The bloody deed happened on April 7, 2021 in the Graz district of Gries: shortly after 8 a.m., the 43-year-old Afghan is said to have killed his 38-year-old wife. According to the indictment, he first hit her on the head with a metal doorstop, then the man stabbed his wife 15 times in the head, neck and chest with a kitchen knife.
Four children at school at the time of the crime
The four children – two girls aged eight and twelve and two boys aged 14 and 17 – were at school at the time of the crime. Immediately after the crime, the alleged murderer went to a police station and turned himself in. The officers found the woman lying on the kitchen floor, covered in blood – more on that in Murder in Graz: Motive Jealousy (April 8, 2021).
“Loving and willing to integrate”
At the trial on Monday, the defense attorney explained that the trial was not about whether his client had killed the woman, because that was certain – rather the decisive question was how the crime came about. He also described the now 44-year-old as a loving family father who was willing to integrate and who came to Austria in 2015 with his wife and four children. Among other things, he went to church to learn Christian values - for which he was criticized and even attacked in the Afghan community. In addition, his client attended German courses and was blameless.
“Addict with Personality Disorder”
The public prosecutor cited addiction, and the police had had to intervene several times in the couple’s disputes. An expert would also have attested to the accused having a severe personality disorder – which is why admission to an institution for mentally abnormal lawbreakers is being applied for.
According to the coroner, the man stabbed him 15 times – the public prosecutor described the act literally as “a real execution, an execution”. The defendant in turn testified that he became scared and lost control when he saw blood; he could not remember the stab wounds themselves. However, his statements on Monday did not always match those of his first interrogation by the police on the day of the crime.
Defendant pleaded guilty
When questioned, the Afghan pleaded guilty. Married life was good, he said. On the evening before the crime, his wife was “constantly busy with the cell phone instead of making the children a meal”. He thought she was communicating with his rival again. This assumption led to him completely freaking out the next day. Incidentally, a check of the mobile phone revealed that the victim had had no contact with this man, at least by telephone.
Then he told how he had hit her on the head with the metal doorstop. “When I saw the blood, I got scared,” he said. “Before what?” Judge Michaela Lapanje wanted to know. “In front of the police,” the man replied. Then he “lost control” and grabbed the knife. After being stabbed 15 times, “I was very scared and shaking all over,” he described the situation. According to him, his wife was gasping on the floor when he left the apartment. “Where were you going?” asked the judge. “To the police, so that they might call the rescue service,” the Afghan replied and asserted: “I very much regret it. I didn’t mean to kill her.”
Judgment on Monday
The defender saw an action out of affect, since a lot of anger, frustration and disappointment had accumulated over the years and was released at that moment. In the afternoon, witnesses are questioned and experts are heard. A jury verdict is expected on Monday.
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