Case of Yağmur
The death of the three-year-old Yağmur from Hamburg in December 2013 became known nationwide as the Yağmur case . The girl was abused by her mother for a long period of time and eventually murdered. As a result of the case, as most recently in the Chantal criminal case, the Hamburg youth welfare system came under fire again.
The mistreatment and murder of Yağmur
Yağmur Y., called Yaya, was born on October 9, 2010 in Hamburg-Bergedorf . Her mother, Melek Y., who was 27 at the time of the crime, had neither a school qualification nor an education, had no job and was living in a shelter for the homeless at the time. She had a criminal record for community theft (2007) and dangerous physical harm (2008). She has an older illegitimate son who grew up with her parents in Bergedorf. Yağmur's father, 25-year-old Hüseyin Y., was known to the police as a thug and had a previous conviction for fraud and fraudulent activity (2010). Seven days after she was born, Yağmur came to a foster family because her parents felt overwhelmed and were looking for an apartment. However, custody remained with them and they visited their daughter regularly. The foster mother reported Yağmur's injuries to the youth welfare office several times. A pediatrician also noticed multiple hematomas in June 2011.
In January 2012, responsibility for the family changed from the Bergedorf Youth Welfare Office to the Eimsbüttel Youth Welfare Office, as Melek Y. had moved into public accommodation on Holsteiner Chaussee. In November, she and her husband moved into a shared apartment on Mümmelmannsberg . In January 2013, the youth welfare office decided to give Yağmur to her parents because she suffered from frequent changes between foster parents and birth parents.
At the end of January 2013, Yağmur's parents took their daughter to hospital because she was cross-eyed. A traumatic brain injury and a tear in the pancreas were found there. Forensic doctor Klaus Püschel filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons for child abuse. Yağmur was temporarily placed in a children's shelter. The Eimsbüttel youth welfare office initiated proceedings at the family court to withdraw custody of the parents. However, the latter denied having inflicted the injuries on their child, and the foster mother said in May 2013 that she might be responsible for shaking Yağmur in the child seat once. Thereupon the youth welfare office and the family judge saw the suspicion against the parents as invalid and advocated the return of Yağmur to her parents.
In July 2013, the Hamburg-Mitte youth welfare office took on responsibility for the case. Later, due to illness, he again moved to another employee who had only recently been working for the General Social Service (ASD). The following month, Yağmur returned to her parents with assistance and at the request of lawyer Rudolf von Bracken, on condition that she had to attend a daycare center. However, this only happened until August 30 of the same year. She was only superficially examined during a home visit by the child and youth emergency service in September.
In October 2013, forensic medicine came to the conclusion that shaking the foster mother could not have led to the serious injuries. Although this confirmed suspicions about the parents, Yağmur remained in her care. The public prosecutor's office closed the investigation on November 7, 2013 because the perpetrator could not be identified. The family judge did not receive the forensic medicine report and the recently newly responsible youth welfare officer did not read the file.
On December 18, 2013, Yağmur died in her parents' apartment in Hamburg-Billstedt . Called emergency doctors could no longer help her. The cause of death was internal bleeding as a result of a ruptured liver. During the later autopsy, injuries to other organs and the brain, a poorly healed fracture of the left arm above the elbow joint, burn scars and over 80 hematomas were also found.
Yağmur was buried in the children's field of the Muslim part in the Öjendorf cemetery.
Police investigation and trial
After Yağmurs death, her parents were in custody . In the first four months of the police investigation, mainly Hüseyin Y. was under suspicion. Melek Y. accused him of mistreating her daughter and raping her herself and forcing her to cover up his deeds. However, after interviewing witnesses close to the family, the mother became the main suspect. On April 9, 2014, prosecutors brought charges against her for murder.
On May 13, 2014, the Hamburg Regional Court admitted the main hearing . The trial against Yağmur's parents began on June 11, 2014 under the presidency of Judge Joachim Bülter. Senior Public Prosecutor Michael Abel charged Yağmur's mother with murder and her father with bodily harm resulting in fatal failure. The defendants were defended by the lawyers Sultan Maden-Celik and Carsten Kerschies.
