Overview
- The Osnabrück trial opened with prosecutors accusing a 46-year-old husband of luring his 39-year-old wife into a shed on the couple's Wallenhorst property and killing her, and the court played the emergency-call recording at the start of proceedings.
- Prosecutors say the three seven-year-old triplets were on the property during the February 2026 killing and that the defendant alerted police after finding his wife; he remains in pretrial detention and has not yet given a full statement in court.
- At the Lüneburg opening the 56-year-old farmer admitted killing his wife and said he then tried to kill his two sons, expressed remorse and described a psychological breakdown as his motive.
- Both courts have ordered expert input: Osnabrück has a forensic pathologist and a psychiatric examiner involved while Lüneburg has appointed three experts to assess the farmer's mental state and criminal responsibility.
- Further hearings are scheduled through the coming months to hear police witnesses, review autopsy and medical findings, and incorporate expert reports that will shape possible charges and any plea on culpability.