On 24 November 2019, a fatal accident occurred at the Knuedler Christmas market. Parts of a 700-kilogram ice sculpture came loose and struck a two-year-old boy who was posing for a souvenir photo on an ice sledge in front of the sculpture.

The child succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital, and the public prosecutor’s office immediately launched an investigation into involuntary manslaughter.

However, six years after the incident, a court case is yet to start, as reported by the Tageblatt newspaper on Monday.

According to the report, the Council Chamber of the Court of Appeal is still examining whether all of the individuals named by the public prosecutor’s office will be brought to trial.

Parts of the 700-kilo ice sculpture came loose and fatally injured a two-year-old.  © Photo credit: Anouk Antony/LW-Archiv

A total of ten people could face charges, including a legal entity (“personne morale”). This included several ice artists and the Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO), which commissioned the installation of the ice sculpture.

An eleventh person, who had been accused by the investigating judge during the inquiry, will likely not be charged.

The case file had previously been before a first-instance council chamber and was referred onward in June 2025.

However, eight parties involved – including the legal entity – lodged appeals, resulting in the case being transferred to the Council Chamber of the Court of Appeal, which is currently examining the extent to which each of the accused is connected to the fatal incident.

Public prosecutor’s office pushes for trial

It remains unclear when the trial will take place. In response to an enquiry from the Luxemburger Wort, the press office of the justice administration stated that the public prosecutor’s office wishes to bring the case before the court “as soon as possible”, unless the council chamber orders further investigative measures.

The prolonged delay is also attributed to the length of the investigation, which lasted four years. Although it was initially expected to conclude in summer 2022, it was only finalised in autumn 2023 after one of the accused requested an additional expert report.

(This article has been first published by the Luxemburger Wort. Machine translated with AI, with editing and adaptation by Lucrezia Reale).