Vigilante justice: Meet the ”Revenge mom”

She was arrested quickly. The following year, Marianne was put on trial after being initially accused of murder. She said that visions of her daughter in the courtroom had caused her to act in a trance-like state. However, investigators discovered evidence to the contrary. The accuracy of her movements and her familiarity with the gun indicated that the act had been planned. She wrote, “I did it for you, Anna,” with seven hearts—one for each year of her daughter’s life—in a handwriting sample she produced for a psychological evaluation.

The trial gained widespread media attention. She was viewed by many Germans as a tragic hero—a mother who had been pushed to the brink. Others were more critical, arguing that regardless of the crime, justice must be left to the courts. Her troubled youth, her time at the bar, and the children she had given up were all highlighted by the initially sympathetic press as they dug deeper into her past. The public’s views diverged.