In the Fabian murder trial: Neighbor testifies he arranged an alibi with Gina H.

The Neighbor's Testimony

On Tuesday, a 58-year-old man testified that, according to his own account, he was called by Gina H. on the evening of October 10, 2025, and asked to drive with her to a pond near Klein Upahl. He told the court that he had seen a lifeless person lying on the ground there, whom he identified as the boy upon closer inspection with a flashlight. When asked by the presiding judge whether Gina H. had reacted, he described: "Crying, screaming, dismay?" – "Nothing."

According to the witness, Gina H. had also asked him in the phone call to confirm an alibi for specific time windows – precisely those periods in which, according to the prosecution, Fabian was killed and his body set on fire. The prosecution considered it remarkable that the defendant obtained this alibi while Fabian was still missing and his death was not yet known.

An Alibi for the Time in Question

The witness further described that he had stood with Gina H. at the pond that evening and shone a flashlight on the boy's face. He said he had been certain he had seen a dead person, but out of fear of not being believed, and thinking he would sleep on it first, he did not go to the police. He did not touch the body again that night.

According to his account, the following morning Gina H. drove to Klein Upahl again with a friend and informed the police that she had discovered Fabian by chance during a walk. The companion is scheduled to testify on Thursday, according to the court. The defendant herself had only reported the find to the authorities on October 14, 2025.

Behavior at the Pond and the Morning After

"I just saw the boy lying there," the witness said in court. After the boy's disappearance, Gina H. had explained to him that she had cried so much that she could no longer cry, and laughed. This statement contradicts the behavior that the presiding judge asked the witness about on Tuesday with the words "Crying, screaming, dismay?"

Part of the picture of the defendant, according to the neighbor's account, is also a sentence she is said to have uttered in those days: "If you say something that doesn't fit, then they'll come and take me away." The prosecution interprets this remark as evidence that Gina H. was keen to align her own statements with those of those around her.

Knife and Shoe Prints

In the course of the hearing day, another detail also became known: The neighbor reported that he had initially searched for a missing knife from his shed together with Gina H. in vain, and later found it in a toolbox. According to his account, the blade of the knife is ten centimeters long – exactly the length that the alleged murder weapon is also said to have had. However, no traces were found on his own knife. He had reported the incident to preempt his own entanglement.

Police secured shoe prints at the edge of the pond near Klein Upahl of the same shoe brand that Gina H. also wears, according to the investigators' conviction. A few days after the body was found, the defendant had brought the neighbor four pairs of her sneakers to keep – according to the witness's assessment, so that they would not be found at her home. These circumstances are to be further clarified in the coming days of the trial.

Motive and Background of the Defendant

The prosecution bases its charge of insidious murder on a particular motive: The investigators assume that Gina H. believed Fabian stood in the way of a reconciliation with Fabian's father. Gina H. was Fabian's father's partner for four years, according to the court; the two had separated in August 2025. The 30-year-old has been in pretrial detention since November 13, 2025.

The witness described that he had corrected his original statements to the police regarding the timing of the evening after the investigators had uncovered contradictions. He had broken off contact with Gina H. after her arrest. "Such an arrest doesn't come without reason," the witness said. He had increasingly had doubts about the defendant's account in the subsequent period.

According to the Rostock Regional Court, the trial will last until September 2026. In addition to the testimony of the companion from the morning of the body find scheduled for Thursday, further witnesses and experts will be heard. The evidence situation regarding footwear, the knife, and the fire site is also likely to play a central role in the coming sessions.

Further Course of Proceedings

As of the current status of the proceedings, Gina H. has so far remained silent on all charges. A statement from her defense regarding the neighbor's testimony was not made public on Tuesday. A verdict is expected no earlier than late summer.

Observers rate the neighbor's testimony as one of the most significant prosecution witnesses in the proceedings to date. The accounts of the behavior at the pond, the arrangement of an alibi, and the later exchange of shoes paint a picture that supports the prosecution's depiction of a planned and concealed course of action.

The assize court is also dealing with questions regarding the credibility of the witness. He had admitted that he had not called the police immediately on the night in question. The presiding judge questioned this several times, asking explicitly about emotional reactions – the witness stuck to his account that Gina H. had shown "nothing."

For the coming days of the trial, the court announced, among other things, the questioning of the friend who was with Gina H. in Klein Upahl on the morning of the find. In addition, further neighbors, investigators, and fire experts are to be heard. Only then does the chamber intend to decide on the question of a possible statement by the defendant.