At the Christopher Street Day in Münster, a young man mobbed three participants. A trans man wants to stop him and pays with his life. A 20-year-old has to answer in court from Monday. The motive for the crime should also be clarified there.
Six months after a fatal attack on Christopher Street Day (CSD) in Münster, a 20-year-old must answer before the Münster Regional Court from this Monday. The charge is assault resulting in death. After several blows to the body and head, 25-year-old transman Malte C. died in the hospital after falling on the back of his head. The case had caused horror nationwide, the motive for the crime is so far unclear.
Malte C. had shown civil courage on the fringes of the CSD and opposed the accused. According to the police investigation, he had insulted and threatened people who had taken part in the CSD. According to the indictment, three women were affected, one of whom later told the police that she was male.
The charge is assault resulting in death. The process should also clarify the motive for the act. According to the public prosecutor's office in November, the man had answered questions to an expert after his arrest. He told the psychiatrist that the act he was accused of was "not even remotely an expression of a hostile attitude towards homosexuals". According to the expert, the act is not due to a homophobic or anti-queer attitude on the part of the man.
The prosecution attributes the act to a personality disorder in which the rights of others are generally disregarded and violated. The man was also aggressive and violent because of alcohol. But: According to the expert, his controllability was not significantly impaired.
The report contrasts with previous reports from the police and the prosecution, which list homophobic abuse. According to this, the accused is said to have addressed three people he did not know in a sexually offensive manner at the CSD on August 27 at around 8 p.m. He threatened to be beaten when he was rejected.
Malte C. then asked the accused to refrain from doing that. He missed several blows to the chest and head. According to the information, Malte C. fell with the back of his head on the pavement and was operated on with a traumatic brain injury and put into an artificial coma. In early September he died of pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmia as a result of the head injury.
The age of the accused plays an important role: at 20, he stands on the threshold between juvenile and adult criminal law. During the trial, the Grand Criminal Court will deal with the case as a juvenile chamber. With the help of witnesses and an expert witness, the judges have to clarify the mental maturity of the accused.
If convicted of assault resulting in death, he faces up to ten years in prison. Depending on whether he is classified as an adolescent or an adult, he would have to serve his sentence in different prisons. According to media reports, the accused was said to have been successful in boxing as a teenager. The regional court has scheduled nine further hearing dates by mid-April.
