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Courthouse in Munich: strange voices
Photo: Matthias Balk / dpa
It's a spectacular case - and one full of unanswered questions: Two children collapse in 2018 after drinking apple spritzer at an exhibition opening in Munich.
Two years later, three people who bought and drank Spezi in supermarkets feel the same way.
Now the woman is on trial who, in the opinion of the prosecutor, is responsible for it.
The 57-year-old is accused of indiscriminately adding gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) to drinks.
She is said to have dosed the poison, also known as liquid ecstasy or knockout drops, so high that those who drank it could have died.
According to investigators, the GBL ordered them on the Internet.
The public prosecutor's office accuses the woman of having resolved to "secretly move other people's drinks and thereby poison the unsuspecting consumers of these drinks."
However, she assumes that the woman suffers from schizophrenia and is incapable of guilt.
She is unlikely to face a prison sentence, but could continue to be housed in a closed psychiatric ward.
"The voice said to me: I can make you a murderer too," said the accused in front of the Munich I Regional Court when she reported how it was for her to regularly hear an intrusive voice.
"The voice is gleeful."
She did not want to comment on the allegations against her.
She will "not give any information on the matter," said her lawyer.
The accused then reported about her school days, cancer, her psychology studies and various stays abroad - and that her parents had hardly spoken to her, that she had been treated for psychological problems and that she had started drinking too much after her brother's death to drink.
The case caused fear and a stir in 2020.
Three customers bought the poisoned bottles in 2020 and drank from them.
According to the police, two women, aged 34 and 42 at the time, had to be treated immediately.
Even a 48-year-old should have felt bad after consuming it.
Two more poisoned drinks were sold - but to whom it is still unclear.
The police warned the population - and after a few weeks captured the suspect.
The investigators had found out about her because she had paid with a debit card and left her details.
Their DNA was then found on the manipulated bottles.
After her arrest, it emerged that she could also be responsible for the two cases from 2018.
So far, the regional court has set 14 trial days for the process.
The verdict could therefore fall on December 10th.
mxw / dpa