According to the prosecution, the man grabbed the gun from the bar after an argument and stabbed the men. One of the injured men was in critical condition. The trial was adjourned in the afternoon.
Admission to forensic-therapeutic center requested
The 40-year-old pleaded not guilty to attempted murder, but admitted to the bodily harm. Due to his alcohol consumption and drug use, he could only remember the evening in patches. At the time of the crime, he is said to have had around two per mille alcohol in his blood. “I don’t have a specific memory,” he said. Due to a combined personality disorder, which is associated with the risk that he will also commit serious crimes in the future, the public prosecutor’s office has, after a report by the Expert Peter Hofmann In addition, admission to a forensic therapeutic center was requested in accordance with Section 21/2 of the Criminal Code.
Defendant drinks “unfortunately a lot”
The Viennese man is actually a trained waiter and was supposed to complete a retraining course in September because he has repeatedly come into conflict with the law in the past due to his alcohol and drug addiction. “Working in the hospitality industry was no longer possible due to my alcohol addiction,” he told the jury (chaired by Eva Brandstetter). He does not drink every day, not even at home, but when he goes out he “unfortunately drinks a lot.”
He often visited Beisl in Margareten
On the afternoon before the crime, he visited the pub in Margareten as he often did. The landlady was friends with him, he was supposed to have fetched a car for her that day, but he had forgotten his driver’s license. So he sat at the bar all evening and drank – including seven beers, Jägermeister, a Bacardi-Cola, and he also consumed cocaine and amphetamine. “An explosive mixture,” said his Defender Amir Ahmedwhich together with Colleague Michael Dohr represents the defendant.
Discussion about missing cell phones
Later in the evening, a friend arrived and at some point he noticed that his cell phone was missing. A group at the next table was asked about the whereabouts of the phone, the lights were turned on and the bar was searched. This probably led to a discussion between the two Viennese and the group of Serbs in the bar.
Defendant could only vaguely remember
How and why the defendant got the knife from the bar could not be determined 100 percent during the trial. The defendant could only remember vaguely and said that all he remembered was the discussion and the knife. He thought that a group of men had attacked him. Then he had a blackout. He had come to on the street when he realized that he was covered in blood. He also sustained injuries, a broken jaw and a fractured eye socket. It was unclear who had inflicted these injuries.
Accused stabbed someone in the neck
His friend claimed that one of the Serbs approached the 40-year-old in a threatening manner, the two then struggled and the 40-year-old only defended himself. The other guests all agreed that the accused came to the table and stabbed one of them in the neck from behind. Two Serbs came to the attacker’s aid and were also injured. They joined the proceedings as private parties.
Men stabbed eleven times
According to the prosecutor, he stabbed the men eleven times. One suffered life-threatening injuries and would not have survived without medical help, the other two were seriously and slightly injured. The witnesses spoke of a targeted attack in the first stab, but then the 40-year-old is said to have swung the knife back and forth.
“He is stunned himself…”
“He is very sorry. He himself is stunned by what happened that evening,” said his lawyer, pleading for two counts of intentional grievous bodily harm and one count of grievous bodily harm. His client understood that he needed to be detoxified from alcohol and drugs, and he also wanted to undergo therapy for his personality disorder. In everyday life he behaved normally, and his friend described him as a good person. “That was an exceptional situation that was not his type,” said the friend, with whom the defendant had also been staying, in the witness box. Only days before, he had saved the landlady from an attack in her bar. He had always committed his crimes under the influence of drugs.
This is what the 40-year-old is now facing
In order to determine whether the 40-year-old committed the attack while under the influence of intoxication and whether he was not insane at the time of the crime, the lawyers requested that a toxicology expert be summoned. The request was granted and the hearing was adjourned until October 22nd. A verdict was originally due to be handed down today, Wednesday. If found guilty, he faces a prison sentence of between ten and 20 years or life imprisonment. The defendant is presumed innocent. (APA/red, August 28, 2024)
A notice: This post was updated on 28.08.2024 at 17:43
