"I just want to go home"

Set fire to grandma’s farm out of anger: Suspended sentence

Out of anger and because he was afraid of being locked up for making a mistake, an 18-year-old set fire to hay on his grandmother's farm. There was no evidence to prove that he had set fire to the neighbor's bush pub. The sentence: six months probation.

For the first time, the 18-year-old has a smile on his face when he realizes at the sentencing that he won't have to go to prison. Because that was his biggest fear from the start. "I haven't been this happy for years. Thank you for letting me go home," he beams. What came out during the trial is that the young man obviously did not have an easy life due to a minor impairment. His father abused him and his stepfather locked him up. "That left its mark," says the defense lawyer.

Threat brought back bad memories
Then, on that fateful day, he forgot his petrol can in the woods after doing some woodwork. "Grandma went crazy and screamed. That mustn't happen because it's dangerous. And she threatened to lock me up," he cries. Because with that sentence, his grandma brought back terrible memories.

He got angry and set fire to the hay in the barn with a lighter. Grandma discovered the fire and raised the alarm. The damage was minor. The family themselves couldn't believe that the boy had done that.

Something like this must never happen again. If you like watching the fire department, then go to the open day.

Richter Raimund Frei

"That really wasn't me!"
The 18-year-old vehemently denied another fire at a neighboring tavern two months before this incident. "It really wasn't me!" His mother also confirmed that he was at home at the time of the crime. And the cell phone analysis also provided no clues. "We weren't sure that it was you either, so there's an acquittal here. But you were definitely the one with your grandmother," said Judge Raimund Frei.

The young man accepts the sentence - six months suspended, probation and psychotherapy - straight away. Because he just wants to get home quickly.