The verdict of the jury was unanimous and was reached after a surprisingly short deliberation. The prosecutor did not provide any explanation for the time being acquittal is therefore not legally binding. “I didn’t kill Elisabeth. I have a 100 percent clear conscience,” the now 65-year-old said in his closing remarks.
“Closed chain of evidence”
“It is clear that the accused committed this murder,” prosecutor Julia Kalmar stated in her closing speech on the last day of the trial. She located a “closed chain of evidence” and stated: “If you look at everything together, every single piece of evidence, it’s a mosaic. And that gives a clear picture.” That Elisabeth G. could have taken her own life or disappeared to build a new life elsewhere is “out of the question,” said the prosecutor: “She would never have left her daughter alone.” She admitted that the principle of doubt applies in criminal proceedings: “But for me there were no doubts. Otherwise there would have been no charges and I would have had to drop the case.”
“A Basket of Assumptions”
Defense attorney Thomas Reissmann, on the other hand, emphasized that there was “no real evidence” of murder. “A basket of assumptions, incomplete investigations and a lot of dirty laundry” was brought up against his client. After the woman’s disappearance, the investigation was carried out “with blinders from the start” and exclusively against the accused. Regarding the whereabouts of the woman, Reissmann said he believed she could have had an accident: “Or she got into the car with a stranger who didn’t want anything good.”
On the fourth day of the hearing, former colleagues of the architect, long-term friends and acquaintances as well as a former lover and the accused’s best friend had been questioned as witnesses. A psychologist with whom the 65-year-old and his missing wife were in contact was also interviewed. Nothing relevant to the proceedings came to light. The fact that the air conditioning in hearing room 203 was not working – there had been a short circuit the previous week, the repair of the damage was delayed because circuit boards had to be replaced – made the room climate almost unbearable given the high outside temperatures and a room filled to the last seat result.
Disappeared without a trace after a visit
According to the indictment, the man is said to have killed Elisabeth G. “in a previously unknown way” and placed her at an unknown location. He denies that and claims to have had nothing to do with the disappearance of the then 31-year-old. After moving out of the family home the previous weekend, on the afternoon of December 6, 2005, she removed the last of her belongings, taking her then two-and-a-half-year-old daughter with her. She then wanted to stay with her father, which the allegedly depressed mother is said to have further upset. Since that day there has been no trace of Elisabeth G.. Prosecutors believe they can prove that she was intentionally killed by the accused that evening.
The husband approached the psychologist who had been summoned as a witness after his wife had moved out of the marital home and pursued the divorce. “His concern was that he wanted to have the girl with him because he could organize his time freely,” the witness said. The working woman was less flexible in this regard. “But the mother should also have the child,” emphasized the psychologist. She was worried that she would be “put on the psychiatric track” and therefore kept away from her daughter. However, the man countered this fear and confirmed “that she should of course also see the daughter”.
“I’ve missed him for a year”
A woman who had originally been interested in a relationship with the accused then spoke in the highest tones. “It was an attempt,” she said, “but I’m unable to relate.” Since then, the accused has been “my best friend”. You could always count on him. “I’ve missed him for a year,” she said. The 65-year-old was arrested again in 2021 on suspicion of murder.
Another witness on the accused was less responsive. She told the court that she had been intimate with him three times at the time: “And then it turned out that it was a bet, I was humanly disappointed in him.” After some time, their contact details, including their cell phone number, were found at motorway service stations. She assumed that the 65-year-old had scribbled them on the walls. Unknown men interested in sex dates also contacted her.
The accused spoke up after this statement and admitted that he was responsible: “I am ashamed of this. I would like to use the official framework for this today and apologize for it. The 51-year-old woman accepted the apology: “Thank you.”
Video: On Monday, the daughter of the missing person testified in the Vienna Regional Court
Source: Nachrichten
