The Rostock Regional Court the Delivery of the verdict in the murder trial over eight-year-old Fabian from Güstrow has been scheduled for Tuesday, 10 November 2026, at 12:30. The criminal division for serious offences is thereby bringing to a close proceedings that have attracted considerable attention in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania for months. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is seeking a life sentence and a finding that the defendant’s guilt is of particular seriousness. The defendant, a 30-year-old woman, denies the allegations; the defence has applied for an acquittal.
The trial is based on the charge that the defendant caused the child’s death on 10 October 2025. Fabian disappeared from his mother’s flat in Güstrow and was found dead a few days later near Klein Upahl . According to statements made during the trial, investigators are relying on a chain of circumstantial evidence, including mobile phone data, witness testimony and forensic traces. In their closing arguments, the defence pointed to gaps and contradictions in the evidence and stressed what they considered to be doubts that could not be dispelled.
The court heard extensive evidence from numerous witnesses and several expert witnesses. This included expert reports on mobile phone movements and forensic details. Several defence applications for additional expert reports were rejected because the court considered the investigative material and analyses already available to be sufficient.
The verdict will not necessarily bring the proceedings to an end. In criminal cases, an appeal on points of fact and law is not available against a first-instance Regional Court judgment; instead, an appeal on points of law may be lodged. In cases heard by a criminal division for serious offences, this goes to the Federal Court of Justice. It examines whether the Regional Court correctly applied the law and complied with procedural rules; the facts are not reassessed. The prosecution could also appeal if it considers the decision too lenient or sees legal errors.
The trial in Rostock has attracted heightened public interest. The victim’s relatives have repeatedly stressed that what matters to them is a thorough and complete investigation of the facts. The court is expected to give detailed oral reasons on the day the verdict is delivered. It will explain how it assessed the individual pieces of evidence, what verdict it reached and whether it found the defendant’s guilt to be of particular seriousness.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).