- Title: Trial of Korean family accused of 'exorcism' murder begins in Germany
- Date: 10th October 2016
- Summary: FRANKFURT, GERMANY (OCTOBER 10, 2016) (REUTERS) LAWYERS IN FRANKFURT REGIONAL COURTROOM GREETING EACH OTHER CRIMINAL PROCEDURE BOOK VARIOUS OF ACCUSED ARRIVING ONE OF THE ACCUSED'S HANDS IN HANDCUFFS VARIOUS OF ACCUSED FEMALE COVERING FACE ACCUSED FEMALE SITTING BETWEEN LAWYERS VARIOUS OF ACCUSED MALE SITTING/BEING PHOTOGRAPHED JUDGES COURTROOM COAT OF ARMS (SOUNDBITE) DEFENSE LAWYER, STEPHAN KUHN, SAYING: "The main hearing is to clarify the exact facts, but I think the thrust of the hearing of evidence and the task of the court will be to find out to what extent it can be presumed that all parties, or that on account of these proceedings, they calculated with the deceased's death. I think this will be relatively complicated for the court, especially given the varying degrees of maturity of the accused people." VARIOUS OF JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES SIGN (SOUNDBITE) (German) SENIOR PROSECUTOR, NADJA NIESEN, SAYING: "Proceedings against five South Korean citizens who are charged with the joint murder of a 41-year-old woman, also from South Korea started at the juvenile division of Frankfurt regional court. The accused is a 45-year-old woman, the victim's cousin, then her 22-year-old son, 19-year-old daughter and two 16-year-old boys, one who was 15 years old at the time of the offense (and is) the victim's son." SIGN READING (German): "PROSECUTOR OF THE REGIONAL COURT" (SOUNDBITE) (German) SENIOR PROSECUTOR, NADJA NIESEN, SAYING: "They are accused of together cruelly killing the woman on December 5 in a Frankfurt hotel room, in a so- called exorcism. They are accused of having used massive violence on the victim's neck and chest. It's alleged that they kneeled on her chest, and they took turns holding and pressing her to the ground, and to stop her from screaming, a towel must have been shoved in her mouth multiple times. In addition, it they reportedly stuffed a clothes hanger out of material in her mouth." MEDIA (SOUNDBITE) (German) SENIOR PROSECUTOR, NADJA NIESEN, SAYING: "A joint murder is what's accused. As is legally the case, we must wait for results from the hearing of evidence. In the case of a murder conviction, the adult defendants are looking at lifelong imprisonment. With the adolescents, that is the 19-year-old defendant, it is a question of whether adult law is applied, than lifelong imprisonment would also apply to him. If it is possible to determine a deficit of maturity with him, than juvenile justice will likely apply, that would mean a maximum of 15 years in youth custody. And with the 16-year-old, a murder conviction would lead to a maximum of 10 years."
- Embargoed: 25th October 2016 11:52
- Keywords: trial exorcism South Korean Frankfurt
- Location: FRANKFURT, GERMANY
- City: FRANKFURT, GERMANY
- Country: Germany
- Topics: Judicial Process/Court Cases/Court Decisions
- Reuters ID: LVA00153FACEF
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A trial began in Germany on Monday (October 10) of five South Koreans accused of beating to death a 41-year-old female relative in a Frankfurt hotel room last year as a part on an exorcist ritual.
The 45-year-old woman, the victim's cousin, her 22-year-old son, her 19-year-old daughter and two 16-year-old boys, one of whom is the victim's son, are all of Korean nationality and face charges of joint murder.
"They are accused of together cruelly killing the woman on December 5 in a Frankfurt hotel room, in a so-called exorcism," said senior prosecutor Nadja Niesen.
Prosecutors allege the five used massive violence on the victim's neck and chest to "cast out the devils."
They are accused of kneeling on her chest and taking turns to hold and pin her to the ground. To stop her from screaming, they stuffed a towel in her mouth multiple times, as well as a clothes hanger with clothing.
The victim underwent several hours of pain and torture and finally died by suffocation due to massive pressure on her throat and chest, prosecutors said.
The family are reportedly Christian with shamanistic influences, according to German media. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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