Overview

• Proceedings at Landgericht Erfurt began on July 24 and were briefly halted by a false fire alarm
• The 20-year-old defendant has remained silent at the manslaughter trial over the July 2024 death of a 93-year-old resident
• Prosecutors cited court-ordered autopsy results that showed signs of violent strangulation or suffocation
• Presiding Judge Holger Pröbstel reprimanded the defendant for failing to attend psychiatric evaluation appointments and cited his documented developmental issues
• Under German law the defendant’s status as a "Heranwachsender" at the time of the incident could result in a youth sentence of six months to ten years rather than the five-year minimum for adult manslaughter