Overview

• A 67-year-old defendant was convicted of manslaughter after delivering 18 hammer blows to the head of his 63-year-old business partner in May 2024.
• Dispute over alleged embezzlement in their joint wholesale market venture triggered the violent confrontation.
• The court dismissed claims of self-defense and denied the prosecution’s request for a life sentence for murder.
• Judge Markus von Hagen described the attack as “brutal and abhorrent” and questioned the sincerity of the defendant’s remorse.
• The ruling is not yet final and has underscored deep divisions within Erfurt’s Vietnamese community.