Much was argued in the process of the violent death of Reinhold Zuber. The former pastor was beaten and suffocated in his ground floor apartment in a grand old building on Thomasiusstrasse in Moab. The indictment is based on robbery and murder. After more than seven months of trial, the prosecutor pleaded on Monday for a life sentence against one of the two defendants. The 22-year-old Vandam G. is said to be guilty of community murder. In the case of the second defendant, the prosecutor called for twelve years in prison for robbery and death.
The 77-year-old Zuber was murdered on June 30 or July 1, 2020, according to the indictment. The two defendants were arrested in their Romanian homeland that summer and extradited to Berlin. Almost a year later, Cristian-Cosmin C. was released. He was – as could be proven in the trial before the regional court – not even in Germany at the time of the crime. In the prosecutor’s plea, it was now said that the 25-year-old was involved in the planning of the crime. He described everything to the two men who went to Zuber’s apartment.
They should have expected worthwhile prey there. G. and the third accomplice, who is said to have surrendered to the police a few days ago, had the victim “suffocated with a pillow due to a spontaneous decision to act,” according to the prosecution. The body was discovered a few days later. Neighbors had alerted the police because they hadn’t seen Zuber in days. The crime shocked. The public prosecutor’s office assumes a murder out of greed and to cover up another crime.
Vandam G. had denied at the beginning of the process, but presented a new version with confessed information after around six months of negotiations. He revealed the man who was with him in the apartment: he incriminated Vasile B. heavily. The 23-year-old was the one who pounced on the senior in a dispute over sexual acts and tried to cover his mouth. It was loud and chaotic. “Vasile then kneeled on his shoulders and chest,” said G. They finally put a tea towel into his mouth.
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“G. and B. were hired in the male sex milieu, “said the pleading of the lawyer of the now 22-year-old. 80 euros had been agreed for sex. “Then there was an argument.” Which ended fatally. It had not been proven that objects were stolen from the apartment in the course of what happened, the lawyer said. Vandam G. was already back in Romania when someone is said to have been in the pensioner’s apartment.
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Overall, it is not enough to establish a joint murder, so the defender of the 22-year-old. The lawyer pleaded guilty for aiding and abetting manslaughter. He demanded the imposition of a sentence of several years under the milder youth criminal law.
Zuber was an enigmatic man. He wore a robe on a photo that the police published after the crime with a request for clues. But he had not worked as a pastor for many years. Art from various bequests was found in his apartment, according to a defense attorney. The trial will continue on Monday with the defense of the 25-year-old C.’s defense. A verdict is expected to be pronounced on December 6th.
