Peter Gregorius: Two men sentenced to life imprisonment for murder

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Saarbrücken Regional Court

Photo: Oliver Dietze / picture alliance / dpa

Two men in Saarbrücken were sentenced to life imprisonment for a murder 30 years ago.

The district court passed the verdict after eleven months of the trial.

In September 1991 Peter Gregorius disappeared from Völklingen at the age of 27.

The investigations in the 1990s were unsuccessful.

It was not until May 2020 that there were indications from those around the now convicted that they were responsible for the murder.

They have been in custody since the beginning of August 2020.

A third defendant has since died.

With the conviction for murder, the court followed the application of the public prosecutor's office, as reported by the Saarland broadcasting company.

The latter had accused the two defendants of luring Gregorius into a wooded area near Wadgassen and murdering him on a pretext.

But the victim's body was never found.

The main defendant is said to have told of the crime

The main defendant is said to have repeatedly told of the crime;

the prosecutor had taken that as proof that it was him.

He wanted to ease his conscience.

The defense argued that the main defendant was a braggart and wanted to brag about the crime.

There is not a single evidence of the alleged murder.

According to Saarländischer Rundfunk, the lawyer for Gregorius' widow caused a stir before the verdict: He stated that the main defendant was "certainly" at the place where Gregorius died and was also morally guilty.

But murder cannot be proven.

kha / AFP