Overview
- The Landgericht Traunstein ended the retrial with an acquittal and directed compensation for time already served, calling it an unexpectedly swift conclusion.
- In March 2024 the same defendant was sentenced to nine years’ youth custody, a verdict later overturned by the Federal Court of Justice because of a procedural error.
- The prosecution itself sought acquittal in the new proceedings, while the defense argued its client’s innocence and advanced an accident scenario.
- A renowned statement‑psychology expert, Prof. Max Steller, found no reliable truth content in the jailhouse witness’s account that had anchored the original conviction.
- The cause of Hanna Wörndl’s 2022 death remains unresolved; the retrial was held in Laufen for logistical reasons and the defendant had been free pending the hearings.