Since the fatal rampage in Trier, nothing has been the same with the Lieser family. You lost Katja. And also a large part of her own life.
Trier (AP) – The white candle in the lantern in the garden burns day and night. “For Katja. We miss her so much. ”Petra Lieser always cries when she talks about her daughter who was killed a good six months ago during the rampage in the pedestrian zone in Trier.
Nothing has been the same since then. “The pain doesn’t stop. It doesn’t stop at all, ”says the 52-year-old. On the table are photo books with pictures from the life of a young woman that ended from one minute to the next at the age of 25.
“She studied law and just finished the written exams. She had so many plans, ”says the mother. Katja was very fun-loving and laughed a lot. “But then she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
On December 1, 2020, the raging gunman caught her from behind with his sports vehicle. She was thrown through the air and died instantly. Four other people died in the act: a nine-week-old baby, his father (45) and two women aged 73 and 52. There were also numerous injuries.
“The day the news came, I knew immediately that Katja was dead. It’s crazy to say, but I felt it, ”says the mother, who is the director of a daycare center. “The murder was more pointless than pointless.”
Katja’s sister Tanja (23) adds: “You have no words.” A world collapsed for her too. “Katja was the most important person in my life for me. We always did everything together. We were the best sisters there was. Just best friends too. ”Not a second goes by without her thinking about her sister.
She and her mother will appear as co-plaintiffs in the trial of the 51-year-old, who is charged with five counts of murder. “I’m not afraid of the trial,” says the mother. “I’m going there for Katja.” She is not angry with the perpetrator. “We don’t know what his motivation was. But if he had stood in front of our door and asked for help, we would have helped him. “
According to a preliminary assessment of a psychiatric expert, the man suffers from a psychosis, according to the prosecutor. In addition, he was single, unemployed, without a permanent residence and apparently frustrated by his personal living conditions.
Katja’s father also says he is not angry with the perpetrator. “I think it now depends on how he acts in court. Maybe then the anger comes when he tells some nonsense. “Tanja Lieser says:” No matter what he will say. That doesn’t change anything about the fact that Katja is missing. ”However, the process can be important to deal with the whole thing. “And also to fight for Katja so that she is seen at least a little more.” But of course it will be bad “when we see the pictures and videos”.
According to the Trier Regional Court, there is still no appointment. The public prosecutor’s office expects the trial to begin in late summer. The German is also accused of attempted murder in 18 cases, 14 of which involved dangerous or serious bodily harm. According to the indictment, the man drove “indiscriminately and purposefully towards passers-by” with the intention of “killing or at least injuring as many people as possible”. His motive: unclear.
Petra Lieser has not been able to go to work since the death of her daughter. “Maybe I’ll start slowly again at the end of the month. But I don’t know if I’ll make it. ”She loves her job, maybe that could be a distraction too. She currently runs 10 to 14 kilometers every day. With friends. “That’s my way of dealing with it.” But every time she sees a car that looks something like the perpetrator’s, she can see Katja being run over. “That is just terrible.”
She could no longer go to downtown Trier. She also avoided the shops where she went shopping with her daughter. “I can’t hear music on the radio either. There is always a song that Katja liked to hear. ”And the television stays off. “I shield myself. Otherwise the pictures will come straight away. ”It was very bad for her that she was not allowed to see her daughter’s corpse for ten days after the crime. Because the autopsy was still pending.
Father Andreas Lieser has his workplace near the place where his daughter was torn to her death. The job is taboo for him. “I always take a different entrance now.” During the day, he can easily suppress. But you can’t do that at night. “I can no longer sleep at night.” Then his heart palpitations. Daughter Tanja also suffers physically. “You have no strength. Even shopping becomes a burden. “
It is very important to her and her parents that the memories of Katja and the other victims are kept alive. “We cannot understand why there are still no plans for a memorial or memorial sites,” says the father. “It would be important that the victims are seen more,” says Tanja. “We want the whole thing to have faces. And names. ”For example in Hanau, where after the racially motivated attack on February 19, 2020 the names of the nine killed were remembered.
The return to “normal life” is also difficult for Katja’s best friend, Anna-Lena Notzon (26). “I still can’t really admit it. Regardless of what you do and where you are, a part is missing – and it’s actually getting worse and worse. ”The fact that you are going back to the city to celebrate, after Corona, is“ unimaginable ”for you and your friends. “We know Katja would want us to have fun again. But we can’t. “
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210613-99-970703 / 2
