This failed Afghan asylum seeker has been jailed for life after he killed the father of his refugee centre worker girlfriend by slitting the OAP’s throat as he slept.
The district court of Schwerin ruled today [Friday] that the Afghan national only identified as Najmudin J. murdered 85-year-old Dietrich P., whose throat was slit while he was asleep in his own house in the town of Wittenburg in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
The court sentenced Najmudin J., who had his asylum application rejected but was officially allowed to temporarily stay in Germany, to life in prison for the murder.
The judge acknowledged during the verdict that the court could not fully determine the motive for the act, saying that Najmudin J. had no qualms with the 85-year-old man who even allowed him to live in his house shortly before the murder in November last year.
Dietrich P. was reportedly paying him to carry out menial chores around the house and gave him a free place to sleep as well.
A Bosnian helper who was in the house at the time saw Najmudin carrying out the attack on a baby monitor camera.
In court, Dietrich P.’s 50-year-old daughter appeared as co-plaintiff and witness to deliver her testimony. She introduced Najmudin to her father after she met him while working at a refugee centre in Zwickau in the eastern German state of Saxony.
The victim’s daughter admitted to the court that she had been having an affair with the Afghan asylum seeker before the murder, even though she was aware that he was betrothed to another woman in his home country of Afghanistan.
In the weeks leading up to the murder, the defendant and the victim’s daughter were reportedly arguing a lot because he did not want her talking to other men.
The Afghan national has did not give a statement about his motives, but it was assumed that his reasons for killing the 85-year-old man were linked to the relationship with his daughter.
Even though Najmudin’s personal documents say he was born on 1st January 1998, the court deemed he is older than 21, determining he is at least in his mid-20s.
Dietrich P.’s daughter is also convinced that Najmudin is older than he says and believes he is around 27 or 28 years old.
In Germany, defendants under the age of 21 at the time of the crime should stand trial in a juvenile court, which would have meant that he would have only faced a maximum of 15 years in prison instead of the life sentence he has now received.
Local media described the victim as a beloved and well-known senior citizen who was involved in an association responsible for the preservation and restoration of a local mill.
A friend said: “Everyone here knew Dietrich, he was always friendly and ready to help anyone. It is incomprehensible that something like this could happen in our place.”
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Story By: Koen Berghuis, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
