The tragedy in Luxembourg: murder, mental illness and the question of responsibility

A Luxembourg court is considering the case of Alberto, a 47-year-old paranoid schizophrenic who brutally murdered and dismembered his young flatmate Diana in December 2022. He does not deny what he did, but his perception of reality is completely distorted by his illness: he claims to have "killed Lucifer" and "saved 50,000 people by sending them to heaven".

The prosecutor's office insists that he is insane, which rules out criminal responsibility. However, the lawyer for the victim's family, Me Rollinger, argues against an unconditional acquittal, pointing out a key detail: a few days before the murder, Alberto had stopped taking his antipsychotic medication on his own.

According to the defence lawyer, the accused had always been aware of the importance of medication and had previously said, "I need to take my medication". However, before the murder, he had stopped taking them for at least five days. Such behaviour is not uncommon for people with his condition - patients often stop taking medication, leading to severe consequences.

The question is why no one was monitoring it. Alberto was living in special therapeutic housing, but he was released from there with no real monitoring of his condition. The lawyer for Diana's family believes there was a systemic error: 'We know that with this disease, patients tend to withdraw from treatment. The people who allowed him to live in a regular flat without supervision need to be asked: did they really know about his medical history and all the possible risks?"

There are already precedents in jurisprudence where doctors have been prosecuted for such cases. The lawyer recalls that in France there were cases in which psychiatrists were found guilty of manslaughter because they allowed a dangerous patient to leave the medical structure uncontrollably.

According to a representative of Diana's family, prosecutors should look into this aspect of the case: if Alberto had not left the therapeutic accommodation or remained under tighter medical control, the murder might not have happened.

The trial continues. The question of Alberto's sanity remains key: if the court upholds the prosecutor's position, he will be sent to compulsory treatment rather than prison. However, the case could develop further if the investigation is interested in possible negligence on the part of medical or social services.