Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: the mother of the killed Leonie receives a suspended sentence

Neubrandenburg (dpa/mv) - The mother of the killed Leonie from Torgelow (Western Pomerania-Greifswald) remains sentenced to imprisonment for negligent homicide, but does not have to go to prison.

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: the mother of the killed Leonie receives a suspended sentence

Neubrandenburg (dpa/mv) - The mother of the killed Leonie from Torgelow (Western Pomerania-Greifswald) remains sentenced to imprisonment for negligent homicide, but does not have to go to prison. The district court of Neubrandenburg suspended the two-year prison sentence for the 27-year-old woman in an appeal process for two years on probation. On Wednesday, judge Jochen Unterlöhner named the main reasons for the great educational contribution that the mother had made in the 2020 trial against the stepfather and the stabilization of her family circumstances.

"We didn't want to stop the positive development of the woman and her four-year-old child," the judge said in the statement. The verdict is not yet legally binding. The prosecutor and defense attorney had also called for the suspension of probation.

Six-year-old Leonie was found dead on January 12, 2019 in the family of five's apartment in Torgelow. The stepfather had severely abused the girl when the mother was away and prevented help from being called in time. The man was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder by omission. "Without her, we would not have been able to convict the stepfather of a homicide at the time," said Unterlöhner. The mother was a key witness for the prosecution.

In December 2021, she was sentenced to imprisonment by the Neubrandenburg district court for negligent homicide. She appealed the verdict, but limited it to the sentence.