A German man is on trial for the brutal murder of his 100-year-old grandmother in the German city of Hamburg, where a jury heard how he decapitated her as she tried to defend herself from her wheelchair.

Artur B (the German legal system does not identified victims and suspects except by first name and last initial), 37, is accused of killing Amalie G, a retired farm worker, in March, the British tabloid the Daily Mail said, quoting German newspaper Bild.

Amalie, who reportedly suffered from dementia, frequently complained that Artur, a former soldier, was stealing from her, relatives said. After his arrest, Artur sought psychiatric treatment and claimed he was struggling with caring for his grandmother.

Artur himself called police to tell them what he’d done after killing Amalie.

Coroners said Artur struck his grandmother 16 times, with the killing blow severing her spinal column. She tried to defend herself with a cordless vacuum cleaner. An ax believed to have been the murder weapon was found at the crime scene.

Neighbors said that Artur often came to care for his grandmother and that the two had frequent and loud arguments.

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