Civil Servant in Germany Murdered Woman and Child, Remaining Eligible for Pension Benefits

Civil servant in Germany murdered spouse and child, yet continues to collect pension benefits - Officer murders spouse and child, retains pension benefits in Germany

In a unique and controversial case, a German official from Saxony-Anhalt, born in 1975, has managed to retain his pension claims despite being convicted of double murder in Spain in February 2022.

The tragic events took place in April 2019 on the island of Tenerife. The German official, who had been a civil servant since 2002 and retired early due to permanent disability in 2011, lured his separated wife and their two sons (aged 10 and 7) to a remote cave on Tenerife. The 39-year-old woman and the older son were struck down by the German official, while the 7-year-old son managed to escape from the cave.

The double murder and attempted murder were tried in Tenerife, Spain. The German official was sentenced to life imprisonment for these crimes. However, the pension can only be withdrawn if the German official is convicted by a German court, as ruled by the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig.

Interestingly, the term "feminicide" is not defined in German law, and the murder of the wife was not considered a gender-specific crime by the Spanish court.

The Federal Employment Agency dismissed a disciplinary complaint against the German official, arguing that his actions violated human rights and the principles of the free democratic basic order. However, the pension would have been withdrawn if the case had been tried before a German court.

Despite the controversy, the German official's pension retains, as he was not convicted by a German court. Life imprisonment in Spain can be reviewed after 25 years at the earliest, leaving the German official's pension situation unchanged for the foreseeable future.

The lawyer for the convicted killer stated that he had paid compensation of around 300,000 euros to the surviving son and the woman's relatives, but this does not affect the pension situation.

This case raises questions about the jurisdiction of pension withdrawals in cases of criminal convictions and the definition of gender-specific crimes in German law. The German official's pension retention despite his conviction has sparked debate and calls for reform in both Germany and Spain.