A 100-year-old woman with dementia was beheaded in her wheelchair by an axe-wielding grandson who was struggling to care for her, a murder trial has heard

A man is on trial in Hamburg accused of beheading his 100-year-old wheelchair-bound grandmother with an ax.

Retired farm worker Amalie G. was found dead in her apartment in the city of Hamburg after her 37-year-old grandson Artur B. was attacked in March, investigators say.

While awaiting trial after his arrest, Artur, who a German source said had been treated for mental health problems and prescribed medication Pictureconsulted a psychiatrist and claimed he was struggling to cope with his dementia-stricken grandmother in a wheelchair.

But a relative told Bild that Artur, a former soldier, was considered “the black sheep of the family” and that Amalie had regularly complained that he was stealing from her.

“He was unemployed most of the time and constantly lacked money.” “Family members kept their distance from him,” the relative added.

Artur was arrested after calling the police to inform them of his crime.

The coroner found that Amalie was hit 16 times by the weapon as she tried in vain to defend herself with a cordless vacuum cleaner, and that she died when one blow severed her spinal cord.

Retired farm worker Amalie G. was found dead in her apartment in downtown Hamburg after her 37-year-old grandson Artur B. was attacked in March, investigators said

While awaiting trial after his arrest, Artur (left in court this week and right in the undated image), who was, according to the image, being treated for mental health issues and prescribed medication, consulted a psychiatrist and claimed he was struggling Coping with his wheelchair-bound grandmother who suffered from dementia

Artur is said to have called the police to say he had beheaded his grandmother and when police arrived at the bloody crime scene they discovered an ax

“According to the preliminary autopsy results, it can be assumed that a severance of the cervical spine caused by sharp and blunt force was the cause of death.” “The suspected crime is an ax found at the crime scene,” said senior public prosecutor Liddy Oechtering after the murder.

A neighbor of the murdered centenarian told Bild: “We actually had good contact before her death.” Amalie told me that her grandson had already broken into the apartment via the balcony and wanted to steal her money.

The neighbor said Artur came regularly to look after his grandmother, but the two argued frequently and were often loud enough to be overheard.

“The grandson regularly came to his grandmother’s apartment and looked after her.” But there were still arguments.”

Relatives of Artur B. and Amalie G. said it was possible that a dispute over money escalated the situation on the night of the murder.

When asked by BILD, the public prosecutor explained that Artur B. had no criminal record.

According to information from the Hamburger Abendblatt, the man was only known to the police for minor crimes that were not violent.

Artur is scheduled to testify before the court in Hamburg on Monday.