Leipzig murder trial collapses after judge's departure forces retrial
LEIPZIG – A Turkish defendant accused of a fatal knife attack has been released from custody after his trial collapsed at Leipzig Regional Court. Kemal A., 43, was freed on Tuesday following nearly two years in pretrial detention after a judge presiding over the case became pregnant, according to news portal TAG24. He stands accused of stabbing a Libyan man to death at the Wunderlampe shisha bar on Eisenbahnstraße in late June 2024.
The presiding criminal chamber had not yet completed its evidence hearings when the trial was derailed. Additionally, Judge Antje Schiller, who led the proceedings, is set to transfer to Germany's Federal Court of Justice. Since replacing a judge mid-trial is prohibited under German law, the case must now restart with an entirely new panel.
A court spokesperson told TAG24 that no date has yet been set for the retrial. "The chamber is working to reconvene in the first half of the year," they said.
Leipzig's Wunderlampe Bar Known as Drug Hub
The court also cited Kemal A.'s health issues as grounds for his provisional release. The alleged attacker is reported to have suffered two heart attacks since his arrest immediately after the crime.
With the trial's abrupt end, the motives behind the deadly assault remain unresolved. According to Saxony police, the Wunderlampe bar is a known drug distribution hub. In late March 2025, some 500 officers raided the establishment, seizing significant quantities of cannabis, crystal meth, heroin, and cocaine. The surrounding Eisenbahnstraße area has long been a hotspot for crime.
For years, Saxony has faced a critical shortage of judicial personnel needed to process cases. In December, the state's Ministry of Justice responded to a query from Green Party lawmaker Valentin Lippmann, revealing that filling vacancies for senior judges at regional and district courts takes an average of nine and a half months. At the time, 14 such positions were unfilled—most of them in Leipzig. Saxony currently employs 1,109 judges and 405 prosecutors, but ministry estimates suggest half will retire by 2030.
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