis is certain." There is much to suggest that the 31-year-old has not taken the appropriate medication regularly since November 2020. As a result, he repeatedly became conspicuous through aggressive behavior. Weeks before the crime, he had shown delusional behavior that came to a head on the day of the crime. He committed the crime while incapacitated.

The court considers it proven that on October 29, 2021, the accused drove a small car into a group of three girls in front of a kindergarten. An eight-year-old died, a seven-year-old and an eight-year-old were seriously injured. The chamber rated the crime as manslaughter in one case and attempted manslaughter and dangerous bodily harm in two cases.

Prosecutor's office: danger to the general public

The public prosecutor's office in Kassel had accused the man, who has been in a psychiatric facility since the crime, of malicious murder, attempted murder and dangerous bodily harm. She assumed that he was mentally incapacitated and requested that he be placed in a psychiatric ward because he posed a danger to the general public. Therefore, instead of a regular criminal procedure, there was a so-called security procedure, in which the court decides whether the perpetrator is sent to a psychiatric hospital.

The defense pleaded against such accommodation. Lawyer Anne Köster argued that her client did not act with intent and was not in a psychotic state at the time of the crime. It was a tragic accident due to fatigue and stress. There is no plausible motive. The prognosis for her client is favorable, he poses no danger to the general public.

"Never wanted children to be harmed"

The accused himself spoke in court for the first time on the last day of the trial. "I never wanted children to be harmed," he said. "I went black and lost control of the car." He deeply regrets what happened and still blames himself to this day.

The co-prosecutor had previously unsuccessfully applied for the security proceedings to be transferred to regular criminal proceedings or, alternatively, to obtain another psychological expert opinion. From their point of view, the accused was fully culpable at the time of the crime. Attorney Steffen Hörning said there was no evidence of paranoid schizophrenia assumed by a psychiatric expert.

In an emotional speech, he described the suffering of those affected and their families, especially the parents of the dead girl, who lost their daughter just one day after her eighth birthday. The accused committed the crime in a targeted and controlled manner. "You are a killer for us," Hörning said to the 31-year-old.

The accused could still appeal against the decision of the district court.