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Files are on the table before a trial in a regional court.
© Swen Pförtner/dpa/Symbolbild
His fake death on the Baltic Sea was supposed to make a couple millions.
But the plan was unraveled.
The man is now facing prison time.
The public prosecutor describes the plan as “amateurish”.
Kiel - The public prosecutor's office in the Kiel district court has demanded a prison sentence for a 56-year-old because he faked his death on the Baltic Sea.
The prosecutor said on Friday that the man and his wife had committed 13 criminal offenses for attempted joint commercial and gang fraud.
She demanded a total prison sentence for the man, including a suspended sentence of three years and two months imposed in a first trial, and a suspended sentence of two years for the woman of the same age.
The defense lawyers called for acquittals for both defendants.
The verdict will come next week at the earliest.
The prosecutor said the crime was “dilettantically planned.”
The defendants assumed that a death certificate would not have been necessary for the 13 insurance companies to pay out.
The woman was more likely to be the executive in the process, which lasted over two years, while the man was the head of the planning.
The two defendants had previously had confessions read out through their defense lawyers.
“From today’s perspective, the whole thing was totally insane,” the 56-year-old explained.
He justified the incident with financial hardship.
He left Germany and wanted to go into hiding in the USA.
He apologized for his actions.
His defense attorney demanded an acquittal and also submitted several requests for additional evidence.
Among other things, he wants to include the woman's voice messages in the proceedings.
They should clarify the couple's ideas.
The wife also said through her defense attorney that she was sorry for what had happened.
“I allowed myself to be drawn into something that I couldn't see or understand.” She was aware that insurance companies wouldn't pay without a death certificate.
The defense attorney emphasized that preparations remained unpunished.
“There was no immediate intervention.” Her client carried out the man’s instructions.
What happened?
The couple faked the man's death in a boat accident in the Bay of Kiel in October 2019.
Three days later, his wife reported him missing.
But the police quickly became suspicious.
An expert discovered that the boat had been tampered with, causing it to sink.
Contrary to what the defendant initially assumed, the death notification was not sufficient for the life insurance companies.
They also wanted a death certificate or confirmation of his death from the district court.
But that takes at least six months.
After the crime, the defendant hid for months - first with an acquaintance in Hamburg, then later in his mother's house in Schwarmstedt, Lower Saxony.
A police mobile task force finally found him there in May 2020.
His wedding ring flashed in the light of a flashlight as the man hid behind boxes.
There was no payout from 13 risk life and accident insurance policies worth around four million euros.
The Kiel regional court had already sentenced both of them to suspended sentences of one year and nine months or one year in February 2021 for attempting to defraud an accident insurance company.
These decisions are legally binding.
However, the Federal Court of Justice in Leipzig overturned the acquittals in 13 other cases of attempted fraud against other insurance companies.
The regional court did not examine whether the defendants had instead committed a criminal offense for conspiring to commit commercial and gang fraud or for fraudulently concluding insurance contracts.
The court in Schleswig-Holstein must now decide on this again.
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The woman now works full-time as a cleaner at the university hospital.
The man lives in Lower Saxony again.
“I’ve been looking after my mother ever since.” He lives off her money.
The court wants to continue the hearing on Wednesday (10 a.m.).
It is still unclear whether the verdict will then be made.
dpa