German woman faces multiple murder counts over neo-Nazi group leadership activities

Story here. Notice the tone of the article; seems to me they're almost soft-peddaling her. Much of the article is given to how "it's not really that bad," and she was raised by a single mother and had a hard life, etc. Really, would this be the tone if the defendant were male? Excerpt:

'The 38-year-old woman looks like a librarian or pharmacist. But when Beate Zschäpe faces the court in Munich on Monday, hers will be most-watched trial Germany has seen in decades.

For almost 14 years, the neo-Nazi group Nazionalsozialistischer Untergrund (NSU), allegedly led by Zschäpe, killed and maimed across Germany. Her trial may last for years, too. She’s accused of complicity in the murders of 9 foreigners and 1 police officer, several attempted murders, 2 bombings, and 15 robberies and is going on trial with 4 of her top lieutenants. Two other NSU leaders, Uwe Böhnhardt and Uwe Mundlos, committed suicide when police finally caught up with their group after a bank robbery 18 months ago.'