Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In other words, Li Haqing had been beaten to death.
The courtroom was completely silent, and even Seth’s breathing slowed down as his expression stiffened.
Gu Nianzhi looked at everyone in the courtroom and turned to the defendant’s lawyer to say, “I’ll replay the video again.”
This time, the video was of the morning of May 15. A pickup truck parked in front of Seth’s apartment, and a man and a woman got out—Seth’s mother Ramona and stepfather York. They entered the apartment, which had already been designated as a “key inspection area” by the police. Gu Nianzhi then fast-forwarded the video and began playing at a normal speed when the surveillance footage indicated that it was evening.
After spending nearly a whole day at Seth’s apartment, York and Ramona finally came out. They both carried many black trash bags, taking them out one by one. Throwing them into the back of the pickup truck, they then drove away into the dark night.
Gu Nianzhi stopped the video and looked at the ashen-faced York and Ramona, asking once again, “Didn’t you say that you didn’t return to Seth’s apartment after the case was filed? Then what happened on May 15? The case was filed on May 13, and Seth’s apartment had been designated as a key inspection area. Thus, nothing inside was to be moved. However, you spent a whole day at Seth’s apartment on May 15, from morning to evening.” Gu Nianzhi looked at Seth to ask. “Seth, how dirty is your apartment that your senior police officer parents had to clean it for a whole day?”
Large beads of sweat formed on Seth’s forehead as he stared flabbergasted at the large screen. He was very annoyed. What the hell?! How could this kind of footage exist?!
He looked desperately at his mother and stepfather. Ramona watched him with tears streaming down her face, but his stepfather was stone-faced and silent. Gu Nianzhi also kept quiet as she observed the family playing out this farce. The courtroom was being live-streamed right now anyway, so Gu Nianzhi was very confident that all of Germany was watching. She was only a bit confused as to why the court still hadn’t noticed the live stream. She had been worried it would be taken down quickly, so she’d even changed the password so that they would have to spend considerable effort to crack the password before they could stop the stream.
As expected, an increasing number of people were watching this on German social media. This was the first time that the Germans were seeing that their domestic judicial system was corrupt to such an extent. How could their democratic elections end up nominating such scum? How did a gang leader like York get elected as city council member over and over again? How did he get to the position of Democratic Party leader? The people present in the courtroom were deeply shocked by the video that had just been played. Countless stares were aimed at York and Ramona.
Gu Nianzhi gave them enough time before asking, “Mr. York, Ms. Ramona, may I ask where you disposed of the several bags you removed from Seth’s apartment?”
Of course, York and Ramona had their mouths closed tightly as clams and refused to say a thing to Gu Nianzhi. They weren’t the defendants nor the witnesses, so they could rightfully refuse to answer any of her questions. However, Gu Nianzhi had no intention of them answering her questions. What she needed was to expose this couple’s two-faced behavior to public opinion—they were a deceitful pair who couldn’t be allowed to trample on justice again. Their silence was exactly what Gu Nianzhi wanted. The people watching the stream knew that the couple didn’t dare to say a word because they were guilty.
“Your Honor, the direct evidence presented indicates that Seth and Niya were the last two people to see the victim, Li Haiqing, prior to her death. Also, Niya’s testimony matched with the autopsy results. There is reason to believe that Niya is speaking the truth, proving that Seth committed torture and murder, sexual result, first-degree murder, and second-degree murder. Niya committed second-degree murder and accessory in sexual assault. Additionally, Roslau Chief of Police York and Senior Lieutenant Ramona obstructed justice and deliberately destroyed important evidence directly related to the case. I ask that Your Honor pass sentence severely to give the punishment deserved.”
Gu Nianzhi began to conclude. Suddenly, the defendant’s lawyer, who had been rendered speechless by Gu Nianzhi finally remembered a law that could fight against her direct evidence.
“Objection!” He stood up immediately. “The plaintiff’s lawyer obtained surveillance footage from the antique shop, which was also recorded across the street—this is beyond the scope of surveillance. As an illegal violation of the personal rights of passersby, it cannot be used as evidence to charge my client.”
As soon as he said this, York, Ramona, and even the judge all sighed in relief. The judge was about to happily accept the defendant’s lawyer’s suggestion to announce that the direct evidence would not be accepted when Gu Nianzhi instantly thought of a law to counter it.
“According to German criminal law,” she stated clearly, “surveillance footage takes priority over the personal rights of passersby in the trying of criminal cases. In other words, in criminal cases, even if the surveillance footage exceeds the scope of legal surveillance, it is no longer considered illegal evidence because it recorded direct evidence of a vicious criminal case. It is then considered legal, direct evidence.”
York’s face stiffened again. This time, he finally realized that he could no longer allow Gu Nianzhi to speak again. This female lawyer had far too incredible fighting power… He covertly made a gesture that he had agreed upon with the judge prior to the trial. The judge saw it and planned to sentence as they had agreed.
At this time, the staff of the Munich District Court finally noticed the live stream on their official social media account. The judge raised his gavel in court to read the verdict before him which clearly stated, The defendant is acquitted due to lack of evidence. But before he could say the words, the courtroom doors slammed open loudly, and someone who looked like a court clerk hurried inside and whispered something to the judge.
The judge’s expression instantly darkened. He grabbed the verdict with shaking hands. Mouth agape, he didn’t dare to read the verdict, which was a clear abuse of authority. He whispered to the court clerk, “…Why are you telling me this? Hurry up and take down the live stream!”
The clerk was nearly in tears and was grim-faced. “The account password was changed, so we can’t log in at the moment. We’re contacting the executive company of the social media software to ask them to shut down the account, but they haven’t replied…”
The social media company would, of course, refuse. The courtroom live stream was currently the most popular media on all of Germany’s social media apps, attracting countless new users and streaming numbers. This was an excellent opportunity, and even if the company could manage it, they would feign ignorance in order to let the stream go on longer.
