A German teacher killed his entire family and himself after getting caught making his wife a fake vaccine card, according to prosecutors.
The bodies of 40-year-old David R., his wife Linda, 40, and their three daughters Leni (10) Janni (8) and Rubi (4), were discovered at their home in Senzig on Saturday when a neighbor spotted one of the bodies through a window.
All five were shot dead, each child murdered in their own bedroom. Police found no evidence of forced entry, a struggle or any third parties; however they did find a suicide note handwritten by the father which, according to Chief Public Prosecutor Gernot Bantleon, revealed the bizarre motive for the massacre.
In it, the vocational school teacher revealed his wife’s employers at the Technical University in nearby Wildau had discovered he had made her a fake Covid vaccine card, and that they intended pursuing the case “with the utmost rigor”, Bild reported.
He said he feared he would be arrested, and that his children would be taken away from him. The note made no mention his wife shared his fears.
Police also found a gun at the scene, which they believe was obtained illegally, as neither the husband nor wife held a firearms permit.
“This tragedy leaves me stunned,” Mayor of Königs Wusterhausen Michaela Wiezorek said, per the Berliner Kurier, sending her condolences not only to family and friends, but the emergency services who had to respond to the horrific scene.
Under German law, workers must show employers either proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test, although legislators are currently considering a vaccine mandate for some jobs.
Criminal law specialist Alexander Pabst said that while the father would have likely been fined, and his wife’s job may have been under threat, a prison sentence was less likely, and his children almost certainly would not have been taken away.
“We are talking about a forgery of documents. The legislature provides for a fine or imprisonment of up to five years for them,” he told Bild. “BUT: In the case of the R. family, a maximum of a fine would have been expected. The amount would have been calculated according to the father’s income.”
“Of course there are labor law consequences for him. I cannot say whether the woman would have been terminated,” he added.
According to the outlet, fake vaccine passports can be obtained in Berlin for €250 ($280), complete with a false doctor’s stamp, signature and Biontech stickers, which are often taken from trash cans at vaccination centers.
Both sellers and buyers are open to prosecution.
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