23-year-old set fire in Vienna, woman died: 13 years in prison

A 23-year-old man was sentenced to 13 years in prison at the Vienna Regional Court on Thursday for arson resulting in death. He was also admitted to a forensic therapeutic center. On the night of November 27, 2023, the man set fire to the social room of an assisted living facility for the mentally ill in Liesing. A 68-year-old resident suffered fatal smoke inhalation. Other residents remained uninjured.

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The original charge of murder was unanimously rejected by the jury. In the Gray House, the defendant denied the intention to kill: “I didn’t believe that anything bad could happen. I didn’t expect it.” The 23-year-old claimed “voices I couldn’t defend myself against” ordered him to set a jacket on fire. However, the psychiatric expert Peter Hofmann consulted considered this responsibility to be implausible as he attributed the hearing of voices to excessive alcohol abuse. According to his own statements, the 23-year-old had consumed a bottle of whiskey every day before his arrest. Hofmann certified that the defendant had reduced intelligence and a lack of impulse control, but classified him as sane and therefore guilty. In the event of a conviction, Hofmann spoke out in favor of admission to a forensic therapeutic center within the meaning of Section 21 Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code. According to the expert, the 23-year-old poses a danger to the general public, which requires therapeutic treatment during his imprisonment, which is guaranteed in the so-called enforcement of measures.

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The 23-year-old has been under medical treatment for epilepsy and autism practically since birth. At 15, his intellectual level was estimated to be that of a four- to five-year-old. He used to stay in the residential facility himself, where he then set fire. He used the access code he knew to gain entry into the home, then used a lighter to light a jacket in the common room, which caused a fire with heavy smoke. Because he left the door to the social room open, the smoke gas could escape into the hallway and the adjacent rooms.

Voices in your head

“The voices lured me into the living room and told me to set the jacket on fire,” said the 23-year-old. He was “completely in the blackout.” He didn’t watch as it started to burn. Instead he “drove to Lugner City”. When asked by the presiding judge why he had entered the residential facility after midnight, the defendant explained that he had wanted to “talk to someone”: “But the club I wanted to go to was closed.”

The following morning, the 23-year-old initially confessed to his mother that he had caused the fire. He subsequently turned himself in to the police. His legal assistant emphasized: “There is no motive. He never wanted anyone to die in the shared apartment.” The man “probably didn’t get enough care that he needed.”

The judgment is not final. While the 23-year-old accepted the punishment, the public prosecutor initially made no statement.