A girl below investigation for her half in a £12million plot to blackmail F1 legend Michael Schumacher stole compromising materials on him after she was ‘raped’ on his property, it has been claimed.
The explosive declare was made by a lawyer defending one in all three males on trial for attempting to extort cash from the previous seven instances F1 champion, who has not been seen in public since a 2013 ski accident.
Schumacher’s former bodyguard Markus Fritsche is at the moment being prosecuted with two alleged accomplices for allegedly stealing compromising materials of his boss in non-public conditions similar to medical appointments after which utilizing it to blackmail him.
The rape declare was made by Fritsche’s lawyer who surprised the courtroom when he made his shock allegation that an unidentified ‘acquaintance’ of the well-known driver’s son Mick had raped a nurse on his property.
Lawyer Harald Benninghoven instructed that the lady was raped on the property at a celebration 5 years in the past – and due to this fact had a ‘motive’ for revenge in opposition to the Schumacher household as a result of she felt the rape had not been taken critically.
The rape declare was put by Mr Benninghoven when he was cross analyzing a witness within the blackmail case, Schumacher’s very long time supervisor Sabine Kehm.
Michael Schumacher (pictured in 2010) has not been seen in public since a horrific ski accident within the French Alps in 2013
Schumacher lives and obtained remedies in his £50million mansion in Gland, Switzerland
Schumacher’s former bodyguard Markus Fritsche is at the moment being prosecuted with two alleged accomplices for allegedly stealing compromising materials of his boss in non-public conditions
Prompting loud gasps of shock across the courtroom, he requested Ms Kehm: ‘What are you aware of a rape, stated to have been carried out on a nurse on the Schumacher property in 2019?’
He went on: ‘That’s the topic of a separate investigation by the Swiss authorities, however it might be a motive.’
It’s understood he meant it might be a motive for the complainant within the rape case to have taken the fabric that his consumer is alleged to have stolen.
Ms Kehm replied to his bombshell query: ’I do know nothing about this, and it doesn’t contain the Schumacher household. You’ve made positive everybody is aware of now however we had nothing to do with that.’
Outdoors courtroom Mr Benninghoven was requested by reporters to broaden on his claims, and he instructed MailOnline: ’The nurse was summoned to testify at an earlier listening to.
‘A letter got here again from her lawyer saying that she was sick and wouldn’t be capable of attend.
‘The letter additionally made reference to this sexual assault case on the Schumacher premises, stated to have taken place throughout a celebration, which is at the moment the topic of an investigation, and it concerned an acquaintance of Michael Schumacher’s son.’
That son Mick Schumacher, 25, can also be a racing driver, and final yr was below contract with Mercedes however there isn’t a suggestion he was concerned within the alleged assault on the nurse which is alleged to have taken place at a celebration in 2019.
No additional clue as to the id of the rapist was given.
And the household tried to minimize its significance in relation to the blackmail case.
Formulation one World champion Ferrrari driver Michael Schumacher (L) poses in Madonna di Campiglio along with his spouse Corinna 16 January 2003
Schumacher is pictured alongside spouse Corinna, son Mick and daughter Gina on this nonetheless taken from the 2021 Netflix documentary Schumacher
Thilo Damm, the Schumacher household lawyer, instructed MailOnline: ‘This declare is completely separate to the blackmail case, and we’re not concerned in any respect, and once I say we, I imply the entire household from Micheal to Corinna to Mick Junior.
‘We don’t know what stage the investigation is at as a result of we’re not part of it.
‘I believe this was an try by the lawyer to shift focus away from his consumer.’
That consumer, former trusted bodyguard Markus Fritsche, is on trial with father and son Yilmaz Tozturkan and Daniel Lins.
The case is being heard in Wuppertal, Germany.
Though the rape allegation emerged for the primary time this week, the nurse alleged to have been raped has been talked about a number of instances in the course of the trial as a attainable different offender.
Final month, Ms Kehm and Fritsche’s lawyer claimed the nurse – who was sacked by the race ace’s household in October 2020 – was concerned within the blackmail sting.
The blackmail case centres on laborious drives stolen from Schumacher’s residence within the Swiss city of Gland containing photographs and movies of the stricken star and confidential medical information.
In June this yr the Schumacher household had been contacted and instructed in a sequence of calls and emails the fabric could be ‘launched onto the darkish internet’ except a £12 million ransom was paid.
Nightclub bouncer Tozturkan, pictured, instructed the courtroom the info had been ‘handed’ to him ‘by a nurse who was in want of cash’
Pictured: The block of flats the place Yilmaz Toztuerkan has a flat within the city of Wuppertal in Germany
Nightclub bouncer Tozturkan, 53, instructed the courtroom the info had been ‘handed’ to him ‘by a nurse who was in want of cash’ whereas Ms Kehm instructed the courtroom how Fritsche and her ‘obtained on very nicely’.
Ms Kehm added: ’I keep in mind I used to see Fritsche and this specific nurse standing collectively, speaking, they obtained on very nicely.
‘However finally she left, we had points along with her, we had issues with how care was delivered. We noticed some disagreeable issues. First, she left, then he (Fritsche) left.’
Ms Kehm later went on to say she ‘suspected’ the nurse of downloading info from a pc used within the alleged blackmail as she ‘had entry to the codes and passwords’.
The nurse, a 38-year-old French citizen, has not been charged with any offence however authorities in Switzerland – the place the Schumacher household dwell – are stated to be investigating whether or not she had any direct involvement.
Her LinkedIn web page, which has now been deleted, confirmed the mom of 1 speaks 4 languages – French, English, Arabic and German and he or she is a specialist in ‘VIP care’ and ‘neuro rehabilitation’.
IT skilled Lins, 30 and Fritsche, 53, all deny blackmail insisting they had been trying at hand again the 1500 photographs, 200 movies and medical notes as a part of a ‘enterprise transaction’ and nothing else.
Instantly after the accident, Schumacher is believed to have been acutely aware and speaking, however was unable to answer questions and was shifting erratically (Schumacher is pictured in 2004)
Whereas descending the extremely standard Combe de Saulire route, Schumacher opted to enterprise off-piste, coming into right into a small sliver of uncombed powder between Piste Chamois and Piste Biche that was peppered with small rocks. Schumacher’s skis clipped one such boulder and the sudden drive catapulted him into the air – leaving him powerless to keep away from a head-first collision with one other rock
Fritsche labored for the Schumacher household for 9 years till he was sacked in 2021 and was working as a safety guard at a Mercedes Benz manufacturing unit when he was arrested final summer time.
Tozturkan is at the moment in custody, whereas his son is on bail, and each males are like Fritsche, all from Wuppertal.
Schumacher has not been seen in public since his snowboarding accident within the French Alps in 2013 and has been left with catastrophic mind accidents.
Throughout a glittering 19-year F1 profession from 1991 till 2012, Schumacher raced for Ferrari, Mercedes and Benetton, amassing a £468 million fortune, alongside along with his seven titles and taking he chequered flag 91 instances.
Prosecutors have demanded not less than 4 years for all three and the decide Birgit Neubert has adjourned the path, till subsequent month when it’s anticipated to finish.
