Schliersee care home case remains stalled as court reviews charges

Five years after the Schliersee senior care home closed following reports of severe neglect, no trial is in sight as prosecutors and the court disagree over whether further investigation is needed, BR reports.

Munich II prosecutors filed charges in March 2025 against three women: a former care home director, a former head of housekeeping and a former nursing director. The charges cover 101 alleged cases of attempted dangerous bodily harm and two cases of intentional and dangerous bodily harm.

In March 2026, Munich II Regional Court suggested reviewing the indictment and, if necessary, conducting further investigations. Prosecutors say they see no need to change the charges or investigate further. They have submitted their response to the court but have not yet received a reply. The court says its criminal chamber is reviewing that response and the case files. It has not decided whether to open a trial. The presumption of innocence applies.

Investigators suspect that the home cut spending on qualified staff, care supplies and food. Officials of Sereni Orizzonti, the Italian healthcare company that operated the home, have not been charged.

The case came to light after a coronavirus outbreak in March 2020. Helpers, including members of the German armed forces, took over care of the mostly very elderly residents. Documents obtained by BR indicate that several residents were malnourished, dehydrated and, in some cases, living in extremely poor conditions.

Prosecutors initially investigated 18 deaths between February and August 2020. They said they could not establish with sufficient certainty for charges that the alleged misconduct by the accused caused the deaths of 17 residents and one employee.

Nursing scientist Martina Hasseler of Ostfalia University, who prepared an expert report on the home, called the delay unacceptable. She said it risked giving the impression that residents’ suffering and responsibility for the conditions were not being treated with sufficient seriousness. She also warned that the case could send a damaging message about efforts to tackle poor care in nursing homes.

BR first reported on the scale of the neglect in March 2021, after which Miesbach district administrator Olaf von Löwis acknowledged failings by the home inspection authority. The Schliersee home closed in September 2021. Some residents were transferred to the operator’s other home in Augsburg, where BR also documented serious problems; the city closed that facility in February 2022. In March 2022, the Bavarian Health Ministry established Pflege-SOS Bavaria, a reporting service where staff, residents and relatives can report problems, including anonymously.