Image: VERENA LEISS (APA)
The jury room is filled to capacity as Samuel Z. takes his place in the dock. He is surrounded by law enforcement officers and cameramen. The 19-year-old holds an A4 note in his hands. He refuses to answer questions. Instead, he is making a statement, a brief explanation of what happened on the night of February 12th.
“I dare to try to apologize honestly, even if there is no excuse for it,” he reads. He takes “full responsibility” and not a day goes by that he doesn’t have to think about the “fatal evening”. He attributes his – as he says, “instantaneous action” – to “a hodgepodge of circumstances” such as the consumption of “substances”, alcohol and medication as well as a gambling addiction. “I ask for a lenient sentence and will not answer any further questions,” the defendant said in closing. When asked by the judge whether these were his own, Samuel Z answered in the affirmative.
Opinion: Sane and dangerous
As reported, he is said to have hit his friend of the same age on the way home from a casino in the Czech Republic and then killed him with two snow sticks. The next morning, a driver found the student’s body on a forest path in Bad Leonfelden. “Steffi’s agony lasted half an hour,” the judge read from the file.
Court psychiatrist Heide Kastner examined the unemployed young man. The result: The 19-year-old is sane and dangerous. Since he suffers from a narcissistic personality disorder, there is a risk of further crimes.
Not legally possible for life
If Samuel Z. is convicted, he faces ten to 20 years in prison. Lifetime doesn’t exist in his age group. In addition to a conviction, the public prosecutor also wants a briefing in a forensic therapeutic center. A verdict could fall as early as the evening.
At the beginning of the trial, Samuel Z.’s defense attorney files a motion to exclude the public. It’s about “the highly personal area of life and the psyche of the accused,” he said. The court does not grant the application. The audience can remain in the hall. What awaits them is “strong stuff,” warns the coroner. “There are so many injuries that I don’t know where to begin,” he says, looking at the video screen provided.
What happened on the night of the murder and the day after
After the defendant’s brief statement, it’s the public prosecutor’s turn. It was four in the morning when Samuel and Stefanie drove to a forest near the Sternstein ski area. After intimacy, both got out of the BMW. The then 18-year-old took a snow pole and started playing with it. A quarrel ensued. According to the indictment, the young man was upset because he had lost money at the casino. “Suddenly he got so angry that he hit his girlfriend in the neck and head with the pole,” the prosecutor reads from the file.
There must have been a real fight where the student wanted to flee by car, but got stuck in a snowdrift. The boy is said to have killed her with a second snow pole.
The accused was then on the way home at a gas station, where he justified his bloody clothes with a wildlife accident, the prosecutor described. At home the next day he said he was going to the police station. There he had an appointment after an attempted break-in into a farm shop, for which he is also accused. Instead, however, he drove into a forest and disposed of the dead’s belongings and bloodied clothing that had been left in his car.
Prosecutor: Defendant had intent to kill
The then 18-year-old told the police that he wanted to “sell the car for export” as quickly as possible and flee to Canada, having already looked for flights. The fact that he then turned himself in was thanks to the urging of his brother, to whom he had confessed the crime. It is clear to the prosecutor that the accused had an intention to kill, which he finally admitted himself.
He has “nothing to oppose” the prosecution, said the defense attorney, and his client will assume full responsibility.
The OÖN are on site during the process, the article is continuously updated.
Source: Nachrichten
