A 39-year-old man stabbed an acquaintance in Neustrelitz and then set fire to it. The bloody deed caused horror in June. Now a verdict has been made.
Neubrandenburg (dpa/mv) - Because he stabbed an acquaintance in his apartment, a 39-year-old man from Neustrelitz (Mecklenburg Lake District) has been imprisoned for eight years and three months. The district court in Neubrandenburg found the accused guilty of manslaughter and attempted serious arson on Tuesday. Contrary to what the defense attorney suggested, there is no evidence of a less serious crime, said judge Daniela Lieschke. The 39-year-old, who has had several previous convictions, fully confessed to the bloody deed in the victim's apartment in June. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
It is particularly serious that the victim had previously taken in the homeless convict because he had no place to stay, said Lieschke. The 39-year-old was thrown out by a friend in Neustrelitz in the spring.
The convict had stated that he had been drinking and arguing with the 60-year-old acquaintance that day. Just before he went outside with his things, he got a long-bladed kitchen knife and stabbed the 60-year-old twice in the neck. The victim, an ex-colleague of the accused, sat on the couch and bled to death immediately after an artery was severed, a coroner said.
The perpetrator then "buried" the victim, in his own words: He put a pillow on the dead man and artificial flowers on top. After that he washed the knife in the kitchen, set fire to a towel and left. The fire went out, but the heavy smoke triggered a fire alarm in the apartment building and the fire brigade found the dead man. The accused was caught shortly thereafter in the urban area of Neustrelitz. About two hours after the incident, 1.3 per thousand alcohol was measured in his blood.
With the verdict, the chamber largely followed the request of the public prosecutor, who had demanded more than nine years in prison. The man's defense attorney had pleaded for five and a half years in prison for a less serious case, since her client was heavily intoxicated. However, the district court did not agree.
