35 stab wounds

The seaside resort of Zinnowitz, in the north of the island of Usedom, is regarded as a popular holiday paradise on the picturesque Baltic Sea coast. In this idyllic Baltic resort, surrounded by unspoilt oak, beech and coniferous woodland and renowned for its magnificent spa architecture and long sandy beach, one of the most horrific crimes of recent decades took place. For it was in this idyllic corner of the world, in March 2019, that Maria K., a pregnant 18-year-old, was literally slaughtered in her flat with over 30 stab wounds. The brutal murder shocked not only Zinnowitz, but the whole of Germany. Who could possibly have been capable of such a brutal act? To get to the bottom of the matter, the police interviewed over 120 witnesses. The interviews led to two young men who had not only shared their murder fantasies with their clique but had also announced their intention to kill Maria K. Yet no one took the talk seriously – coming as it did from men who were usually drunk and who were arrested a month after Maria K.’s murder. The men were 19-year-old Nicolas K. and his 21-year-old friend Niko G., both of whom knew Maria K. only casually and who were indeed identified as her murderers on the basis of fingerprints, hair and skin particles found in Maria’s flat. Maria K. was a fun-loving young woman who was three months pregnant by her 16-year-old boyfriend, Kevin. Late in the evening on 18 March, the two heavily intoxicated men had gone to see Maria K., who lived alone in her flat, to have a drink with her. The unsuspecting Maria let them both into her flat, which proved to be her death sentence. For Nicolas K. and Niko G. had hatched a diabolical plan. They wanted to kill someone at last, and in their eyes, Maria was the perfect murder victim. Once they were both inside the flat, they placed a can of shandy on the table. Maria went to fetch some glasses. When she returned, Nicolas stabbed her in the throat with a knife, whilst Niko held her legs down. As if in a frenzy, Nicolas stabbed Maria’s body indiscriminately until she was dead. They then calmly left the flat. The post-mortem revealed that Maria had 35 stab and cut wounds on her body. Her aorta had been severed and her skull pierced by a knife. Maria had put up a fierce fight against the attack. This was evidenced by the stab wounds on her hands, which she had held up protectively in front of her face. Maria’s death was caused by the numerous cut and stab wounds, combined with severe blood loss. The next day, Maria’s best friend – who worked at a youth club that Maria attended regularly – found her lying dead in her flat. The murder weapon, a sharp knife, was never found. The two men were arrested and confessed to Maria’s murder without showing any remorse. They had been heavily intoxicated on the day they went to Maria’s flat. They launched their attack on Maria using the code word ‘beer’. Niko held Maria down by her legs so that Nicolas could stab her more easily. Nicolas had confessed to the murder of his girlfriend, who had, however, remained silent out of fear that she might become Nicolas’s next victim. Nicolas suffered not only from personality disorders but also from complex social behaviour disorders. He had a criminal record, was known to use drugs and alcohol, and was unemployed. His family circumstances were difficult, as he had allegedly been abused by his stepfather. The family circumstances of his older friend Niko were also dysfunctional. During his school years, he had been a victim of bullying. Niko also had a criminal record. During the trial at Stralsund Regional Court, the murderers showed no sign of emotion. Nicolas K. and Niko G. were sentenced to life imprisonment followed by preventive detention for the murder of Maria K., which was committed with malice aforethought and a lust for killing. This was little consolation for the bereaved family.