Two women shot in Salzburg: Judgment planned today
At the Salzburg Regional Court, the verdict will be pronounced today against a 52-year-old who shot his 50-year-old ex-girlfriend and her 76-year-old mother on May 5, 2021 in Wals-Siezenheim (Flachgau). Indeed, the confessed former detective’s defense attorney saw an “emotional explosion” from the man because the 50-year-old’s mother and brother had opposed the liaison. The prosecutor spoke of a planned approach and a settlement.
The third day of negotiations in the trial for double murder against the man from Salzburg started on Thursday with the pleadings. Public prosecutor Elena Haslinger explained, “In my view, there can be no question of a state of emergency in affect”. She is convinced that the accused wanted revenge on May 5 for the insults suffered by the two women. “He probably went about it deliberately.”
The accused also settled accounts with the 50-year-old because she had reservations about the relationship. They were not prepared to take the accused’s side in front of their family. In emails, the woman also complained about the man’s intrusive behavior. “She didn’t feel like she was being followed and watched for no reason.”
Private party representative Stefan Rieder demanded a total of 110,000 euros in compensation for two relatives of the women killed. “We are dealing with an execution by an injured narcissist,” said Rieder, referring to the term “love bombing”. “That means showering someone with love, making the other emotionally dependent. That makes it difficult for the victims to break out of the relationship.”
A “Love Bomber” requires unconditional obedience, said Rieder. However, the accused did not achieve his goal of separating the 50-year-old from the family association. On May 5, he realized that “she doesn’t want to anymore”. On that day, the woman no longer responded to his calls and emails. Days before, she had written to him that the chance had been lost, “please don’t contact me anymore,” the victim’s attorney quoted from the file.
But a “no” was not an option for Salzburg, said Rieder. The man waited an hour late in the evening for the 50-year-old to return home. Two pistols and 106 rounds of ammunition are in his car. “He made a conscious decision to take a gun. He ambushed her with a loaded pistol and then blew the whole magazine.” Then he changed the magazine and shot the woman in the head again.
At 10:30 p.m., the then 51-year-old accused drove to the house where his girlfriend lived. The mother’s house and the brother’s were opposite. First, there should have been a verbal argument with the mother. The man from Salzburg described the process as saying that she insulted him massively and tried to box him out of his daughter’s house. He fired eleven shots from his 7.65mm Glock pistol at close range. Three shots hit the mother, seven hit the daughter. The bleeding women.
In his closing words, the accused again said he was very sorry that he had brought suffering and grief to the families of the two victims. His defense attorney Andreas Schweitzer, who is also a professional detective and president of the Austrian Detective Association, was convinced that the act happened out of an emotional explosion and was not planned well in advance. He found it “too far-fetched” that “Love Bombing” had caused the double murder. The mother and brother of the 50-year-old spoke out against the relationship between the two after a short time. “They have tried everything that is possible,” he referred to the numerous conflicts that are also on record.
His client loved the woman and assumed that she also loved him, said Schweitzer. “The two met in secret to continue their secret affection. It was not a planned execution, but a murder out of affect with a lot of emotion.” The defense attorney also called the “remorseful confession” as a mitigating reason.
If convicted, the penalty is 10 to 20 years imprisonment or life imprisonment. The public prosecutor’s office also requested that the accused, who had previously had no criminal record, be admitted to an institution for criminals who were of sound mind but had a higher degree of mental abnormality. The verdict is expected in the afternoon.