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On the second day of the trial at the regional court in Giessen, the forensic pathologist describes her findings on the crime.
Reiskirchen/Giessen (bcz). An argument escalates, at the end of which a 30-year-old man runs away with a stab wound before collapsing and dying about 80 meters away. Because of this crime, which took place in the early hours of September 17, 2023, a 42-year-old Turk from Reiskirchen is currently facing manslaughter charges before the Fifth Grand Criminal Division of the Giessen Regional Court. On the second day of the trial on Thursday, forensic pathologist Dr. Gabriele Laskowski explained the injuries she had found on both the deceased and the accused.
The cause of death was the stab wound to the upper body. This had penetrated the chest and severed the superior vena cava. “If you are hit in this spot, it is always life-threatening,” the doctor explained. There was little time for rescue. It was less than five minutes, after which it would be irreversible. Even the paramedics, who were on site within ten minutes, could not change that. Despite resuscitation, the man died where he had collapsed, just 280 meters from his front door.
Snack bar video camera films events
The crime was filmed by a video camera installed at a snack bar. The video shows the two men meeting at the intersection of Carl-Benz-Straße and Siemensstraße and interacting with each other. The stabbing motion can also be seen, although the two figures standing opposite each other in the dark cannot really be identified.
After this movement, the injured man throws a sandal at the knifeman, continues to gesticulate and finally runs off in the direction of his apartment. This was met with astonishment during the trial. How was that possible considering the severity of the injury? “That’s a typical picture,” explained Laskowski. The injured man initially doesn’t even realize that he has been hit. “It only becomes apparent when blood flows.”
»3.12 per mille alcohol and a considerable amount of amphetamines were found in the victim’s blood. The forensic pathologist confirmed that these have a disinhibiting effect in combination with alcohol. Traces of cannabis were found in the defendant’s blood. However, she pointed out that the blood sample was not taken until several hours after the crime.
The video recordings largely confirm the statements of the defendant, who admitted the crime. After the previous argument, in which fists were flying, he came up with the idea of driving to the victim’s home in the middle of the night to talk to his wife about the incident. When he got there, he knocked on the patio door, but when no one opened it, he drove back towards his apartment. The two then met at the intersection. The defendant stopped and a scuffle ensued, with the victim aggressively approaching the other and attacking him.
Police officers contradict each other
The defendant had indicated in his statement that he had stabbed the victim in self-defense. He had previously put the kitchen knife in his sleeve as a precaution.
The documented incident took place early in the morning at around 3:40 a.m. This raises the question of how clearly the knife was visible. The investigating police officers gave different statements on this. One said that it was very dark there at that time because the street lights in Reiskirchen were turned off between midnight and five a.m. While another said that the area was well lit.
On Thursday, the wife of the deceased, the co-plaintiff, was also questioned about the crime. Regarding her husband’s drug use, she said that he had secretly smoked weed. She had not noticed the physical altercation between her husband and the accused that preceded the stabbing. She believed that the reason for her husband’s outburst was a violent insult that the accused had allegedly made about an acquaintance. “This man drove us all apart. My husband was really angry with him,” she said through the interpreter.
