Did not appear

Schumacher trial: allegations against nurse

Following the failed blackmail of the family of former Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, the public prosecutor's office is investigating allegations against a nurse.

She had looked after the racing driver for a time. At the start of the trial for the blackmail attempt in Wuppertal, both the main suspect and an employee of the Schumacher family mentioned the nurse. The public prosecutor's office will examine and evaluate the information in detail, it has now announced. A decision will then be made as to whether preliminary proceedings should be initiated against the woman. The nurse was summoned as a witness on the first day of the trial but did not appear.

Nurse did not appear as a witness
At the start of the trial, the alleged main perpetrator confessed that a co-defendant had given him two hard disks with images and video footage of the Schumachers. He had told him that he had the material from a nurse. The 15 million euros demanded should therefore have been divided by three.

An employee of the Schumacher family testified as a witness that after the first blackmail call, they initially suspected the nurse, who had been dismissed because of her nursing services. "We saw some unpleasant things."

Very sensitive data such as photos and medical records
The family had been blackmailed with the publication of private photos and videos. They were told to pay 15 million euros, otherwise the images would be published on the darknet. According to the public prosecutor's office, 900 pictures and almost 600 videos of the family as well as Michael Schumacher's digitized medical records were seized. The data is extremely sensitive. Three men aged between 30 and 53 have been charged before the district court. A verdict is not expected until the new year.