The mother’s act of vigilantism received enormous media attention – not only in Germany but all over the world. Marianne was dubbed “Revenge mom”, and many thought she should be acquitted at the trial.

The grieving mom, who avenged the death of her beloved daughter, was widely praised and received a lot of encouragement and understanding – despite the vigilante justice she carried out.

In the beginning, Marianne was portrayed as a saint by the media. But then journalists started to dig up her past. Newspapers found out that Marianne gave up her first two children for adoption. The fact that she spent a lot of time in the bar she worked at was just one of the details that began to tarnish the picture of a loving and self-sacrificing mom.

In 1983, Marianne was convicted of premeditated manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm. She was sentenced to six years behind bars but was released after three years.

Her penalty divided the people, as shown by a survey from the Allensbach Institute. About 28 percent saw her six-year sentence as appropriate, with another 27 percent deeming it too heavy and a further 25 percent believing it to be too soft.