LUEBECK, West Germany -- A woman who shot dead her daughter's killer in front of a crowded courtroom, went on trial herself today, charged with murdering the convicted sex offender.
Marianne Bachmeier, 32, was charged with shooting and killing convicted sex offender Klaus Grabowsky March 6, 1981 on the third day of his trial for the murder of her 7-year-old daughter Anna.
Mrs. Bachmeier is accused of firing eight shots from behind at the 35-year-old Grabowsky from a distance of 12 feet in the courtroom, hitting him with seven bullets.
The case, unique in West Germany, has become one of the most famous in the country. Press reports on Mrs. Bachmeier, including a serialized story of her life in the weekly magazine Stern, have inspired widespread sympathy for her.
People stood in line outside the court hours before the doors opened and crammed into the packed courtroom after thorough police searches for weapons. The trial is being held in a defferent court than the one in which Grabowsky was killed.
The judge adjourned the trial after only six minutes due to the absence of two arbitrators. It will be resumed Thursday.
Press reports called the trial 'one of the most unusual in West German history' because the circumstances are already so well-known to the population.
'The public has been forced by an unparalleled campaign to an emotional verdict -- not guilty,' said the newspaper Die Welt in a recent article. 'It has been made to think Mrs. Bachmeier cannot be blamed for avenging her daughter's death at the hands of a sexual offender.'
