Also in Appeal 17 Years Prison for Stabbing Business Partner to Death

The court established that the man planned to kill his business partner. He prepared the murder by buying a hunting knife on December 13, 2023, informed his wife of his intention to kill the victim, went to the business at the end of the day, and upon entering immediately stabbed his business partner multiple times to death. Two colleagues witnessed the attack and tried to stop the man.

In the lead-up to the crime, the man shared with others that his wife had been sexually harassed by the victim.
The man was very angry, sad, and emotional in the days before the murder but otherwise functioned and worked normally. The court concluded that the man had sufficient time and opportunity to deliberate on his actions and therefore killed the victim with premeditation. This constitutes murder.

The man was examined by a psychologist at the courts request, who concluded that the man suffers from avoidant personality disorder among other things. The court also assumes the existence of a mental disorder. The court did not accept the experts advice to attribute the act to the man to a lesser extent. Based on the facts and circumstances leading up to the crime, the court concluded that the man acted deliberately and calculatedly. It cannot be established that the mental disorders influenced his actions.

The court therefore holds the man fully criminally responsible for his actions and their consequences.   

Such a gross and frightening form of vigilante justice is completely unacceptable and has caused indescribable and irreparable suffering to the victims relatives. The court believes that only the imposition of a very long prison sentence is appropriate. 

In addition to the prison sentence, the man must also pay compensation to the victims relatives totaling more than €177,000.