The Marwa Al-Sherbini Case: Investigators Believe Killer 'Hated Non-Europeans' and Muslims

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W. has been held in custody ever since, and investigators are trying to figure out what could have driven the previously inconspicuous man to action. In a preliminary assessment, court-appointed psychiatrist Stephan Sutarski concluded that W. was fully criminally liable for his actions. Even though the expert opinion is still pending, there are no signs of psychological problems. W.'s criminal history was unremarkable, and only in hindsight did investigators recall an incident in 2006, when W. is said to have threatened a fellow student with a knife. W., people familiar with him say, almost always carried a knife. Was it really a planned act or was it impulsive?

During his recent time in jail, W. is accused of having threatened to stab two fellow inmates.

Meanwhile, investigators have shed light on much of W.'s life up to the point of the murder. Alexander W. was born in 1980 in Perm, a city of 1 milion in Russia's Ural Mountains. He finished secondary school, studied at Vocational School No. 52 and was regarded as intelligent. W. became a plasterer and electrician and came to Germany in September 2003 with his mother and sister as part of a program that permits German minorities in Russia to emigrate.

He attended integration courses and he did an internship at a hardware store, where he is remembered for being lazy and stubborn, but not a right-wing extremist. There was no right-wing paraphernalia in his apartment. Even a persistent rumor that he had fought in the Chechen War seems to have been refuted. Investigators found evidence in Russia that Alexander W. was exempt from military service for health reasons.

'Pure Hatred of Non-Europeans'

The Public Prosecutor's Office believes that W.'s act was premeditated and committed out of base motives. He now faces life in prison if convicted. Prosecutors believe that "pure hatred of non-Europeans" and Muslims drove him. The defense could enter a plea of temporary insanity, and W. allegedly spoke of suicide at the time of his arrest.

It will be complicated trial for everyone involved. The witnesses who were in the courtroom at the time of the murder -- the judge, jurors, lawyers and court staff -- are considered to be deeply traumatized by the incident. The trial will also take place in the same court where al-Sherbini died.

External pressure on the case is also extreme. In an interview with the mass-circulation daily Bild, al-Sherbini's father called for Alexander W. to be sentenced to death. It's a demand that will hold little sway in the European Union, where capital punishement is banned, but it underscores the emotion involved in the case. He is also calling for the maximum penalty for the police officer who fired on Okaz, whether mistakenly or not. An investigation is currently seeking to determine whether he can be charged for causing grievous bodily harm. The officer had perhaps unconsciously zeroed in on the man who looked the most like a foreigner. There are now countless solidarity groups for al-Sherbini on Facebook.

The State Office of Criminal Investigation has held "security talks" with everyone involved. It has not ruled out that there could be disorderly scenes during the trial. When the trial does open, the court in Dresden -- located a few blocks away from the playground -- will resemble a maximum security prison.

Meanwhile, the state prosecutor's office has discontinued the playground slander suit -- at least for the time being.

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• Part 1: Investigators Believe Killer 'Hated Non-Europeans' and Muslims
• Part 2: A Planned Act or One of Compulsion?