Just a year ago, the quiet life of Marianne Bachmeier was shattered when her young daughter, Anna, fell victim to a heinous crime. Klaus Grabowski, a butcher residing in the area, kidnapped the seven-year-old. The gruesome details of his actions unfolded as it emerged that he had sexually assaulted and strangled Anna before discarding her lifeless body by a canal’s edge.

The twist in this tragic tale came when Grabowski’s fiancée bravely approached the authorities, leading to his arrest. The revelation of his past added another layer to the horror. Grabowski was no stranger to the justice system; he had previously been convicted of sex offenses. In a controversial legal decision, he had been allowed to undergo chemical castration in exchange for a lighter sentence. However, with the court’s approval, he later reversed this procedure through hormone therapy.

As the trial for Anna’s murder commenced, Grabowski’s defense took a shocking turn. He claimed that the young girl had attempted to blackmail him, a statement that left many in disbelief. The courtroom was left grappling with the chilling reality of his actions and the tragic loss of an innocent life.

Grabowski was a previously convicted sex offender who had agreed to a chemical castration several years earlier in exchange for leniency for a previous crime.

But with the court’s permission, he reversed the castration with hormone therapy.

On trial for Anna’s murder, Grabowski said he strangled her after the seven-year-old blackmailed him.

Bachmeier was incensed with the allegation.

Bachmeier smuggled a handgun into a courtroom in Lubeck on the third day of the trial.

She shot Grabowski six times, killing him instantly.

“I did it for you, Anna,” she said as she lowered her gun and surrendered.

“I wanted to shoot him in the face. Unfortunately, I hit him in the back. I hope he’s dead.”

Initially, the people of Germany sided with Bachmeier after her act of vigilante justice.

But opinion turned against her when tabloids detailed instances of her being a neglectful mother.

In the trial, Bachmeier’s lawyers argued the killing was not premeditated.

She was sentenced to six years in prison and freed after three.

After her conviction, she revealed on a television talk show that the killing was not done on the spur of the moment and she had planned it in advance.

A friend later revealed she had practised the killing in the basement of her home.

Bachmeier died of pancreatic cancer in 1996, aged 46.

She is buried next to her daughter.