A man accused of murdering his 100-year-old grandmother with an axe as she sat in a wheelchair went on trial in the northern German city of Hamburg on Thursday on a charge of homicide.
"He could not cope with looking after her," the prosecuting lawyer told the court, describing how the accused, a 37-year-old German born in Estonia, attacked the woman in her Hamburg home in the early hours of March 6 this year.
The woman, who suffered from dementia, received at least 16 blows to her head and neck as she attempted to defend herself. According to the prosecution, she fell to the ground and broke her shoulder. She died as a result of spinal injuries.
The accused phoned the emergency services himself to say that he had killed his grandmother, who was dead when police arrived. The man gave himself up without resistance.
