Birgit Reichert
dpa
(TNS)
Trier, Germany — The murder trial of a US airman accused of fatally stabbing a man at a local festival in Germany began in military court at Spangdahlem Air Base in western Germany on Wednesday.
The defence lawyer argued that the 26-year-old defendant was not the culprit, but that a different airman present during the altercation was responsible for the fatal stabbing.
DNA traces, witness statements and video recordings would prove this, he told the eight-member jury in the courtroom.
Two service members were arrested after the crime in August 2023 at the traditional Säubrenner fair in the village of Wittlich, located near the air base in the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.
There had been an argument for reasons that remain unclear, which had led to a “scuffle” and finally the knife attack.
German police handed over prosecution of the crime to the US military justice system in accordance with a supplementary agreement to the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the presence of US military personnel in Germany.
The accused 26-year-old, who has the third-lowest rank in the US Air Force, faces life imprisonment if found guilty. He would also be dishonourably discharged from the military if convicted.
According to the air base, the second airman had already been punished by an extrajudicial measure during the course of the investigation.
Prosecutors contended it is clear that the accused committed the crime. The 26-year-old had admitted to the other airman that he stabbed the victim.
In addition, the victim’s blood was found on his shoes, and the accused was the only one in the group of four US citizens who visited the fair together who had a knife with them.
But the defence lawyer contended that the other service member “was the perpetrator,” and said on Wednesday that the other man had traces of the 28-year-old victim’s blood on his clothing, shoulder bag and on his hands.
Witnesses had reported seeing only two people involved in the crime, including a man wearing a black baseball cap. And it was the other service member who was wearing such a cap, the defence lawyer said.
The first two days of the trial included the selection of a jury, which will later be responsible for reaching a verdict in the case. The trial is scheduled to run until October 11.
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