Knife attack on wife: 15 years in prison for attempted murder in Wels

Before the jury in Wels he pleaded guilty to intentional bodily harm, but denied the intention to kill, which is mentioned in the indictment.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for attempted murder. The defense and public prosecutor’s office made no statement, meaning the verdict is not yet final.

• Also read: Stabbing his wife: murder trial in Wels

The reports confirm no impairments during the crime, neither from a psychiatric perspective nor due to alcohol, drugs or medication. He was fully oriented. It is noticeable that he can hardly verbalize his feelings.

Defendant speaks of “blackout”

The public prosecutor’s office relies on the police interview after the crime and the reports on the stab wound. The defendant, however, emphasized in the interview that he would not have accepted the woman’s death. He spoke in court of a “blackout” because the woman had expelled him from the apartment. The judge wanted to know whether this was a generally understandable reason for such a reaction. “Yes, I would say,” replied the defendant.

The crime was preceded by a dispute between the man and his father-in-law. His wife is said to have asked him to resolve the conflict, otherwise he could move out of their shared apartment. The 66-year-old then first threatened suicide and then injured his wife with a kitchen knife, according to the accusation. But she managed to call her brother, who then alerted emergency services.

• In Austria, women who experience violence can find help and information at the women’s helpline at: 0800-222-555, www.frauenhelpline.at; at the Association of Autonomous Austrian Women’s Shelters (AÖF) at www.aoef.at, as well as at the women’s shelter emergency number at 057722 and the Austrian Violence Protection Centers: 0800/700-217, https://www.violentschutzzentrum.at/, at the police emergency number: 133 , as well as in Upper Austria at the Autonomous Women’s Center – Women’s Emergency Call Upper Austria on 0732/602200).
• Are you in a desperate situation and need help? Talk to other people about it. The Ministry of Health’s suicide prevention portal offers help for people with suicidal thoughts and their relatives. Contact details for aid organizations in Austria can be found at www.suizid-praevention.gv.at.

This article was updated at 4:47 p.m.