In Germany, a Ukrainian teenager was sentenced to 10 years for killing a 32-year-old mother and her young daughter last summer

In Germany, the Essen Regional Court sentenced a 16-year-old Ukrainian citizen to 10 years in prison for the murder of a 32-year-old Ukrainian woman, with whom he had an intimate relationship, and her one-and-a-half-year-old daughter. The trial took place on March 9.

Der Spiegel reported this.

The killing occurred in Dorsten, in the federal state of North Rhine–Westphalia. According to investigators and the court, the teenager attacked the woman and her child on a sparsely used forest path and struck them repeatedly with his hands and feet, mostly aiming at their heads. The injuries were fatal: both victims died at the scene.

When the bodies were found, the woman was partially undressed.

After committing the crime, the young perpetrator voluntarily went to a local police station and confessed. However, during the investigation he was unable to clearly explain what drove him to the violent act. The motive remained unknown until the trial.

Because the defendant is a minor, the proceedings were held behind closed doors, without journalists or members of the public.

He will serve the 10-year sentence in a special juvenile correctional facility. The verdict has not yet entered into force and can be appealed.

As a reminder, in late June last year, the bodies of a 32-year-old Ukrainian woman and her 18-month-old daughter were found in Dorsten-Holsterhausen. Soon afterward, a 16-year-old Ukrainian living in the same city appeared at the scene and admitted involvement. He was arrested.

A few days later, the press reported details about the victim and her family, but the motives of the teenage killer—and details of his biography—remained unclear.