Stock Photo - 27 November 2023, Hesse, Frankfurt/Main: Christopher Erhard, presiding judge at the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in Frankfurt, opens the appeal proceedings in the courtroom regarding the death of three children in a village pond. The former mayor of the affected village of Neukirchen (Schwalm-Eder district) was last sentenced to a fine in February by the Marburg district court for negligent homicide by omission for allegedly breaching his duty to ensure the safety of the pond. The three siblings, aged five, eight and nine, drowned in 2016. The CDU politician is now defending himself against the verdict of the regional court before the Higher Regional Court. Photo: Arne Dedert/dpa. - Frankfurt/Main/Hesse/Germany