Nuremberg: A 27-year-old French man accused of having fired deadly shots at a wedding in Germany remained silent on the first day of his trial on Wednesday. Prosecutors allege that he killed the father of his former partner in front of numerous guests during a dispute over alimony payments for the couple's two children.
According to Ghana News Agency, the defendant's lawyer informed the Nuremberg Regional Court that his client would not address the charges. The man's former partner, who had returned to Germany following their separation, was ordered by a non-state Roma court in France to pay alimony for their children, prosecutor Roland Fleury stated. When the woman's family refused to comply, the defendant's family reportedly threatened to harm her relatives.
The conflict escalated when, as investigators claim, the man and some of his relatives traveled to Germany in March last year and fatally shot his former partner's father at the wedding. The 47-year-old victim succumbed to his injuries in the hospital after being shot six times in the upper body, according to Fleury. The suspect and his relatives fled back to France, where he surrendered to police that same night and confessed to the crime. However, he has since remained silent regarding the allegations.
The man has been held in pre-trial detention in Germany since April, while police have managed to identify some of the individuals who accompanied him to the wedding. German prosecutors have also charged the man's father and two brothers, who have been extradited to Germany and are being held in custody on conspiracy to commit murder charges. The court has scheduled 15 trial days, with a verdict possibly expected at the end of March.