Student death
Acquittal in the Hanna case – the prosecutor’s office checked the reasons
A 23-year-old was convicted of murdering student Hanna – but has now been acquitted. There was criticism of investigators. How do they react to this?
After the man originally convicted of killing student Hanna was acquitted, the district attorney’s office is considering the possible consequences. “As soon as the written reasons for the ruling are available, the public prosecutor’s office will examine them carefully and, if necessary, follow up with appropriate investigations,” a spokesperson for the Traunstein prosecutor’s office told the German Press Agency. He initially left it open about what “follow through” actually means in this context.
The 23-year-old man was acquitted at the second trial
The Traunstein regional court had previously acquitted the 23-year-old defendant of murdering student Hanna in Aschau, Upper Bavaria, on her way home from the “Eiskeller” discotheque.
Presiding judge Heike Will apologized to the young man for being unlawfully imprisoned. “Evidence shows that there were a number of fatal errors in the investigation process,” he said. This is bound to have consequences elsewhere.
Defense attorneys demand consequences
Defense lawyers have sharply criticized investigators and especially the criminal police in Rosenheim – and called on the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, which is responsible for the police, and the police headquarters in Southern Upper Bavaria to draw conclusions. After a related request from dpa, the Ministry of the Interior referred the matter to the Traunstein prosecutor’s office.
The judge in the first trial in another room at the Traunstein Regional Court, where the now 23-year-old judge was charged with killing the student and sent to prison, was also sharply criticized by the man’s lawyer. Defense attorney Regina Rick announced formal demands for accountability and called on the Department of Justice to take action.
dpa
