For three hours, during Thursday’s hearing, it was as if we were “listening to Niederkorn’s coffee chats”, and that was of little use, the lawyer for the deceased’s daughter said on Friday. One might almost think that the court must assess how bad neighbors the victims were. “While this is a defendant who coldly murdered a couple.”
Since Tuesday, José Q. has had to answer for murder in court. On October 17, 2022, this man, then aged 74, shot dead a neighboring couple in the middle of the street, rue des Trévires in Niederkorn. The crime was preceded by a long-standing neighborhood dispute. That Monday morning, the defendant hid a shotgun in a trash can and ambushed the 62-year-old woman and 54-year-old man in her driveway. As his victims lay wounded on the ground after the first shots, the man pulled the trigger again at point blank range. “Here, take this,” he reportedly said.
“The relationship between the neighbors was toxic”
“He executed them coldly,” said the representative of the public prosecutor. José Q. apparently made the decision to take action two days earlier, after his neighbors once again prevented him from opening his automated garage door using jammers. He himself admitted it immediately after his arrest. “He was sincere and there is no reason to doubt it.” However, it is different with the man’s subsequent statements, which partly contradict his first confession.
José Q. could have changed his mind a few days earlier. Just before committing the act, he allegedly had a completely normal conversation with another neighbor. But that wasn’t enough to change his mind. It cannot therefore be a question of a spontaneous act. “I was determined to do it. If it had not been that day, it would have been the next day or the day after,” admitted the accused himself before the investigating judge shortly after the events.
“The relationship between the neighbors was toxic,” summarizes the representative of the public prosecutor about the situation in rue des Trévires. Other neighbors would also have suffered from the presence of the two victims. However, they all would have found a solution to this situation. Only José Q. chose another, definitive path. “We can understand it emotionally but not rationally, and we certainly cannot excuse it.”
Extenuating circumstances
However, the magistrate takes into account mitigating circumstances. A psychiatric expert noted reduced responsibility in humans. A paranoid personality disorder would have limited the accused’s capacity for discernment at the time of the events. Instead of a life sentence, the prosecutor’s representative is asking for a sentence of 20 years.
In addition, José Q. must face claims for damages totaling more than 500,000 euros from a dozen members of the deceased’s family.
The trial will continue on Tuesday October 8 with observations from the defense lawyer.
This article was originally published on the Luxemburger Wort website.
Adaptation: Thomas Berthol and Pascal Mittelberger
