Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
Viral video shows woman shoot dead the man who raped and murdered her seven-year-old daughter, in a courtroom.
Fact
Clip is from a 1984 German movie based on a real-life incident from 1981, when Marianne Bachmeier shot and killed Klaus Grabowski, who was on trial for the rape and murder of her seven-year-old daughter, Anna.
A 22-second video purportedly showing a woman walking into what appears to be a courtroom before taking out a gun to shoot multiple times has gone viral, claiming that it shows a German national, Marianne Bachmeier, shoot dead the rapist who murdered her 7-year-old daughter, in court in 1981.
The viral video is being shared by several social media users in the wake of the horrific rape-murder case of the trainee doctor at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on the night of August 8, stating that the guilty in rape cases should be similarly dealt with so that the victims get justice in time.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this German movie uploaded on Youtube on October 17, 2014, headlined, “The Marianne Bachmeier Case: No Time For Tears”.
An excerpt, starting from the 01:19:30 mark of the video, is similar to the viral clip, except for the angle, clarity and that it was a close-up shot. A comparison, considering the man in the background and the two men holding the woman after she shoots the rapist, proves that the viral video is from the movie.
A further search led us to the viral video, which was uploaded on Youtube on December 27, 2022.
A keyword search for “The Marianne Bachmeier Case: No Time For Tears movie”, led us to this IMDb entry for a 1984 film called “No Time for Tears: The Bachmeier Case”, directed by Hark Bohm, as seen in the Youtube video. A tweet sharing the video, confirms that it is a scene from the docu-drama about the Marie Bachmeier case in West Germany during the early 1980s.
The Marianne Bachmeier case
We learnt that Marianne Bachmeier, a West German woman, had gained international notoriety in 1981 when she shot and killed Klaus Grabowski, a 35-year-old butcher and convicted sex offender who was on trial for the rape and murder of her seven-year-old daughter, Anna. Her act of vigilantism in a Lübeck courtroom sparked extensive media coverage and public debate.
“On March 6, 1981, the third day of Grabowski’s trial and around 10am, Marianne smuggled a Beretta 70 pistol into the courtroom of Lübeck District Court. She then shot Grabowski, the confessed killer of her daughter, in the back. Bachmeier aimed the gun at Grabowski’s back and fired seven times, and he was killed almost instantly. She then lowered her gun, and was apprehended without resistance,” read a Sun report, dated August 17, 2023.
Also Read: False Claims Misidentifying RG Kar Intern As TMC MLA’s Son Go Viral
Conclusion
Viral video claiming to show mother shooting dead her daughter’s rapist in court is from 1984 German movie, not real footage.
Result: Missing Context
Sources
Youtube video, October 17, 2014
IMDb page
The Sun report, August 17, 2023
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
