Feb 17, 2026, 4:47 p.mFeb 17, 2026, 4:49 p.m
In the trial of a prisoner who killed his wife in the so-called love cell in a prison in Burg, East Germany, the Stendal regional court has handed down a long prison sentence.
The crime occurred at the beginning of April 2025 in the Burg correctional facility. (symbol image)Image: keystone
The chamber sentenced the 38-year-old German to a total of ten years in prison for manslaughter. The court found it proven that he killed his wife in an argument while she was visiting him in prison.
How the crime ultimately took place at the beginning of April 2025 in the Burg correctional facility (JVA), the largest and most modern prison in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, was not clear to those involved in the process. “We don’t know,” said the lawyer for the co-plaintiff. There are no surveillance cameras in the visiting room. In the “love cell”, equipped with a sofa, kitchenette and shower, prisoners can spend several hours unsupervised with their partner or family members. The 35-year-old woman was found dead in such a love cell. An autopsy revealed that she died from “violence to the neck.”
38-year-old spoke of a sex accident
According to the family’s lawyer, the inmate stated that he was under drugs during the visit. It was therefore an accident during sex. He choked the woman during the act to increase pleasure and lost control by taking “chemical cannabinoids”. The man’s statements took place behind closed doors.
At the beginning of the trial, a correctional officer also described that during visiting hours, a call was received in the office via the call system installed in the long-term visitation cell and that only “sex moans” from a woman could be heard. When she asked, no one in the cell said anything, the witness said.
The woman cannot be resuscitated
Later – at the end of visiting hours – a colleague found the dead woman in the room and called for help, the witness said. Resuscitation measures had been taken until medical staff arrived. Before the visit, the prisoner’s wife seemed normal to her, the correctional officer emphasized. “She was definitely looking forward to the visit.”
Questions remain unanswered
How the crime ultimately took place was not clear to those involved in the process. “We don’t know,” said the lawyer for the co-plaintiff. There are no surveillance cameras in the visiting room.
However, the court did not believe it was a sex accident. The 38-year-old took the drugs, but did not lose his “ability to control,” said the presiding judge.
The court considers a dispute with his wife to be much more likely, which witnesses also confirmed. It was about the actual time of the man’s release, about which the prisoner had repeatedly lied to his wife. The fatal choking attack is said to have occurred during the argument. The judgment that has now been made is not yet legally binding.
Relationship largely harmonious
The family praised the relationship during the trial. The family’s lawyer explained that it was mostly harmonious. The two would have married in the prison in Burg in 2021 so that she, as a wife, would have more extensive visitation rights. However, the lawyer added that family members also described him as manipulative. “He wasn’t stupid at all.”
When asked, the family’s lawyer explained that the prisoner had originally been convicted of fraud. Because he violated the terms of his probation, he is said to have been taken to the correctional facility in Burg. Ultimately he had to spend another six months in prison.
Visit concept revised
After the incident at the beginning of April, the management of the JVA Burg initially suspended all planned long-term visits. Around six months later, in October, they were possible again in the regularly designated rooms, according to the Ministry of Justice in Magdeburg. The institution’s internal concept for granting long-term visits has now been revised.
What exactly changed for the prisoners and the visitors remained unclear. For reasons of maintaining security and order, no detailed information can be provided on the institution’s internal content and processes, according to the ministry. (sda/dpa)