Oberhausen/Duisburg.
A man allegedly set fire to laundry in his kitchen. He is threatened with permanent placement in a closed psychiatric ward.
The list of allegations is long and weighs heavily: the public prosecutor’s office accuses a now 53-year-old from Oberhausen of attempted murder in six cases, serious arson and dangerous bodily harm. The man is said to have set fire to clothes on a drying rack in his kitchen around 5:30 p.m. on November 24 last year. The flames quickly spread to the entire apartment on the third floor of the listed Europahaus in the center of Oberhausen. What followed was a large-scale operation by the fire brigade with around 50 people around Elsässer Straße, which lasted more than two hours.
Immediately afterwards it was said that a seven-year-old child had minor injuries. Apparently they were heavier than initially reported. According to the indictment, the child also had to be treated in intensive care because of smoke inhalation. Fortunately there were no other injuries.
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The trial against the man from Oberhausen starts on Friday before the Duisburg district court. It is a so-called security procedure: In the event of a conviction, the 53-year-old faces permanent accommodation in a closed psychiatric ward. The man was arrested by police on the evening of the fire. Shortly thereafter, he was placed in a forensic facility, where he remains to this day.
Affected apartments were no longer usable for months
The fire also caused extensive property damage. The owner of the Europahaus at the time – it had changed hands several times in the past – then put it at between 800,000 and one million euros. It is unlikely that the 53-year-old could be sued for civil recourse. The apartments in the Europahaus affected by the fire and the extinguishing work could no longer be used for months.
So far, the district court has scheduled a total of eleven days of hearings. A verdict could come in the second half of August. There are no joint plaintiffs. At the start of the trial on Friday, only the indictment is expected to be read out. According to the court, witnesses have not yet been summoned. If he wanted to, the accused would still have the opportunity to comment on the allegations.
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