Story By: James King, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

The father of a murdered young German woman is to be tested as to whether he has a weak heart before a court can decide if her alleged killer should be tried for manslaughter or not.

The tragic story involves the 23-year-old daughter of businessman Reinhard Minuth, 53, who was murdered in summer 2019.

Prosecutors believe she was killed by an electric shock, but the question is whether she had a weak heart or not which would mean her alleged attacker may not have known that what he was doing could prove fatal.

The dead woman’s father said that when he lost his daughter it broke his heart, and now the court is testing whether he does indeed have a damaged heart before proceeding with the court case against her alleged killer.

The dead girl, Nathalie, was just 23 years old when she was murdered shortly after meeting a 47-year-old ex-fireman, named only as Thomas P. due to German privacy laws.

She worked as a waitress, but also worked in the evenings for a hotline talking to male clients and, unknown to her family, she occasionally agreed to meet some of those men for paid sex.

According to reconstruction, she appears to have started chatting to the fireman and agreed to meet him on WhatsApp. She got in his car on 17th August, and shortly after he stopped at the bank and withdrew EUR 100.

Two weeks later, her body was found by a man walking his dog who raised the alarm with police.

Due to the body’s decayed state, it was not possible to initially determine the cause of death, but an electro shock device was later found in the possession of the former fireman which had her DNA on it.

He is facing charges of manslaughter, which in court could even carry a life sentence, and her father believes he used the device to restrain his daughter and kill her.

However, it is also possible that she might have suffered from a weak heart and as a result, the charge would be then changed to GBH with fatal consequences which does not carry a potential life sentence.

The post-mortem revealed that she had a slight genetic abnormality which “most probably” did not lead to a heart defect according to experts, however, “most probably” is not enough for the court, and as a result, the judge has ordered to see the family’s health records to check if any relatives had a similar issue.

The victim’s father said: “If they are diagnosed with genetic heart disease, Natalie may also have inherited it.”

He added: “It seems if I have a pre-existing heart condition, then my heart could save my daughter’s killer.”

Legal expert Nicolai Preuss who is supporting the family said: “Certainly my client is again very burdened by this, but I understand that the court wants and must exclude all contingencies that could later lead to a review of the accused and the annulment of a judgment.”

The father has also undergone an ECG test at the University Hospital Kiel. The results will not be announced until the trial starts at the end of January 2021.

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