Killer who idolised Hannibal Lecter given life for murdering anti-gay marriage flatmate
A man who killed his Christian flatmate over her opposition to same-sex marriage has been sentenced to life in prison.
The 25-year-old killer, named only as Daniel E. in the German court in Freiburg, was sentenced to life in prison over the killing of the 31-year-old victim from Paderborn.
The two met when she moved into a student flatshare in Summer 2016.
The victim was active in the church and wanted to go on to work there, but Daniel E was a self-proclaimed “antitheist” and strongly opposed the woman’s religion.
He told police that he had tried to fight with the victim more than once before he killed her.
During the case, an expert had testified that the killer had idolised fictional serial killer Hannibal Lecter.
After entering the victim’s bedroom, ten days after they moved in together, he asked her what her position was on same-sex marriage.
When she said she opposed equal marriage for same-sex couples, he stabbed her with a knife he had hidden in his trouser pocket.
Fleeing the assailant, she made it to a stairwell but was stabbed several times in the back and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The court ruled that the attack was pre-meditated and that despite having a personality disorder, he was fully liable for the crime.
Daniel E. later attempted to take his own life, but was unsuccessful.
After his arrest, the perpetrator told police that his motivation for the attack was his hatred of all religion.
Eva Kleine-Cosack, the judge leading the case, said she could not understand his motivation because he was not directly affected by her opposition to same-sex marriage.
“He killed her as a representative of her religion because he could not kill all believers,” the judge said, according to the Local.
Daniel E. had also written a “manifesto” in the days leading up to the murder which included his hatred of religion, alongside violent films and computer games.
Due to German law, the name of the victim or perpetrator are not released to the public.
