Mother who got her revenge by firing seven shots in front of packed courtroom
People are rallying around in support of Germany's 'Revenge Mother' after viewing resurfaced reconstruction footage.
On 5 May, 1980, Marianne Bachmeier's daughter was found dead, having been murdered.
A man confessed to killing the seven-year-old, however he accused the child of having attempted to blackmail him.
On 6 March, 1981, Bachmeier took her revenge.
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**Warning: Use of a gun and scenes some may find upsetting.**
The man who confessed to killing Bachmeier's young daughter was called Klaus Grabowski.
Grabowski, 35, lived next door to Bachmeier in Lübeck, West Germany and worked as a butcher.
Grabowski was arrested after his fiancé called the police and he confessed to having murdered the seven-year-old.
It was later discovered he kept Bachmeier's daughter in his house for hours before using a pair of pantyhose to strangle the young child.
Grabowski disposed of the child's body by the bank of a canal, leaving the seven-year-old inside a cardboard box.
It is unclear whether or not Grabowski sexually assaulted the child as he denied doing so, however the butcher held a previous criminal record for child molestation.
Instead, the 35-year-old claimed he killed the seven-year-old because she attempted to seduce him and then blackmail him, asking for money and threatening to accuse him of sexually assaulting her if he didn't pay up.
During the trial, Grabowski's defence attorneys also used the butcher's previous voluntary castration to argue he had been experiencing an imbalance of hormones caused by hormone therapy at the time of the murder.
On 4 March, 1981, Grabowski's trial began at the District Court of Lübeck.
Three days in, Bachmeier went to the courtroom in possession of a .22-caliber Beretta pistol and fired eight shots - six bullets of which hit Grabowski.
Witnesses at the scene claimed they heard the mother saying she 'wanted to kill' the butcher by shooting him 'in the face', with two policeman claiming they heard Bachmeier call Grabowski a 'pig' too.
After being shot six times, Grabowski died on the courtroom floor and Bachmeier subsequently faced trial for his murder.
Soon becoming known as Germany's 'Revenge Mother', Bachmeier's act of retribution was heavily debated, many questioning whether or not she was justified in killing her seven-year-old daughter's murderer and possible sexual assaulter.
It was also debated in the eyes of the law as to whether the mother was guilty of manslaughter or murder based on whether or not the shooting was premeditated or not.
However, in 1983, Bachmeier was convicted of premeditated manslaughter and received a six year sentence, although the mother only served half her sentence before being released.
A clip of a reconstruction of Bachmeier's act of revenge in the courtroom resurfaced on YouTube on 26 December, 2022.
People have since flocked to the comments in support of the mother.
One said: "As a mom of 3 and grandma to 4, it would take a miracle for me to not have wanted to do the same as her."
"We would've all done the same," another wrote.
A third commented: "This is an iconic mother who went through so much pain and suffering all her life just like her little daughter.. more people need to know about her."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 8am–10pm Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm weekends. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111
Topics: World News, Crime, Parenting, True crime, no-article-matching
Poppy Bilderbeck