Magdeburg Christmas Market Attack Trial: Victims Describe Suffering and Demand Maximum Sentence

Around 200 co-plaintiffs are represented in the proceedings. They consist of the injured and the relatives of the six people killed. Significantly more affected individuals than on previous hearing days had come to the pleadings to raise their voices and describe the consequences of the act.

Fate of the Victims

A 39-year-old medical assistant was among the injured. On the evening of the attack, she had arranged to meet her sports group at the Christmas market. The attacker rammed her backpack and ran over the fingers of her left hand. "People don't do things like that – monsters do," she said in court. Of the killer driver, who is following the trial from a glass enclosure, the 39-year-old added: "I am infinitely angry at the defendant." He had taken away people's carefreeness; instead, he had put them in fear and caused them pain by steering his rental car into innocent people who simply wanted to celebrate Christmas. The 39-year-old also stated: "Until that evening, I did not know what mortal fear feels like."

A 15-year-old sustained such severe injuries that his career aspiration of becoming a professional driver can no longer be fulfilled from today's perspective. Lawyer Alexandra Tust described the case of a then seven-year-old boy with severe fractures to his skull and pelvis, who was unable to attend school for weeks. Just a few meters away from this boy, a nine-year-old child died.

Long-Term Consequences of the Act

Co-plaintiff representatives Thomas Klaus and Petra Küllmei, who together represent more than 100 affected individuals, described for each individual client the circumstances, injuries, and consequences of the act. A co-plaintiff who lost her mother in the attack criticized that the suffering of those affected had not been given sufficient space in the trial amid all the "fairy tales and stories of the perpetrator."

The accounts of those affected paint a picture of long-term and far-reaching consequences. Many are still in therapy; relatives, friends, and colleagues are also affected. Numerous victims suffer from sleep disorders, panic attacks, heightened vigilance, and avoid crowds. One husband did not leave the side of his severely injured wife, who later died. A mother pulled her newborn baby from the stroller to bring it to safety, and subsequently withdrew from public life for a long time.

Background: Course of Events and Diagnosis

Before the attack, the defendant had worked as a psychiatrist in forensic psychiatric care. A psychiatric expert diagnosed him with a narcissistic personality disorder. On the 37th day of hearings, the defendant's microphone was switched off again after he had interrupted a co-plaintiff representative. The man is following the proceedings from a glass enclosure.

According to findings to date, on 20 December 2024, the defendant turned from a street through a gap in concrete barriers onto a footpath and thus onto the Christmas market. He is said to have driven into the crowd at speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour, partly in a zigzag pattern, using a rental car weighing more than two tons and producing 340 horsepower. In total, six people were killed and more than 300 were injured.

Lawyer Tust said that the defendant had turned a place of encounter and joy into a place of fear. The verdict is expected at a later date; the trial is considered one of the most extensive criminal proceedings in recent German legal history.