Hildesheim, Germany - An obese German whose wife died after he squashed her, breaking her ribs, was sentenced Monday to a fine of 2,580 euros (3,483 dollars) and given probation. At the time in 2006, the 128-kilogramme heavy bus driver had been arguing with his partner over an Italian pop song when she lashed out, hitting him on the neck.
In return, the man said he had flung himself on her with his entire weight, breaking 18 of her ribs. A few weeks later, the 46-year-old woman died of her injuries.
The judges at Hildesheim district court found the man guilty of negligent bodily harm, saying they could not rule an accident.
A year previously he had been sentenced to five years in prison, but the Federal Court of Justice had overturned the verdict, arguing the cause of the wife's death had not been sufficiently proven.
During the retrial, the 52-year-old said described their 30-year relationship as a "marriage of convenience," in which they had frequently argued about money. He claimed his wife had always initiated physical confrontation, and he had only ever defended himself.
On the evening in question, the couple had been drinking alcohol together, before they started arguing about a song the wife wanted to hear. He hadn't been able to find the track on his computer in time, so she hit him, the man said.
At the time, the couple's then-19-year-old son called the police. The woman spent three days in hospital but refused to return to the doctor when her condition was worsening.
Investigations against the man were initiated on the day of the wife's death, when he admitted to a police detective that her ribs were broken as a result of their "brawl" four weeks previously.
