Marianne Bachmeier

Marianne Bachmeier was a West German woman known for shooting and killing Klaus Grabowski in a Lübeck courtroom in 1981 during his trial for the rape and murder of her daughter, Anna.

Marianne Bachmeier was a West German woman who shot and killed Klaus Grabowski in a Lübeck courtroom in 1981 during his trial for the rape and murder of her daughter, Anna. She was convicted of manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm, served part of a six-year sentence, and later lived outside Germany before dying of pancreatic cancer in 1996.

Early life

Marianne Bachmeier was born in Sarstedt in 1950 and later lived in West Germany. Public sources identify her primarily through the criminal case involving her daughter and the courtroom shooting.

The Lübeck courtroom shooting

On 6 March 1981, Bachmeier shot Klaus Grabowski in the District Court of Lübeck while he was on trial for the rape and murder of her daughter, Anna. The case drew major public attention in Germany and was widely discussed as an act of vigilante justice.

Trial and sentence

Bachmeier was convicted of manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. She was sentenced to six years in prison and later released after serving about three years.

Later life and death

After her release, Bachmeier lived outside Germany, including in Nigeria and on Sicily, before returning to Germany after being diagnosed with cancer. She died in Lübeck in 1996 and was buried next to her daughter in Lübeck according to English-language sources.