During the trial, forensic doctor Klaus Püschel testified as a witness and explained, using autopsy photos, that Yağmur had sustained injuries typical of abuse, which were very painful and easily recognizable as highly threatening for the parents. Some of the bruises had been covered with makeup to hide them. Many of the injuries were believed to have been inflicted on Yağmur in the last days of her life, but it is not possible that this could only have happened in the morning hours of her death, when her father left the house.
Several witnesses testified that Melek Y. had rejected her daughter and was aggressive. A forensic psychiatrist diagnosed her with a postnatal attachment disorder in his report , but her guilt was never limited. Melek Y. blamed Yağmur for her ruined life.
On November 25, 2014, after 29 days of trial, Yağmur's mother was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. The court considered the murder criterion of cruelty to be fulfilled, since Yağmur had to suffer severe pain over a long period of time. However, it did not identify the particular severity of the guilt , as prosecutors had requested, allowing early release after 15 years. Yağmur's mother appealed against the verdict. Yagmur's father was sentenced to four years and six months in prison for assault resulting in death. He accepted the verdict. The appeal of the mother was rejected by the Federal Court of Justice on October 15, 2015 as obviously unfounded. The judgment is then final.
Political aftermath
The Yağmur case attracted strong media attention nationwide. After Michelle (2004), Jessica (2005), Lara Mia (2009) and Chantal (2012), it was the fifth violent death of a Hamburg child within 10 years that was due, among other things, to errors by the authorities.
On March 6, 2014, the Hamburg citizenship set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry to politically clarify the case and work out possible improvements for the child protection and youth welfare system in Hamburg. On December 18, 2014, the committee of inquiry presented a 550-page final report containing a catalog of recommendations with 32 (non-binding) demands and suggestions for the political decision-makers. He also named failures of the authorities in the Yağmur case such as inadequate information transfer and individual failures in the General Social Service (ASD) as well as insufficient intensity of the public prosecutor's investigations.
The final report sparked political controversy. The CDU, the Greens and the FDP announced a minority vote in advance of its publication , the left did not take part in the vote for the report. The main point of dispute between the SPD and the opposition was the assessment of the shortage of personnel at the ASD. The CDU demanded the resignation of SPD Social Senator Detlef Scheele , who was aware of the overloading of the ASD through an expert opinion and who nevertheless did not create any jobs for child protection. Even Andy Grote , District Manager Hamburg-Mitte should resign as head of the responsible youth welfare office. The SPD rejected these demands that they were not covered by the final report and only part of the CDU's election campaign before the 2015 mayor election . The Greens joined the CDU with regard to Grote, and they also demanded the resignation of State Councilor Jan Pörksen and the head of the Office for the Family Uwe Riez .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Death of three-year-old Yağmur: hatred of motherhood. Der Spiegel, November 13, 2014.
- ↑ Marc Widmann: Father, mother, dead child. South German, June 11, 2014.
- ↑ A slow death. South German, June 11, 2014.
- ↑ Youth Welfare Office employees attack the Senate , Hamburger Morgenpost May 16, 2014.
- ↑ a b The Yağmur case. Hamburger Abendblatt, November 22, 2014.
- ↑ Multiple failure. South German, May 8, 2014.
- ^ A slow death , Süddeutsche, June 11, 2014
- ^ Forensic specialists in the Yağmur trial: Incredible suffering. Der Spiegel, July 7, 2014.
- ↑ Child abused to death - Yağmur's mother convicted of murder. , Tagesspiegel, November 25, 2014.
- ↑ "You killed her! Why are you crying?" Die Welt, November 25, 2014.
- ↑ The committee of inquiry sees a chain of failures. Tagesspiegel, December 19, 2014.
- ↑ Child abuse: Report lists government errors in the Yağmur case , Der Spiegel, December 18, 2014.
- ↑ Hamburg: CDU calls for the resignation of the Social Senator and District Head , SHZ, December 16, 2014.
- ↑ The Greens call for the resignation of District Office Manager Grote , Die Welt, December 17, 2014.