100-year-old woman with dementia was decapitated in her wheelchair by an axe-wielding grandson who struggled to care for her, murder case reveals
- Amalie G. was found dead in her apartment in the city of Hamburg in March
- Grandson Artur B. regularly took care of her, but was also accused of theft
A man accused of decapitating his 100-year-old grandmother with an ax while huddled in her wheelchair is on trial in Hamburg.
Retired farm worker Amalie G. was found dead in her apartment in the city of Hamburg after the attack by her 37-year-old grandson Artur B. in March, investigators say.
While awaiting trial following his arrest, Artur, who had been treated and prescribed medication for mental health problems, according to a German newspaper Imageconsulted a psychiatrist and claimed he was having trouble coping with his wheelchair-bound grandmother who suffered from dementia.
But a relative told Bild that Artur, a former soldier, was considered “the black sheep of the family” and that Amalie had routinely complained that he stole from her.
“Most of the time he was unemployed and he constantly lacked money. Relatives kept their distance from him,” the relative added.
Artur was arrested after calling the police to inform them of his crime.
Coroners determined that Amalie was hit 16 times with the weapon when she unsuccessfully tried to defend herself with a cordless vacuum cleaner, and that she died when one strike severed her spinal cord.
Retired farm worker Amalie G. was found dead in her apartment in the city of Hamburg after the attack by her 37-year-old grandson Artur B. in March, investigators said
While awaiting trial following his arrest, Artur (left in court this week and right in the undated image), who according to German newspaper Bild had been treated and prescribed medication for mental health problems, consulted a psychiatrist and claimed he was having trouble to use his wheelchair. bound grandmother who suffered from dementia
Artur allegedly called the police to say he beheaded grandmother and when police arrived at the bloody crime scene they discovered an ax
“According to the preliminary autopsy result, it can be assumed that a transection of the cervix caused by sharp and blunt force was the cause of death. The suspected crime is an ax found at the crime scene,” said Chief Public Prosecutor Liddy Oechtering after the murder.
A neighbor of the murdered centenarian told Bild: “We actually had good contact before her death. Amalie told me her grandson had already broken into the apartment through the balcony and wanted to steal her money.’
The neighbor said that Artur regularly came to babysit his grandmother, but the pair often argued and were often loud enough to be overheard.
“The grandson regularly came to his grandmother’s apartment and took care of her. But there were still quarrels.’
Relatives of Artur B. and Amalie G. said it is possible that a dispute over money escalated the situation on the night of the murder.
When asked by BILD, the public prosecutor said that Artur B. had no criminal record.
According to information available to the Hamburger Abendblatt daily newspaper, the man was only known to the police for petty crimes and there were no acts of violence.
Artur will testify in court in Hamburg on Monday.