In 1981, in Germany, in full view of the courtroom, a woman suddenly pulled out a pistol and fired eight shots at the man in the defendant's seat.
A single mother named Marian Bachmeier, sitting in a crowded courtroom, took a Beretta pistol from her purse and fired eight shots at the suspect who killed her daughter, killing her instantly.
After that, Bakhmeier put away his gun and stood in place, waiting for the trial of the law.
With the end of the eight gunshots, it caused a violent upheaval in public opinion throughout Germany and the whole world. It is reported that the German media NDR called it "the most famous case in the post-war history of Germany". And the German people even gave her a rather shocking name - "Mother of Vengeance".
But in the 1970s, Bakhmeier was just an ordinary single mother who ran a bar in what was then a city in West Germany called Lübeck.
Struggling to make ends meet, Bachmeier was forced to give the older of her three children to be adopted by someone else, while she herself lived with her youngest daughter.
Despite the difficulties of life, Bachmeier loves his 7-year-old daughter Anna very much, regards her only sustenance in her difficult life, and does her best to provide basic security for her daughter's food, clothing, clothing and food.
And Bachmeier's daughter Anna is also a lively and cute child. The life of mother and daughter was peaceful and happy.
Until this day on May 5, 1980, the originally ordinary and warm life of mother and daughter fell apart unexpectedly.
On this day, because of Anna's grinding work, Bachmeier casually rebuked a few words, and Anna angrily carried her schoolbag and went out of the house.
At first, Bachmeier thought his daughter was just going to school and didn't pay much attention. But as the sky outside the window darkened, the night closed, and watched the clock in the house go round and round, Anna still did not return.
Worried about it, Bachmeier contacted Anna's school, but learned that Anna did not go to school at all that day!
Bakhmeier was completely panicked at this time...
Fate did not favor the poor woman, and that day Bachmeier finally did not hear the crisp and pleasant voice of his usual daughter when she came home—and by the time she finally found Anna, she had been transformed into a cold corpse packed into a narrow cardboard box.
Later autopsy reports showed that Anna had died of mechanical asphyxia, with visible strangulation marks on her neck and signs of being bound by ropes on her hands and feet, as well as traces of assault on her body.
After the crime, the police quickly intervened in the investigation and identified the 35-year-old suspect, Klaus Grabowski, a local butcher and neighbor of Bachmeier.
It turned out that Klaus had been accused of indecent assault and child abuse many times before. In a follow-up investigation, it was learned that Laux had left Anna in his home for hours before killing her. After killing Anna, he hid the little girl's body in a cardboard box, then placed the box on the bank of the canal not far away, and fled back home.
After his arrest, Klaus admitted that he strangled Anna with pantyhose, but denied that he had molested and abused her. According to Klaus, Anna entered his home on her own initiative and threatened him with money after seducing him, otherwise she would tell her mother, Bachmeier, about Klaus' molestation of her.
Klaus actually claimed that a 7-year-old girl would seduce and blackmail him! These words are undoubtedly another tear at the scars in the heart of this unfortunate mother.
A year later, the murder against Klaus officially began in the first instance.
During the trial, Klaus's defense lawyers used the example of sex offenders in Germany at the time who often underwent castration to prevent recidivism, in order to claim that Klaus's behavior was a hormonal imbalance, induced by hormone therapy he received after voluntary chemical castration many years ago. (Although Klaus is not)
Since the police could not find more sufficient and powerful evidence, this outrageous reason was recognized by the court, and Klaus was publicly acquitted at the first instance!
This made Bachmeier extremely angry, and it also sparked heated discussions at the social level. The second instance was held soon after.
It was in the court of the second instance that Bachmeier pulled out a gun and fired it eight times into Klaus's back, ending his life.
After that, Bachmeier was immediately controlled. Faced with the judge's questioning, Bachmeier's words were full of sadness. "I want to kill him. I hope he's dead. He killed my daughter... I wanted to shoot him in the face..."
Bakhmeier was later tried for the shooting. During her testimony, Bachmeier claimed that she shot Klaus in a dream, and in court, she saw visions of her daughter Anna.
The medical examiner asked Bachmeier for a sample of handwriting, which Bachmeier did, writing "I did it for you, Anna" on his notes and drawing seven heart-shaped ornaments around it, which just matched his daughter's age.
Eventually sentenced to six years in prison for intentional manslaughter, Bakhmeier was released from prison for "mental problems" after serving a year before moving to Nigeria and Italy, where she died in 1996 and was buried with her daughter.
The Bachmeier case undoubtedly caused an uproar in society. Many people expressed deep sympathy for her misfortune, but at the same time, many people thought that her private revenge was very inappropriate.
This controversy is essentially a controversy over the legitimacy of revenge. The core of the law is impartiality, based on facts and evidence, but in many cases, it is difficult to truly implement this core and will encounter a lot of resistance.
More importantly, the law sometimes falls into a dilemma in the face of social ethics and morality.
Judicial fairness undoubtedly needs to be safeguarded, but the role of morality and ethics in maintaining social stability cannot be ignored. How to balance the weight of the two has always been a long-term consideration for society.
Text: A gentleman loves money
#Overseas Adventures Issue 7##故事 #
