The act on the night of June 11, 2013 made headlines across Austria. Several perpetrators attacked a married couple in Rieder at gun point and stole valuables with a total value of 775,000 euros. Around midnight, robbers dragged the then 73-year-old and his 64-year-old wife out of bed with a pistol and a knife. They then forced the couple to open safes, where the perpetrators found gold bars, jewelry and cash, among other things.
Three men have been sentenced to several years in prison in the past, and on Friday a 38-year-old Irishman with Kosovar roots will have to answer to a panel of judges in Ried. It is primarily burdened by a detailed evaluation of radio data. His mobile phone is said to have been logged in at the time of the crime in the immediate vicinity of the victims’ villa. Telephones with four consecutive numbers from mobile phone prepaid cards were used in the robbery. “I don’t know anything about this attack, so far I’ve only been passing through Austria,” said the accused at the beginning of the trial. His attorney, Michael Lanzinger, said the evidence presented was not of much value.
The accused, who has been in custody for around a year and a half (first in Ireland, since the summer of 2022 in Austria), rejected the incriminating statements made by a man to the police. These are all lies and revenge actions, since there was a dispute, including about a car. “But that would be an exaggerated act of revenge if you were to associate it with such an attack,” said the presiding judge of the jury, Leonie Paischer. According to defense attorney Lanzinger, the witness for the prosecution, who did not appear at the trial and is now apparently staying in Pforzheim, Germany, retracted his testimony to a notary in Kosovo. After consultation with his client, Lanzinger gave the go-ahead, as did public prosecutor Zimmer, for the witness statements to be read out.
The accused is incriminated by the evaluation of mobile phone data. He had nothing to do with the crime, and he was never logged in with a cell phone near the crime scene. He only drove through Austria, he never stopped here.
The defendant, who owns two pizzerias in Ireland and reported a monthly income of 10,000 to 15,000 euros, commented on the fact that he was sentenced in Belgium to four years unconditional imprisonment for participating in a home invasion: “I was wrongly convicted, I have nothing to do with it.
The two men sentenced to several years in prison in 2020, who are serving their prison sentences in the Ried prison, were questioned as witnesses in the late morning. The questioning by the presiding judge Leonie Paischer did not last long. The duo said they didn’t know the accused.
An official from the State Criminal Police Office who specializes in analyzing data said on the witness stand that the accused had been in contact with the perpetrators who had already been convicted via his mobile phone. The official had explained and explained the very complex investigations into the call data for the third time at a main hearing. When asked by the judge and lay judges how he explained it, the 38-year-old repeatedly replied: “I can’t help you there.” He had nothing to do with the fact, he could not explain himself for the evaluation of the radio cells.
“The chief inspector presented the mobile phone evaluation very comprehensibly. The statements of the accused are more than incredible. He says that he has only driven through Austria so far, at the same time photos from a restaurant in Austria appear,” said prosecutor Franz-Joseph Zimmer in his Closing argument. His phone number was logged in at the crime scene at the time of the crime.
Under the motto “in case of doubt for the accused” the defense attorney put on his plea. The allegations are pure speculation. “There is no evidence. My client is accused of contradicting statements by a man who turns like a flag in the wind and comparing data from three contacts,” said Lanzinger. That’s not enough, “so I’m asking for an acquittal.”
Guilty verdict: No doubts about the jury panel
Shortly before 7 p.m., Judge Paischer announced the verdict of the jury panel. The accused is guilty of the crime of aggravated robbery and the offense of deprivation of liberty. He was sentenced to an unconditional additional prison term of five years. “The court is convinced that you were actually there,” said Paischer. For the court there is no doubt that the Irish number can be clearly assigned to him through the evaluation of the call data. The incriminating and credible statements made by the witness were also significant. The fact that the accused already had two previous criminal convictions for property crimes made matters worse. “It’s one of the most serious crimes you can commit,” said Paischer.
The judgment is not final.
Source: Nachrichten
