Ulm, Germany - A 19-year-German who murdered his parents and both his sisters in the hope of inheriting family wealth went on trial Monday, and lawyers said he and his accomplice, also 19, would admit guilt. The two schoolboys used pistols to allegedly gun down the unsuspecting family in the evening of April 9. Neighbours in the small town of Eislingen described them as seemingly nice boys who did charity work and were kind to helpless animals.
The youths first shot the sisters, 24 and 22, who were sitting in bed watching television, then met the father, 57, and mother, 55, in a nearby pub and accompanied them home, where they too were shot.
The next day the youths called police and claimed someone had broken into the family's apartment, but police could find no sign of forced entry and detected gunshot trace on the youths' hands.
Police say the accused son, who was 18 at the time, believed he would inherit money in a Swiss bank account if the family died.
Both youths appeared in court wearing hoodie sweaters. The trial is expected to continue till January.
The media were excluded from part of the trial in the southern German city of Ulm because both accused also faced allegations of theft from the time before they turned 18. In Germany, the public is banned from trials of minors.
