Process for fatal sail duel: man accuses of drowning partners

Process for fatal sail duel: man accuses of drowning partners

Berlin, Deutschland - A 65-year-old man from Berlin has been in front of the Berlin Regional Court since Wednesday, July 9, 2025. He is accused of drowning his 71-year-old sailing partner in the Swedish Kattegat in August 2022. The indictment includes dangerous bodily harm and insidious murder in the intention to cover, whereby the accused vehemently denies the allegations and claims to have only tried to save his partner. This tragic incident raises questions about friendship, violence and the limits of self -defense.

The investigation shows that the accused is supposed to approach his friend floating from behind and should have pressed him under water, which ultimately led to his death. Before the dramatic argument that culminated in a dispute with my faults, the two men took part in a regatta in front of Norway. The dispute occurred on the way back to Germany. The public prosecutor's office determines that the accused wanted to hide the injuries to avoid the outlaw by his wife, on which he is financially dependent. According to the information from RBB24, this constellation could be decisive for the outcome of the procedure.

Details of the incident

The incident occurred on August 1, 2024 when the 71-year-old fell into the water during a confrontation. The defendant initially helped him back on board her trimaran, the "Jolly Rose" before another conflict came. The 71-year-old fell into the water again and swam between the "Jolly Rose" and another boat when the defendant followed him and then pressed him under water. After the incident, the suspect was taken up by the sea rescue and the Swedish coast guard and taken into custody before the Swedish police took over the investigation.

After a handover to the public prosecutor in Berlin, a parallel investigation was initiated, which was ultimately taken over by the Berlin public prosecutor's office. The accused was transferred to Germany on November 13, 2024 and has been in the Moabit correctional facility since then. As early as November 2024, the procedure for residence responsibility was initiated in Berlin.

outlook on the process

The process is scheduled for a total of twelve days of negotiations until October 8, 2025. The defense argues that her client had only undertaken a "dramatically failed rescue attempt". This statement is in stark contrast to the allegations of the public prosecutor, who is considering an insidious murder and indicates the overwhelming evidence that could represent a different facts.

The emotional and legal implications of this case are enormous because it is not only about the lives of a person, but also about the dynamics of trust within many years of friendships. In the coming time, the process will not only raise the legal questions, but also the public interest in the problem of domestic violence and conflicts in narrow interpersonal relationships.