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The defendant in the Regional Court of Stuttgart in October

Photograph:

Bernd Weißbrod / dpa

In the trial of a fatal car ride in Baden-Württemberg, the 34-year-old defendant has been sentenced to six years in prison. This was the conclusion of an event that had been caused by "a lot of unfortunate moments," the judge said on Thursday at the pronouncement of the verdict at the Stuttgart Regional Court.

The prosecution had previously demanded seven years in prison, the defense three and a half years in prison for what they considered to be a less serious case of manslaughter.

In connection with the crime, dramatic scenes apparently took place in Reichenbach an der Fils, southeast of Stuttgart, at the end of May: The 34-year-old drove away frightened with her car after an argument - with her partner on the bonnet.

Two-kilometer ride on the bonnet

Whether the man jumped on the car himself remained unclear. The woman had driven almost two kilometers with him through the village. The 32-year-old finally got under the car on the country road. As a result, he died of his serious injuries.

She hadn't wanted her partner to die, but at that moment she didn't care, the judge concluded. The defendant had a fear reaction, but not a "headless panic reaction". On the long journey, during which her partner called for help on the bonnet, she had "x alternative courses of action".

At 70 kilometers per hour – without a driver's license

The defendant did not brake, but instead drove up to 70 kilometers per hour and thus accepted the death of her partner. The woman did not use the vehicle as a vehicle, but "perverted it as a tool" and did not even have a driver's license.

The defendant was also convicted of dangerous interference with road traffic in conjunction with intentional driving without a license. In addition to the custodial sentence, she was also prohibited from driving motor vehicles of any kind on the road for a period of six months.

The defendant and her partner had a toxic relationship from which neither of them had been able to free themselves, the judge said. The 34-year-old had admitted the crime and apologized to the victim's relatives in the trial. "You must be able to deal with death," said the judge. "We'll never be able to take that away from you."

The defendant said that she would accept the verdict and waive her right to appeal, as did the other parties to the proceedings.

kub/dpa/AFP