Murder of ex-wife would have cost “Sunnyboy” 9,133 euros

The man was charged with attempted murder as the intended perpetrator. The IT expert pleaded not guilty and spoke of “stupid fantasies” and “stupid games”. It was clear to his client that the website was a “fake,” said defense attorney Manfred Arbacher-Stöger.

The defendant from the Baden district, whose company works for the police in Germany, is said to have placed an advertisement on a Darknet site under the pseudonym “Sunnyboy” at the end of February looking for a contract killer for his former partner. The woman was supposed to be hit by a car in such a way that it looked like an accident. The advertisement also included personal data and a description of the woman, her habits, her partner and her home address and photos were sent.

Murder for 9,133 euros

The Lower Austrian is said to have negotiated the fee and provided Bitcoins worth 9,000 US dollars (around 8,220 euros) to a trustee’s wallet. He is said to have specified specific time periods for the crime to be carried out. According to the public prosecutor, corresponding chats, including the final order, were secured. When an interested party asked for more money, another user was found who agreed to carry out the order for $10,000 (around €9,133) within five days.

The tip off to the Austrian authorities came from Interpol Manchester at the beginning of March. The woman was confronted with the murder plan and named her former partner as a possible client and was placed under police protection. As a result, she was “scared to death” and “suffers from the psychological consequences to this day,” said the representative of the private party. The defense did not accept the claim for damages of at least around 29,000 euros.

Separation in 2018

According to the prosecution representative, a custody and contact dispute over their son has been raging in court between the 53-year-old and his ex-partner since their separation in 2018. According to the public prosecutor, the Lower Austrian wanted to end this argument by having his former partner killed.

His client was on the dark web “to vent so that he could be a better support for his son,” said Arbacher-Stöger in the opening speech. The defendant “saw it as a game.” The 53-year-old “wrote nothing but nonsense” and “wanted to make everything as true to life as possible,” explained the lawyer who defended the defendant together with Rudolf Mayer. The accused “never wanted there to be any deaths or injuries.”

The man was arrested at the end of April and is in custody. If convicted at trial, the penalty is a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years or life.

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