Domestic Violence
Episode 2 of Criminal Germany begins with a man pacing in his room while Mrs Borchert and Schultz watch him behind the glass. His lawyer, Marquardt, arrives ready to defend him while the investigators are careful with how they will conduct themselves, knowing they are being watched. The man, Yilmaz Yussef, is accused of having pushed his wife Johanna down the stairs. His lawyer, Marquart, explains that she tripped and that Yilmaz was in bed, trying to sleep his migraine off. While Yilmaz remains silent, the lawyer answers all of Schultz’s questions and tells him he is the son-in-law of Christian Millberg, a man whose foundation advises the German government. During the break, Schultz and Keller talk about the nanny who is now on her way back home to Ukraine and how she thinks they should tread carefully with this investigation, especially since Millberg is so close to the government. The interview starts again and they are shown CCTV pictures of his wife and son on their way to the day-care, and of Yussef on his way to work. However, he returned home early then left again at 12:30 to go to the gym. Only, the gym has been closed for 3 months. They are also suspicious of the Nanny leaving without any trace. Yilmaz finally starts to talk and explains that he had a meeting with his father-in-law about tax auditing that morning. After work, he went to see his son at the nursery but because he lost custody, he wasn’t allowed to leave with him. After questioning Yilmaz more about his past, he finally admits that he has been physically violent with his wife and that he pushed her down the stairs but his lawyer says that after serving one year in prison, he will begin therapy. Even after this confession, Schultz doesn’t want to end the interview and requests another break. During the break, the lawyer tries to intimidate Schultz and tells him he is only going to give him another 10 minutes with his client. As the interview continues after the break, Schultz tries to find out more details about Yussef and Johanna’s relationship, but also wants to know more about why he doesn’t talk with his parents. Keller arrives with medical reports and asks him to roll up his left sleeve, which he refuses to do. After probing further about the situation, we find out that Johanna was the one hurting him all this time and Keller assumes that he made a deal with the lawyer. A tearful Yilmaz tells them that she loves him and has apologized every time. The lawyer then calls Christian, who is looking after Yussef’s son, and asks him if he wants to speak to him. After the call, the lawyer asks Yilmaz what he has to say about the accusations against his wife, which he replies that she hasn’t done anything. The phone call to his son was another reminder of the deal they made with him; custody in exchange for keeping his mouth shut. After the interview, Keller and Schultz speak and she seems pleased with how he dealt with the case. The lawyer, however, tells her that there is more to Schultz than she is aware of. The second episode of Criminal Germany is quite an emotional and shocking one. While we have the suspect figured out during most of the episode, we are offered a very unexpected twist where he is actually the victim here. It shows that men too can be at the centre of domestic violence and the actor, Deniz Arora, delivers a poignant performance throughout. It’s a sad ending too as Yussef looks to be trapped between his violent wife and the demands of his father-in-law. He will unfortunately end up in prison and has to sacrifice his freedom to be reunited with his son when he is finally able to get out. What will the future bring for him after his time behind bars though? While each episode brings us the truth, one way or another, we are always left wondering what will happen next for these victims. With one more episode left, it’ll be interesting to see what the lawyer meant about Schultz, and if some revelations are about to come to light about the inspector.
