Outside the Gera Regional Court the trial of a man now aged 20 began on 5 November 2026. The Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of shaking his eight-week-old daughter at a parent-and-child facility after taking her out of bed during the night in February, and shaking her so violently that the child suffered fatal brain injuries. The girl died despite resuscitation attempts at Jena University Hospital. The defendant is being held at remand in custody at the Arnstadt Prison.
The charge is manslaughter. The public prosecutor’s office also accuses the man of insulting and threatening his partner and a care worker. At the start of the trial, the court decided that key parts of the proceedings would be held in camera because of the young age of those involved and personal circumstances; the defendant’s testimony and the questioning of the child’s mother took place in private. At the same time, the criminal division rejected a full closure of the hearing, citing a legitimate public interest in information.
According to the court, a total of eleven hearing dates are scheduled for the trial through to the end of January. In the evidentiary proceedings, the medical and forensic assessment of the alleged shaking injuries will be considered alongside events at the parent-and-child facility in question. Citing the ongoing proceedings, the court and public prosecutor’s office did not provide details of internal reviews by the organisations involved.
What the Regional Court must establish Gera is the defendant’s specific responsibility and the legal classification of the offence. The indictment makes no claims about motives and does not prejudge who committed the offence; these questions are to be examined through expert reports and witness testimony over the coming days of the trial. The court will decide whether to convict after the evidentiary proceedings have concluded.
The case joins proceedings in recent years in which alleged abusive head trauma in infants has been examined in court. Such trials regularly prompt debate about prevention, support services and the protection of young families. The immediate reason for the current attention, however, is the start of the trial in Gera; legal and organisational conclusions can only be drawn after a verdict and an assessment of the evidence.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).