Image: PETER LINDNER (APA)
The Slovenian had given the 35-year-old, who had barely survived, a massive stab in the stomach after an argument. The prosecutor had originally charged him with attempted murder, but the verdict is not final.
The act happened in August 2022 in front of a restaurant on Lake Klopeinersee. The victim, a 35-year-old Slovenian, was in the bar with his family, including two babies. Because of a trifle, there was an argument between the mother of the 35-year-old and the accused. A scuffle developed in which the 35-year-old, holding his one-year-old son, grabbed a waiter, the accused’s son, by the neck and pushed him against a wall.
Barely survived
The man and his family then wanted to leave the restaurant. The waiter went after him, and another scuffle broke out. How exactly that happened was not absolutely clear even after the 15 witness interviews on Tuesday. The accused’s family changed the statements they had made to the police somewhat. The only thing that is certain is what finally happened in front of the restaurant: the 61-year-old rushed out of the kitchen with a large knife and rammed it into the 35-year-old’s stomach. He was seriously injured, an abdominal muscle was severed, the abdominal artery was hit as well as the liver. The expert explained that up to a liter of blood escaped in the abdomen: the man would not have survived without immediate first aid and emergency surgery.
“I just wanted to scare him”
“I wanted to save my son’s life,” the 61-year-old told the jury. The 35-year-old “bodybuilder” had his son in a stranglehold. In any case, he didn’t want to kill the 35-year-old, “I just feel guilty that I went beyond self-defense a bit”. The stabbing happened automatically: “I just wanted to scare him and didn’t stab him with full force,” he said. “How can you frighten someone if you stab him in the stomach?” the chairman of the jury, Judge Dietmar Wassertheurer, wanted to know, to which the accused had no real answer.
Prosecutor Julius Heidinger referred to the 20-centimetre-long puncture channel in the victim’s stomach: “They say that you didn’t stab them with full force. That doesn’t add up.” The expert also doubted that: “To cut through the skin and muscles, you need a powerful stab. If you have overcome this resistance, then you are in the abdomen, you can no longer control or stop it.”
Defense Attorney: It was self-defense
In his concluding words, defender Hans Gradischnig quoted an OGH judgment in which a stabbing was rated as self-defense when faced with a “ruthless, physically superior” attacker – and the muscular 35-year-old was one of them. In the situation in front of the bar, the 61-year-old wanted to save his son: “The fact that something exploded for the father, that he says he has to help him: that’s true.” From his point of view, there was a self-defense situation that prevailed in the eyes of the 61-year-old, but he did not want to kill the man.
It is undisputed that there was a scuffle, said Heidinger in his plea. He also pointed out the well-trained stature of the 35-year-old: “If the impression of a threatening situation arose during the scuffle, that’s understandable.” The waiter also suffered abrasions and bruises. But even this attack would not have been a reason for emergency aid, according to the prosecutor, rather the attack was over when the 61-year-old stabbed. He saw the intent to kill as absolutely given and demanded a guilty verdict of attempted murder.
The jury, after deliberating for two and a half hours, came to a different but unanimous verdict. According to her verdict, the 61-year-old had acted “in a generally understandable violent emotional state”, the penalty for this is up to ten years. Defense attorney Gradischnig requested three days for his client to think about it.
Source: Nachrichten
