A family man has to answer to the district court of Hildesheim for the insidious murder of his wife. The man from the Celle district had watched the 35-year-old on May 3, 2022 in Burgdorf on her car. When she wanted to place her parking ticket, he pulled a kitchen knife out of his pocket to kill her, said chief prosecutor Marcus Preusse. He stabbed the woman 13 times. The mother of two young sons died almost an hour later in the ambulance as a result of massive organ injuries.

According to the indictment, the 37-year-old knew of a lawyer's appointment with his wife in the small town near Hanover. She wanted to initiate the divorce that day, said the senior public prosecutor.

Family members with portraits of those killed in court

At the start of the trial, family members commemorated the dead with framed portraits. Some cried, but the alleged killer seemed calm and showed no emotion. His defense attorney Matthias Waldraff read out a short statement. The defendant regrets "infinitely and deeply" the killing of his wife on May 3, the lawyer said. "He understands that many people have hated him since then." He knew that he should not hope for forgiveness from his children or his wife's family. His client will comment in detail on the next day of the trial.

The public prosecutor is convinced that the Turkish-born German wanted to punish his wife for her separation from him. He saw his public reputation damaged by the separation. The man initially fled after the crime, but was arrested the same day.

Four sisters of the murder victim appear in the trial as joint plaintiffs. All family members of those killed, especially their parents, are doing very poorly, said co-plaintiff attorney Antje Heister. There had been domestic violence before the knife attack in Burgdorf and the perpetrator was also sent off. The woman herself had expressed to her sisters that she feared he would kill her whether she left him or stayed with him, the lawyer said. (AZ: 12 Ks 26 Js 18306/22)