Defense appeals against verdict in Fabian case

After the murder verdict in the case of eight-year-old Fabian from Güstrow, the defense filed an appeal. This was filed on Wednesday, one day after the Rostock Regional Court's ruling, said defense attorney Andreas Ohm to the German Press Agency. The media had previously reported on it. The regional court confirmed receipt.

The regional court sentenced the 30-year-old defendant Gina H. to life imprisonment and at the same time determined the particular gravity of the guilt. “There was no doubt,” said presiding judge Holger Schütt as part of the verdict. “It is completely clear and indubitable and unequivocal and established that you committed the crime.”

If the verdict becomes final, early release after 15 years would be practically impossible. The defendant herself repeatedly and vehemently protested her innocence during the trial, which has been ongoing since the end of April.

However, the criminal chamber had no doubt that the defendant was the perpetrator. As the presiding judge said, she is said to have killed the child in October 2025 because she saw him as a disruptive factor in a new relationship with Fabian's father. He had separated from H. a few weeks before the crime.

According to the verdict, she lured Fabian out of his mother's apartment and stabbed him to death in a pond around 15 kilometers south of his home. She then set the corpse on fire. The dead boy was found four days later.

After the appeal, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) in Karlsruhe must now deal with the judgment. The appeal must be justified within one month of delivery of the written judgment. The taking of evidence will not be reopened. Rather, it is examined whether the procedure and the judgment contain legal errors.