Meet the ‘Revenge mom’ who shot her child’s murderer in the middle of his trial

Marianne Bachmeier walked confidently into a courtroom in Lübeck, Germany, on March 6, 1981.
Then she pulled a loaded revolver from her handbag and opened fire on Klaus Grabowski, a 35-year-old sex offender.

The guy was suspected of kidnapping, abusing, and murdering Marianne’s 7-year-old daughter, Anna Bachmeier.  Grabowski gasped his final breath seconds later and died on the courthouse floor, having been struck by seven of Marianne’s shots.

The spiteful mother was quickly jailed and showed no remorse. “Revenge mum” is still remembered 40 years later, and her sentencing continues to divide the nation.
The death of a child is the ultimate tragedy, frequently referred to be the worst suffering a parent can go through. 
Marianne Bachmeier’s life changed forever on May 5, 1980. Marianne, a struggling single mother, managed a tavern in Lübeck, northern Germany, in the 1980s. 
Marianne’s youth was filled with pain and suffering. Her father had been a member of the Waffen-SS, a notorious organisation in Nazi Germany.

Growing up, she was raped multiple times by various guys. Marianne was just 16 years old when she became pregnant. As a teenager, she realised she couldn’t raise the kid on her own and opted to place it for adoption. Marianne became pregnant for the second time at the age of 18 and again gave her baby up for adoption. 
Marianne’s third child, Anna, was born in 1973. Marianne was still a single mother, but she reared Anna on her own. 
According to accounts, Anna was a “happy, open-minded child,” but she and her family would soon experience a traumatic occurrence. 
Anna and Marianne argued in May of 1980. The small girl chose to skip school and went to a friend’s house instead. However, on her way there, Anna was kidnapped by Klaus Grabowski, a 35-year-old local butcher.
Grabowski imprisoned Anna in his flat for hours, abusing her before strangling her to death. After murdering Anna, the offender placed her corpse into a box and concealed it on the side of a canal. 
Grabowski later returned to the scene to bury his victim, only to be caught that evening at his favourite bar in Lübeck after his fiancé handed him in to police.

Grabowski was already a convicted sex offender, having served time in prison for sexual attacks on two minors. 
During his jail sentence in 1976, he was voluntarily castrated. Two years later, he started hormone treatment to reverse the chemical castration and resume a love life with his fiancé.
Grabowski instantly admitted to Anna’s death, but denied sexually abusing the youngster. During his trial, Grabowski went even farther, alleging that Anna attempted to seduce and extort him.

In reality, Grabowski blamed his murder victim for the despicable conduct. He stated that he only killed the small girl because she attempted to blackmail him. According to Grabowski, Anna threatened him and stated that she wanted money or she would tell her mother that Grabowski had touched her inappropriately.
The court did not trust Grabowski’s explanation. 
However, his weird and scary account drove Anna’s mother Marianne insane, leaving her powerless, angry, and furious. On the third day of the trial, March 6, 1981, Marianne decided to take action.
Bypassing the security checks and all of the guards, she managed to sneak a pistol into the courtroom. Shortly after entering the hall, she grabbed the loaded revolver from her handbag, pointed at her daughter’s murderer, and fired the full magazine. Seven of eight rounds struck Grabowski, and he collapsed instantly. He died on the scene. 
Anna’s mother immediately dropped her Beretta M1934 after the incident. Her voice then filled the room.
“He killed my daughter. I intended to shoot him in the face, but instead shot him in the back… “I hope he is dead.” 
Marianne also referred to Grabowski as a “pig” after shooting him, according to two police officers on the scene.

Police arrested her in court and initially accused her with murder. During her 1982 trial, Marianne claimed that she shot Grabowski in a dream after seeing her daughter in court. 
However, according to specialists who testified during the trial, Marianne’s deed necessitated extensive experience with the rifle, showing that she had planned and prepared everything before to the shooting. 
Doctors also evaluated the mother and requested her to provide a handwriting sample. Marianne responded: “I did it for you, Anna.” The sample also had seven hearts, which many people understood as an homage to each year of Anna’s life.

Marianne may face life in jail if convicted. 
The mother’s act of vigilantism gained widespread media coverage, not just in Germany but across the world. Marianne was called “Revenge Mom,” and many believed she should be acquitted throughout the trial. 
Despite the vigilante justice she carried out, the bereaved mother who avenged her beloved daughter’s death got much applause and support.

Initially, the media depicted Marianne as a saint. But then journalists started digging into her history. Marianne gave her first two children up for adoption, according to the newspapers. 

Marianne gave her first two children up for adoption, according to the newspapers. 
Marianne was found guilty of premeditated homicide and illicit weapon possession in 1983. She was condemned to six years in prison, but was freed after three years.
According to an Allensbach Institute poll, her sentence split the public. About 28% thought her six-year sentence was right, while 27% thought it was too harsh and 25% thought it was too lenient. 
Marianne fled to Nigeria after spending her sentence in prison and married a German teacher. In 1990, she divorced and relocated to Sicily, Italy.

Marianne was finally diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and returned to her native Lübeck. 
Many Germans remembered her vengeful conduct, and publications continued to write about it long into the 1990s.
In 1994, 13 years after her performance, she gave a rare interview on German radio. 
“I believe there is a significant difference if I kill a young girl because I am frightened of spending the rest of my life in prison.And then the ‘how’, so that I step behind the girl and strangle her, which is taken directly from his statement: ‘I heard something come out of her nose, I was captivated, then I could not bear the sight of her body any longer,'” she added. 
Marianne revealed in an interview with Das Erste TV station in 1995 that she shot Grabowski after great thinking to prevent him from spreading additional falsehoods about Anna. 
Marianne died on September 17, 1996, in a hospital in Lübeck. She intended to die in her old home in Sicily, but she never made it there.

Marianne was eventually buried alongside her adored daughter in a Lübeck cemetery.
Marianne’s fate and the issue of vigilante justice remain unresolved. A substantial portion of the populace defended her actions, seeing them as a just punishment for a sex offender who had already been convicted of child abuse on several times. 
Others, however, believed Marianne’s decision to take the law into her own hands was inappropriate. Critics said that she should have left the verdict to the judiciary. 
What is your opinion? Please share your opinions in our Facebook comments area.