Posted on 08/21/2020 9:41:21 AM PDT by Gamecock
A man who fatally shoved an 8-year-old boy at Frankfurt's main rail station has apologized at his trial. Prosecutors want the the man, a Swiss resident, confined to a long-term to a psychiatric unit.
The 41-year-old on trial told a special psychiatric-assessment hearing at Frankfurt's regional court — via his lawyers — that he was "infinitely sorry, especially for the family of the eight-year-old boy killed by my actions."
The boy was killed instantly, according to prosecutors. The boy's mother, who was also shoved onto the track bed in front of the arriving Intercity Express (ICE) passenger train, had managed to roll aside and survive.
A witness, a 79-year-old bystander whom the man also attacked and injured, told the court she saw "how he violently shoved the woman and boy onto the track bed."
"Sheer horror" was experienced by bystanders along Platform 7 of Frankfurt's main railway station, the woman testified as Wednesday's hearing opened under tight security.
The victims' family lawyer, Ulrich Warncke, rejected the apology, telling the court: "There is no excuse for what has been done."
Warncke said the family had two demands: Public discussion on how to deal with mentally ill people and to provide treatment before they commit serious crimes. In addition, train platforms across Germany must finally be better secured, he said.
Prior to the attack on July 29, 2019, Swiss police had been searching several days for the man, originally from Eritrea, after he had locked up his wife and three children before he ended up in Frankfurt.
'Well integrated' in Switzerland His residency in Canton Zurich was unlimited and he had integrated well — after fleeing war in Eritrea in 2006 — but in early 2019 he began psychiatric treatment, authorities said after his arrest last year.
Frankfurt prosecutors pursuing two charges of manslaughter, attempted manslaughter and violent bodily abuse were told by the presiding judge Wednesday that murder and attempted murder could be assumed, if proven during proceedings.
Prosecutors sought the man's long-term confinement to a psychiatric clinic, warning there was a "high to very high probability" of further violent acts, given diagnosed schizophrenic psychoses and paranoid fear of being pursued.
Since last August, the accused has been held at a forensic clinic in Riedstadt in Hesse state, 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Frankfurt.
Enhanced safety controls sought Last year's fatal incident prompted German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer to call for enhanced controls on travelers arriving from Switzerland and better safety measures along platforms at Germany's 5,700 rail stations.
At the time, opposition politicians accused him of populism as Germany's far-right once more criticized what it regarded as flawed migration.
Among all German stations, visitor numbers are highest at Hamburg's main rail station, a so-called through-station.
Frankfurt's main station (Hauptbahnhof), a railhead terminus opened in 1888, handles the most international train connections, according to research firm Statistica. Last year, 2.9 billion persons passed through German stations.
Prior to the attack on July 29, 2019, Swiss police had been searching several days for the man, originally from Eritrea, after he had locked up his wife and three children before he ended up in Frankfurt.
Buried in article, murdering pusher originally from Eritrea
I think he deserves the exact same fate. When does the next train arrive?
Was he wearing lederhosen and a Tyrolean hat?
I thinking mooselimb. Mooselimb = mental illness. Best way to treat mooselimb mental illness is with a rope, a bullet, electricity, poison gas, poison injection or other permanent remedy.
“His residency in Canton Zurich was unlimited and he had integrated well — after fleeing war in Eritrea in 2006”
I’m surprised they shared this much. The reporter may get reprimanded.
I know that railroad station very well I took my first train ride from there to Kaiserslautern, in Rheinpfalz, on a train pulled by a steam locomotive, in 1961.
“Well-integrated.” No name given.
Apparently not.
No wonder he was unhappy. No one will say his name.
Oh he apologized.
Well Ok that takes care of it.
The victims' family lawyer, Ulrich Warncke, rejected the apology, telling the court: "There is no excuse for what has been done."
Obviously the attorney needs to be send to reeducation camp. /sarc
Yeah. The article says the perp was “well integrated.”
One of those Swiss from the Eritrean Canton.
Ate many a brotchen and wurst in that place.
In 1969 the only steam train I saw worked from Nuernburg
to Hof on the border.
Germany’s problem. They want him, they got him.
Repeat after me the “liberal” mantra, “Diversity is our strength”
You castrate him, remove his tongue, one of his eyeballs, a leg, and an arm and force him to never receive public aid the rest of his life, right?
Deeply hidden, after much excuses and dissembling! NOT EVEN THE NAME could be RELEASED by this “impartial” journalost lest he be accused of hatred and bigotry.
Prior to the attack on July 29, 2019, Swiss police had been searching several days for the man, originally from Eritrea, after he had locked up his wife and three children before he ended up in Frankfurt.
‘Well integrated’ in Switzerland His residency in Canton Zurich was unlimited and he had integrated well — after fleeing war in Eritrea in 2006 — but in early 2019 he began psychiatric treatment, authorities said after his arrest last year.
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