A man accused of decapitating his 100-year-old grandmother with an axe as she cowered in her wheelchair has gone on trial in Hamburg.
Retired farm worker Amalie G was found dead in her apartment in the German city after the attack by her 37-year-old grandson Artur B in March, investigators say.
Following his arrest, Artur, who had been treated and prescribed medication for psychological problems according to German outlet Bild, consulted a psychiatrist and claimed he was struggling to cope with the care of his wheelchair-bound grandmother who suffered from dementia.View attachment 706370
But a relative told Bild that Artur, a former soldier, was considered 'the black sheep of the family' and that Amalie had routinely complained he was stealing from her.
'Most of the time he was unemployed and he constantly lacked the money. Family members kept their distance from him,' the relative added.
Artur was arrested after he called police to notify them of his crime.
Coroners determined Amalie was hit 16 times with the weapon as she tried in vain to defend herself with a cordless vacuum cleaner, and that she died when one strike severed her spinal cord.
According to the preliminary autopsy result, it can be assumed that a cervical cord severing caused by sharp and blunt force was the cause of death. The suspected crime is an axe found at the crime scene,' chief public prosecutor Liddy Oechtering said following the murder.
A neighbour of the murdered grandmother told Bild: 'We actually had good contact before her death. Amalie told me that her grandson had already broken into the apartment through the balcony and wanted to steal her money.'
The neighbour said Artur regularly came to look after his grandmother, but that the pair frequently argued and were often loud enough to be overheard.
'The grandson regularly came to his grandmother's apartment and looked after her. But there were arguments anyway.'
Relatives speculated that a dispute over money escalated the situation on the night of the killing. Artur is said to have called police to say he had beheaded his grandmother and officers discovered an axe at the bloody crime scene.
When asked by Bild, the public prosecutor said that Artur B had no criminal record.
According to information available to the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper, the man was only known to police for minor crimes and none of these were acts of violence.
Artur will testify before the court in Hamburg on Monday.
Retired farm worker Amalie G was found dead in her apartment in the German city after the attack by her 37-year-old grandson Artur B in March, investigators say.
Following his arrest, Artur, who had been treated and prescribed medication for psychological problems according to German outlet Bild, consulted a psychiatrist and claimed he was struggling to cope with the care of his wheelchair-bound grandmother who suffered from dementia.View attachment 706370
But a relative told Bild that Artur, a former soldier, was considered 'the black sheep of the family' and that Amalie had routinely complained he was stealing from her.
'Most of the time he was unemployed and he constantly lacked the money. Family members kept their distance from him,' the relative added.
Artur was arrested after he called police to notify them of his crime.
Coroners determined Amalie was hit 16 times with the weapon as she tried in vain to defend herself with a cordless vacuum cleaner, and that she died when one strike severed her spinal cord.
According to the preliminary autopsy result, it can be assumed that a cervical cord severing caused by sharp and blunt force was the cause of death. The suspected crime is an axe found at the crime scene,' chief public prosecutor Liddy Oechtering said following the murder.
A neighbour of the murdered grandmother told Bild: 'We actually had good contact before her death. Amalie told me that her grandson had already broken into the apartment through the balcony and wanted to steal her money.'
The neighbour said Artur regularly came to look after his grandmother, but that the pair frequently argued and were often loud enough to be overheard.
'The grandson regularly came to his grandmother's apartment and looked after her. But there were arguments anyway.'
Relatives speculated that a dispute over money escalated the situation on the night of the killing. Artur is said to have called police to say he had beheaded his grandmother and officers discovered an axe at the bloody crime scene.
When asked by Bild, the public prosecutor said that Artur B had no criminal record.
According to information available to the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper, the man was only known to police for minor crimes and none of these were acts of violence.
Artur will testify before the court in Hamburg on Monday.
