Story By: Michael Leidig,Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
A German woman has admitted to killing her elderly neighbour and burying his body under concrete in the cellar before moving into his house and claiming his pension for nearly a quarter of a century.
The incident took place in Rieder, a village in the northern German state of Saxony-Anhalt.
The woman identified only as Angelika H., 62, claims that her neighbour Walter E. made advances to her and fearing that she was about to be raped, she had grabbed a kitchen knife from the table and stabbed him, according to reports.
This, she claims, had made him furious, and as a result he locked the door and told her she would never leave. Fearing for her life, she is quoted in local media as saying that she then hit him with an axe and fled.
Picture Credit: CEN
The next day, she returned, dug a hole in the coal cellar and reportedly buried the body before concreting it over. She then moved into his house, and reportedly told officials she was his daughter when she later started applying to claim his pension and other benefits.
She said that she needed the money because she had gambling debts and that most of what she was paid will simply put into the gambling machines that she liked to use.
Police say that the woman cashed in 104,834 EUR (96,000 GBP) between March 2004 and September 2015 before finally deciding that it was getting too risky, and notifying officials that he had died. When the benefits office demanded a death certificate however, there was silence, and the police were notified.
According to court papers, it is believed the year of death was 2001 when the victim would have been 81. However she insists that she killed him in autumn 1995, according to reports. If that is the case, then the manslaughter allegation will be out of time and she cannot be prosecuted for it.
Prosecutors say they will produce a relative who claims to have seen the elderly man in May 2001. The Justice Ministry spokesman said: “With this confirmation, the manslaughter charge is not out of time, and she faces up to 15 years in jail if convicted.”
The false claim of benefits is not timed out, and that charge will see her in court.
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