Parents Avoid Punishment After Daughter's Death From Severe Malnutrition

A German court ruled that the emotional toll on the parents, convicted of negligent manslaughter, outweighed the need for a formal sentence.

The 16-year-old girl died in December 2022 from multiple organ failure caused by extreme malnutrition, weighing only 19 kilograms at the time of her death.
The parents, a 51-year-old father and 48-year-old mother, were convicted of negligent manslaughter but received no sentence due to the court's determination that they had already suffered immensely from their loss.
Prosecutors argued the parents failed to seek medical help for their daughter, who was severely underweight, battling an eating disorder, and suffering from infections, including COVID-19.
The parents claimed they underestimated the severity of their daughter's condition and refrained from forcing hospitalization due to her anxiety about medical treatment.
The court applied a legal clause allowing punishment to be waived when the consequences of the crime are deemed to have already inflicted significant suffering on the perpetrator.