Lawyer in Mels SG demands acquittal for homicide with umbrella
Published: Thursday, Feb 1st 2024, 17:01
العودة إلى البث المباشر
A young man spoke of memory lapses in court in Mels SG on Thursday. He is accused of fatally injuring a 45-year-old man with an umbrella in 2022. The accused's lawyer demanded an acquittal. The verdict will follow on Friday.
"No, I have no explanation for my actions," the defendant replied to a question from a judge at the Werdenberg-Sarganserland District Court. He had never had such a "blackout" before. "I have to deal with it. It's extremely bad, I'm sorry and it weighs heavily on me."
Stabbed in both eyes with an umbrella
The public prosecutor's office accuses the young man of stabbing a then 45-year-old Italian man in both eyes with an umbrella after heavy drinking, fatally injuring him. The public prosecutor's office assumes that the accused had between 1.2 and a maximum of 2.1 per mille alcohol. According to the public prosecutor's office, he was not culpable due to the high alcohol content in his blood.
The accused was not sane at the time of the crime due to his alcohol consumption. The prosecutor went on to say that it was his own fault that it had come to this. He is demanding a conditional prison sentence of two years.
Accused spoke of "panic fear"
The Swiss man, who is now studying law at a university, says he can no longer remember many of his actions. In court, he spoke of a "panicked fear" that he had experienced. This was because the victim had become aggressive towards him.
The 45-year-old grabbed his genitals and prevented him from leaving the room. The two had met there during the carnival. The Italian also punched him in the face.
However, the court had doubts about this reasoning. An expert opinion had established that the accused had not suffered any serious injuries. Furthermore, the violence had primarily come from him and not from the victim, according to the court.
"That doesn't correspond to my perception," replied the student. He remembered having difficulty breathing and feeling threatened. He could no longer remember how he got into the room.
Not alcohol, but knockout drops
The defendant's lawyer argued that the young man was indeed inculpable. However, the reason for this was not self-inflicted. Instead, she assumed that he had been administered a substance such as knockout drops.
"The fact is, the defendant was in a completely abnormal state that he had never experienced before." In his perception, he had been fighting for his life. He had also consumed alcohol on previous occasions. However, he had never become aggressive.
The accused should therefore be acquitted. In addition, the lawyer demanded that the student be compensated for his time in custody in the event of an acquittal. The lawyer for the victim's family demanded a new psychiatric report on the accused. The reason for this was the testimony of a witness.
Witness describes accused as "calm"
This witness testified that she had observed the accused in a bar for some time during the carnival. He had appeared calm and had not consumed any alcoholic beverages for a certain period of time.
The victim's lawyer also doubted the statements of the accused. The young man had been physically superior to the 45-year-old. "The accused had several opportunities to move away from the alleged altercation," said the lawyer.
At the end of the trial, the student addressed the victim's family: "I am very sorry for what happened. I would like to give the bereaved more answers, but I can't." The court will open the verdict on Friday at 2 pm.
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