Michael Schumacher’s wife has reportedly made a ‘major decision’ after the F1 driver allegedly became the target of a blackmail scheme.
The Ferrari legend was left in a critical condition following a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December, 2013.
Aged 44 at the time, Schumacher fell and hit his head against a rock while wearing a helmet.
After suffering serious brain trauma, he was put in a medically-induced coma and eventually left hospital the following year when he was brought back to consciousness.
Since the incident, the now 55 year-old has lived an intensely private life which was allegedly about to be uncovered by his former bodyguard, Markus Fritsche.
Fritsche, 53, has been accused of stealing photographs and videos in a £12 million blackmail scheme.
He allegedly stole approximately 900 photos and 600 containing classified medical documents and information about Schumacher’s health, according to prosecutors.
The three accused men – including friend Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, and Tozturkan’s son Daniel Lins, 30 – appeared at Wuppertal District Court on 10 December.
Corinna Schumacher, the wife of the seven-time world champion, reportedly filed a motion to prevent the public from learning of details surrounding her husband’s health during the trial.
She wants to ‘exclude the public from the trial’, according to German News outlet BILD.
This comes after nightclub bouncer, Tozturkan, told the court, according to the Mail: “Fritsche and I have known each other for a long time. We keep in contact, and we met for a coffee.
“He said that he was in possession of this material, and he asked if we could do anything with it. I said: ‘I will ask but we will definitely be able to do something’.
“I was given two hard drives, one was black, and the other was blue.
“For the most part I admit everything, but I didn’t buy the pictures.
“I was going to try and sell them first but when I didn’t get any interest that’s when I contacted the Schumacher family.
“My son only helped by providing me with an email address, that’s it. He didn’t know anything about the blackmail.”
“The data that was accessed here is extremely sensitive,” the senior public prosecutor said before the trial began.
“The Schumacher family has a great public interest in not revealing the health of Mr. Michael Schumacher. The data that we have found provides considerable information about precisely this situation.”
