Kassel (dpa / lhe) - A 49-year-old is said to have killed his wife with at least 30 knife wounds in front of their children in Bad Arolsen in northern Hesse. Since Wednesday, the man has had to answer for murder before the Kassel Regional Court. The public prosecutor's office accuses him of having acted out of base motives.
The Iraqi lived strictly according to Muslim principles, said prosecutor Angela Rek. His 32-year-old wife, on the other hand, wanted to maintain a modern lifestyle and wanted to separate. "He took that as a violation of his honor." Even before the crime, the accused had repeatedly threatened to kill his wife and had become violent towards her.
On July 19 last year, he is said to have put the threats into action in the shared apartment in the Waldeck-Frankenberg district. According to public prosecutor Rek, he stabbed the victim "vigorously and with full intent to kill" at least 30 times with a knife with a blade length of up to 20 centimeters - in front of the five children between the ages of one and eleven.
The accused said that there had been an argument between him and his wife while shopping. The argument continued at home. He always appealed to his wife to think about their children, said the 49-year-old. She replied: "Who says it's your children." After that he was irritated. He couldn't remember the act itself. "I don't know what happened. Suddenly it was black in front of me."
Six further hearing dates are scheduled for the trial until August 24th.
