Verdict expected in the murder contract trial against mother and daughter in Cologne

A 36-year-old and her 62-year-old mother are said to have planned to have their daughter's husband murdered. The trial against the women has been ongoing in the Cologne district court since May. The verdict is to be pronounced on Tuesday (2 p.m.).

According to the indictment, mother and daughter are said to have made the decision in September 2025 to have the 36-year-old's husband killed against "the background of ongoing separation and custody disputes". The couple has a five-year-old son together.

While the 36-year-old was staying with her son in her apartment in Frechen near Cologne, the 62-year-old Berliner made contact with a restaurateur in Mallorca - where her son-in-law was also staying at the time. She asked him whether “he knew someone who would kill the injured party for money (...)”.

According to the indictment, the restaurateur is said to have apparently accepted the offer and also accepted money, although at no point did he intend to "instruct a person to kill the injured party." Instead, he turned to the 36-year-old's husband and informed him "about the plans of his wife and his mother-in-law." The man then flew back to Cologne that same evening, where he filed a police report the next day.

The two defendants initially did not provide any information about the allegations. The public prosecutor's office requested four and a half years' imprisonment for the two women for attempted incitement to murder.