Cologne (dpa / lnw) - A 31-year-old has been in front of the Cologne district court since Wednesday for joint murder. The accused is said to have killed a 37-year-old in Cologne in March along with other members of his extended family. Among other things, the accused are said to have hit him with a hammer and stabbed him with a knife. According to the indictment, the victim died of his injuries in a hospital a few days after the crime. The accused said through his defense attorneys that he initially did not want to comment on the allegations.
The background to the crime is said to have been a video of the later victim's brother, in which he is said to have threatened and insulted the accused's family. For this affront, the head of the family is said to have demanded an "appropriate reaction", as the indictment said. Since the author of the video was not accessible to the perpetrators, the group is said to have ambushed his brother in broad daylight.
The crime was recorded by a surveillance camera at a café right by the crime scene. The recording was played in the hall at the start of the trial. The video showed a group of men waiting on a street for the later victim. When the 37-year-old drove past, the group surrounded the vehicle and hit it wildly. When the man managed to get out of the car, he was immediately surrounded, pinned down, hit and kicked by the perpetrators. The group then fled, leaving the victim lying motionless on the ground.
There are a total of 30 suspects in the case, who are also being searched for with an international arrest warrant, as a spokesman for the Cologne public prosecutor said when asked. Two of the suspects are currently in custody and charges are about to be brought against them. For the trial of the 31-year-old Bosnian, eight more days of trial are scheduled until December 22nd.
