"Then finish them off and set them on fire" Couple convicted of murdering Ukrainian woman in Germany
At the start of the trial at Mannheim Regional Court in early January, the couple confessed to the murders of the two Ukrainian women in order to pass off the younger woman's baby as their own child. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Shortly after the body of the baby's mother, the grandmother's body was discovered in a pond near Karlsruhe. (archive image)
Image: dpa
In March 2024, the body of the mother of the then five-week-old baby was found near Hockenheim on the Rhine. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
At the start of the trial at Mannheim Regional Court in early January, the couple confessed to the murders of the two Ukrainian women in order to pass off the younger woman's baby as their own child. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
Shortly after the body of the baby's mother, the grandmother's body was discovered in a pond near Karlsruhe. (archive image)
Image: dpa
In March 2024, the body of the mother of the then five-week-old baby was found near Hockenheim on the Rhine. (archive picture)
Image: dpa
A married couple from near Heidelberg killed the mother and grandmother of a baby in order to have a daughter together. The judge imposes the maximum sentence.
10.02.2025, 18:45
10.02.2025, 19:50
dpa
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- A married couple has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany for the murder of two Ukrainian women.
- The crime caused horror throughout Germany last March.
A few days ago, the little girl celebrated her first birthday in Ukraine - the child whose mother and grandmother were murdered in northern Baden-Württemberg in March 2024 after fleeing Ukraine. The perpetrators, a German couple from near Heidelberg, wanted to have a daughter together - and pass off the then five-week-old baby as their own. The 45-year-old woman and her 43-year-old husband have now been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder at Mannheim Regional Court.
The court also established the particular gravity of the guilt. This means that early release after 15 years is almost impossible. The court also convicted the stoic defendants of kidnapping minors. An appeal can still be lodged against the verdict.
Judge speaks of "will to destroy"
While the presiding judge Gerd Rackwitz reads out the reasons for the verdict for around an hour, he repeatedly shakes his head. "Then finish it off and set it on fire", the accused had written in chats when planning the crime. "Surprise for my birthday, first get one, then the other", the accused had said. Rackwitz speaks of "blatant ruthlessness" and a "will to destroy". There was no doubt that the couple had committed the alleged acts.
The woman and her husband are said to have killed the 27-year-old woman and her 51-year-old mother last March in order to pass off the younger woman's baby as their own. The motive for the crime was that the couple from Sandhausen near Heidelberg had long harbored an unfulfilled desire to have a daughter together. According to the public prosecutor's office, the couple have a total of four children, including a son.
Defendants expressed remorse at the start of the trial
At the start of the trial at the beginning of January, the two defendants confessed to the crimes in statements read out by their lawyers. Both also expressed remorse. The man stated that he had beaten the two women to death with a rubber mallet.
As the judge explained, the couple had been involved in kidnapping a newborn girl and passing her off as theirs in 2023 at the latest. The woman had previously suffered a miscarriage. The couple had initially searched for babies in the Czech Republic and Switzerland that they could kidnap. The wife then joined a Telegram group to support Ukrainian refugees in January 2024 at the latest - to increase her chances of having a baby with a Ukrainian woman.
Accused faked home birth of a daughter
This is how she met the 27-year-old, who was looking for help translating for the upcoming birth of her daughter. At the time of the crime, the mother, grandmother and baby were staying in refugee accommodation in Wiesloch in the Rhine-Neckar district.
In February, the accused applied to the Sandhausen registry office for a birth certificate for a daughter allegedly born at home at the beginning of the month. She also submitted a false certificate from her gynecologist. She received the birth certificate.
According to the court, the couple planned the murders by mid-February at the latest. After a visit to a restaurant, the accused are said to have secretly administered sedating medication to the two women on March 6 - the defendant's birthday.
The man beat the two women to death. According to the court, he dumped the grandmother's body in a pond near Karlsruhe. He killed the baby's mother near Hockenheim on the banks of the Rhine. The couple set fire to the body to prevent it from being identified and drove home with the five-week-old baby.
"That was my wife's fondest wish"
In a statement read out by his lawyer at the start of the trial, the accused said: "We absolutely wanted to have a daughter together, that was my wife's most fervent wish."
On March 7, 2024, a walker discovered the body of the 27-year-old on the banks of the Rhine. On March 13, the police arrested the couple, where investigators found the baby unharmed. On March 19, police divers found the grandmother's body in the lake.
Baby lives with aunt in Ukraine
The baby then lived with a foster family for several months. In early summer 2024, the aunt - now the 21-year-old sister of the deceased - took over guardianship of the girl. At the end of June, she returned to Ukraine with the baby, according to her lawyer, Thomas Franz. The adoption of the girl has been applied for there, but the process could take months.
The 21-year-old appeared in the trial as a co-plaintiff. However, according to the lawyer, she did not appear at the trial due to the arduous journey. The father of the baby is not known. The grandmother had followed the woman to Germany to help with the baby.
"The little one is doing well under the circumstances," said Franz after the verdict was announced. "She will grow up in a really great family." The aunt has since married her partner of many years. But of course the living conditions are difficult, with, for example, only hours of electricity a day.