In a new edition of the trial surrounding the death of student Hanna from Aschau, Bavaria, the man accused of murder was acquitted. “There is no indication that the defendant was responsible for the death,” said Judge Heike Will. “Evidence taking revealed that a number of fatal errors occurred during the investigation.” This is bound to have consequences elsewhere.
“This legal system has done you great injustice,” the judge told the defendant while holding back tears. “As part of this legal system, I want to apologize to you.” Applause erupted in the auditorium.
The trial was unable to explain what happened
The trial couldn’t explain what happened to Hanna, Will said. However, he clarified that the accused cannot be punished. “Unsatisfactory as it may seem, the question of whether it was an accident or negligence of a third party is no longer relevant to this procedure and the non-school ruling.”
Because the “supposed confession” made by the defendant to a third party will not be able to be maintained in court in this “purely circumstantial trial”. A friend of the man, who reported to police about the defendant’s confession, called the judge “amazing.” Based on the court’s decision, the defendant, who is now 23 years old, must receive compensation for his previous prison sentence. In his first trial he was convicted of murder.
In the new trial, the public prosecutor even asked for acquittal because the man had not been able to prove that he had committed the murder. The defense argued that the youth’s innocence had been proven in the retrial.
At the first trial, the defendant was sentenced to nine years in prison
Hanna was found dead in the Prien River on the evening of October 3 2022 after a night of partying at the Aschau “Eiskeller” disco with multiple injuries. Several weeks later, a young man was arrested and later charged with murder. In March 2024, the regional court Traunstein sentenced him to nine years in prison for murder. However, the Federal Court overturned the ruling due to procedural errors, so the case was reopened at the end of September.
The defense assumed an accident occurred. According to him, Hanna suffered injuries, especially to her head and upper body, while floating about twelve kilometers in the river. The defendant was already on the run at the start of the trial because reports cast doubt on the credibility of key witness statements. Due to space limitations, the trial took place at the Laufen District Court.
Judge Will expressed his understanding that the outcome of the trial, which did not resolve the question of how Hanna died, was “unsatisfactory.” He expressed his “deepest condolences” to the student’s family.
