Rostock court to rule on 10 November in murder trial over eight-year-old's death

Verdict set for 10 November at 12:30

The Rostock regional court will announce its verdict on 10 November 2026 at 12:30, on the 35th day of the trial of a 30-year-old woman charged with murdering an eight-year-old boy from Güstrow in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The trial has run since late April before the 3rd criminal chamber, led by presiding judge Holger Schütt. The judge is expected to spend several hours reading out the reasons for the decision. Prosecutors want a conviction for murder, a life sentence and a finding of particular gravity of guilt, which would make release after 15 years practically impossible. The defence has asked for an acquittal and argues that the evidence cannot prove murder. The verdict will not be final once announced, and either side can file an appeal.

What prosecutors allege

Prosecutors say the woman, who was in a relationship with the boy's father until about two months before the killing, lured the boy out of his mother's flat in Güstrow under a pretext on 10 October 2025, while he was home alone. She is accused of stabbing him six times at a remote field pond near Klein Upahl and then setting his body on fire to destroy evidence. Prosecutors argue she wanted revenge on the father for the separation and hoped the relationship could be rekindled once the boy was gone. Investigators reconstruct from the boy's phone that its screen was last active at 10:50, and that he left the flat around that time without returning. Surveillance footage near the flat shows her orange pick-up twice, at about 10:45 and 10:55, with her number plate visible but not the driver or any passengers.

Evidence and the defence case

The case rests on circumstantial evidence, with no confession, murder weapon or eyewitness. Prosecutors point to the boy's blood on a kitchen roll in the defendant's car, along with fibre traces, shoe prints and a car wash on the evening of the crime. The defendant reported finding the body on 14 October 2025, first describing it as a chance discovery during a walk with a friend and dogs. She later admitted this was untrue and that she had been at the site twice the evening before, each time with a different acquaintance. The defence says too many questions remain open and that gaps in the chain of evidence were filled with speculation. It also argues that two children saw the boy in Güstrow when prosecutors say he was already dead, and asks for acquittal under the principle in dubio pro reo.

Defendant's position and next steps

The defendant has denied the charges throughout the trial and has been in pre-trial custody since 7 November 2025. At the end of the trial she used her final word to protest her innocence.

“I will keep fighting until I am free again.”

The law requires at least four of the five judges and lay judges to back a conviction, and how each of them voted will remain secret. Judge Holger Schütt is expected to take several hours to read the reasons. The defendant has said she will appeal if convicted, and she has also said she intends to take the case to the highest court.