Disabled man kills wife with crutch

30 January 2004

COTTBUS – A man with crippling rheumatoid arthritis faced murder charges before a court in Germany Friday for using his crutch to kill his wife – because she wanted a divorce after 41 years of marriage.

Saying he had nothing to live for, the 62-year-old defendant told the court in Cottbus his 59-year-old wife had taken up with another man and had left him with nothing.

“She cleared out our flat in three hours, leaving me with only the sofa and the clothes on my back,” he said. “That was all I had to show for 41 years of married life.”

Claiming he only wanted to talk to his wife, he went to her new flat last August and rang the bell.

“She opened the door and just laughed at me when I told her I was a ruined man,” he said. “Then she kicked my crutch and that threw me off my balance.”

The two began wrestling with the crutch, which had a spiked end for added traction.

Police said the woman died as a result of 23 stab wounds. In addition, her 59-year-old live-in boyfriend was also stabbed to death, though the defendant says he has no recollection that the man was even present.

“My medical condition is getting worse and the only woman I ever loved broke my heart and now she’s dead. It doesn’t matter what happens to me from here on out,” he told the court. The case continues.

DPA
Subject: German news