A Munich court has delivered its verdict in the case of a 58-year-old Russian man who stabbed two Ukrainian men to death in April last year. The victims had been in Murnau, a Bavarian town, for rehabilitation following war injuries. The court found the defendant guilty of murder and, in addition, established the severity of the crime, making it unlikely for him to be released even after serving 15 years in prison.
According to witness statements, the three men had met regularly over several months and had been drinking together. Forensic tests found that the two victims had 3.2 and 2.3 promilles of alcohol in their blood, while the defendant had 2.3 promilles at the time of the crime. Blood alcohol levels of two promilles or higher can cause memory loss and disorientation.
The defendant’s lawyer argued for a charge of manslaughter and a murder conviction with a finding of the severity of the crime is unusual in cases of alcohol-related incidents.
The defendant has lived in Germany since the early 1990s, having arrived in the country as a Soviet soldier and later deserting. He has a history of violent and drunk-driving offenses, for which he has served time in prison. In court, the defendant attributed the conflict to the “black devil” of alcohol, to which he had become increasingly addicted and expressed regret for the crime. He claimed the argument started over a bottle of vodka.
The chief prosecutor, whose request the court largely followed, however, believed that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was the underlying cause of the conflict. The defendant, he argued, had felt his national pride wounded and had confirmed his excessive hostility towards Ukrainian soldiers. He then fetched a knife to kill the two men.
The defense lawyer requested that his client be allowed to undergo an alcohol detox program. The fact that the defendant had offered to interpret for Ukrainian prisoners in pre-trial detention, the lawyer argued, showed that he was not inherently hostile. If the defendant were not a Russian, the prosecution would likely not have sought a “severe crime” finding, the lawyer added.
The verdict is not yet final and the defendant has the right to appeal to the Federal Court of Justice.