It is one of the worst crimes in local criminal history after the Second World War: half a century ago a construction worker had to answer for the murder of a 27-year-old woman from Waldkraiburg at the Traunstein jury court.
Waldkraiburg – The defendant from Waldkraiburg was accused of throwing the unemployed unskilled worker into the Inn Canal in order to cover up an attempted rape. The act and the trial in April 50 years ago shook the population in Waldkraiburg and the entire region.
More than two per thousand in the blood
“I have lost nerves and am foolishly worn. Nachha bin i run away ”- with these words the local newspaper, which reports in detail on the sensational criminal case and the trial, quotes the accused in his confession in court. The man, who, like his victim, had more than two per thousand alcohol in his blood according to medical experts on the night of the crime, freaked out when the woman insulted him and threatened to take him to prison after attempting rape. He plunged the 27-year-old into the water below the Rauschinger Inn Canal Bridge.
Thrown out of the restaurant after an argument
A good hour earlier, the two, who had known each other for a long time, met on Sunday, August 23, 1970, shortly before midnight in a Waldkraiburg restaurant. Because of an argument with other guests, the landlord throws her out of the restaurant. Together with another guest, a 19-year-old skilled worker, they set off in his car towards Mühldorf. But they don’t get that far. “We can still eat them today,” the 19-year-old is said to have told his older friend.
The police released the photo of the dead to determine the identity of the woman.
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Victim is chased naked through the forest
In the Ebinger Forest, the car turns into a forest path. The defendant attacks the companion. Outside the car, he tries to rape her again.
Choking marks and broken jaws noted
The young woman escapes naked and he goes in pursuit. At the canal bridge there is another encounter and the extreme. During the autopsy, the victim was found to be seriously injured, with strangle marks on the neck and two broken jaws. The defendant returns to the car, they throw the clothes out of the car to “dispose of evidence” and drive back to Waldkraiburg.
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His confession is awarded to the accused by the court as a mitigating circumstance that he wanted to make the victim of his terrible crime disappear, as an aggravating sentence.
Defendant suffers from “drive anomaly”
A psychological report does not give the construction worker a good report: he is less talented, “sneaky, unstable, slightly offended” and needs to be observed from a moral point of view. The accused suffered from a “drive anomaly”. His youth was unhappy. He escaped 13 times from the reform home he was admitted to.
Medical expert: Not fully sane
The medical expert assesses the accused, who is said to have poured 20 pints of beer and ten schnapps into himself on the day of the act, as not fully responsible because of his drunkenness. The expert believes that the massive breakthrough would not have taken place without alcohol.
The verdict: twelve years in prison
The public prosecutor’s office demands 14 years imprisonment for attempted rape, dangerous bodily harm and murder. The accused committed “one of the most hideous and brutal acts that we have had in the district court in recent years.” The defense attorney pleads for manslaughter or bodily harm with manslaughter and demands a prison sentence of less than ten years.
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The court regards it as proven that the accused intentionally murdered his victim, and his sentence is only slightly below the prosecutor’s request. The defendant is sentenced to twelve years’ imprisonment. The newspaper writes that the murder is atoned for.
A few hours after the body was found, criminal investigators are on the trail of the perpetrators
On Monday, August 24, 1970, employees of the power station in Töging discovered a naked woman’s corpse on the rake of the Inn Canal in the morning hours. An accident? A suicide? Or has the young woman, who had only been in the water for a few hours, fallen victim to a violent crime? The officers of the Mühldorf criminal investigation department have to clarify this question. Police forces feverishly search the bank of the Inn Canal between Jettenbach and Töging.
Clothes found in the forest: A missing person search is started through the newspaper. The woman’s clothing was found in the Ebingen forest late on Monday afternoon, 300 meters from the Inn Canal. The relatives of a 27-year-old unemployed unskilled worker from Waldkraiburg report to the police. The mother rules out that her daughter voluntarily went into the water.
On the road with two men: It soon becomes known that the young woman was seen on Monday night in a Waldkraiburg inn with two men with whom she later drove away in a car, according to witness statements. After a TV evening with friends, she came home around 10 p.m. and then went out again.
The perpetrator is quickly caught: Just a few hours after the body was found, the criminal investigation team is on the trail of the suspects. In the case, which stirs up the public, she is initially investigating the men with whom the woman was out on the night of the crime: a construction worker from Waldkraiburg who was 25 years old at the time of the crime, who was arrested on Monday evening, and his 19-year-old acquaintance, who was at the wheel of the car. During the interrogation, the two become entangled in contradictions and try to accuse each other.
Companion comes from: In the further investigations by the police and judiciary, the 25-year-old emerges as a suspected perpetrator. The father of three children of kindergarten age, who does not live with his family, has to stand trial for murder. The 19-year-old, who knew about the crime and witnessed the attempted rape in the car, got away without penalty. No legal proceedings will be opened against him
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