Widow beaten to death

Dead 23 years after murder in retirement home room

The "Krone" had reported on the murder several times at the time.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

The brutal crime against a 55-year-old widow made waves in 2001. The perpetrator, a 65-year-old from Mühlviertel at the time, has now died at the age of 88 in a room in a retirement home, more than a decade after being released from prison. He had been sentenced to 16 years in prison and released after eleven years.

"And there are always traces of this life, thoughts, images and moments. They will remind us of you, make us happy and sad and never let us forget you".

This is the heartfelt and yet ambiguous way in which relatives bid farewell to an 88-year-old man from Mühlviertel. The elderly senior citizen, who died in a retirement home in the Urfahr-Umgebung district, made headlines 23 years ago - on August 12, 2001 to be precise.

The perpetrator is said to have beaten the victim to death with a log.(Bild: Wolfgang Spitzbart .)

Dead in the creek bed
The then 65-year-old killed the 55-year-old widow Anna Hofer that summer night in Helfenberg. The woman's body was found near an inn in the bed of a stream, where she had been laid out.

The cause of death: the pensioner had been hit several times on the head with a hard edged object. According to a later autopsy, she had choked on her own blood. The only suspect was the 65-year-old man from Mühlviertel, who had been close friends with the later murder victim since 1999.

The evidence was overwhelming and led to the conviction of the retired chemical worker.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Widow financially spoiled
He had helped the widow with remodeling work in the house and offered her financial support - a total of around 7,000 euros. The retired chemical worker also spoiled the woman, who was ten years his junior, with gifts of jewelry worth around 1400 euros.

He claimed the relationship was only platonic 
Although the admirer spent the night in her house three times a week, it was allegedly only a platonic relationship. "She was a good conversationalist. But we never got closer," claimed the accused at the murder trial in January 2002. Nevertheless, he never felt exploited.

In January 2002, the man from Mühlviertel was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment at the Linz Regional Court(Bild: © Harald Dostal / 2024)

No memory
Even though Anna sometimes flirted with other men, this was no reason for him to be jealous. On the night of the crime, both victim and perpetrator were heavily intoxicated when they left the pub together. The accused claimed during the trial that he could no longer remember anything: "I didn't touch Anna."

Two beers drunk after the crime
After the crime, he sat back down in the pub and drank two more beers. However, bloodstained and soaked clothes were found in his apartment, the dead woman's handbag was under the workbench in the cellar and the remains of the contents were burnt in the oven.

Eleven years behind bars
The jury had no doubt: the murderer was unanimously convicted and sentenced to 16 years in prison. On August 13, 2012, he was conditionally released after eleven years. One important condition: he had to remain abstinent. He must have succeeded in doing this well over the past twelve years, as he has remained well-behaved ever since, until now, the godfather of death rang his doorbell ...