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Trier, December 2020: In front of the Porta Nigra, people set up candles to commemorate the victims of a rampage
Photo: Oliver Dietze / dpa
Almost a year after the start of the Trier amok trial, the regional court sentenced the 52-year-old perpetrator to life imprisonment.
The judges also determined the particular gravity of the guilt and ordered the man's placement in a closed psychiatric hospital.
On December 1, 2020, the perpetrator raced his car through the pedestrian zone in Trier.
Five people were killed directly, a 77-year-old died eleven months later.
On his way through several streets, the man apparently caught passers-by indiscriminately, but deliberately at high speed.
He has been on trial since August 19, 2021.
Prosecutors charged him with five counts of murder and 18 counts of attempted murder, as well as 14 counts of aggravated assault.
She requested that the guilt be found to be particularly serious and that the 52-year-old should be placed in a psychiatric facility.
The exact motive for the act remained unclear – the convict did not comment on the allegations during the process.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the crime was at least indirectly related to the perpetrator's mental illness.
Last Thursday, the public defenders called for the 52-year-old to be placed in a closed psychiatric ward.
The conditions for determining a particular degree of guilt were not met, explained his lawyer.
A madman like this man has no alternative courses of action.
For this reason, it can be assumed that he has limited culpability.
On the last day of the trial, the perpetrator waived his right to have the last word before sentencing.
swe/dpa