Disturbing statements
Trial against horror mother and friend begins
On Monday morning, the trial against the mother who repeatedly locked her twelve-year-old son in a dog crate began at the regional court in Krems (Lower Austria). Before doing so, she doused the boy with ice-cold water. The pupil almost died from the torture. Alongside the Lower Austrian woman, her former best friend is also sitting in front of the jury. She is said to have given the instructions for the horrific acts. The "Krone" reports live from the trial.
The two defendants look marked as they enter the large jury courtroom in Krems. They both have longer hair, the first defendant brown, her former girlfriend dark blonde - both were obviously crying before the trial began.
Much has already been reported about the horror mothers. But the sight of them is surprising: the women look completely unremarkable, if not friendly at first glance. The impression is deceptive! It is unimaginable what they allegedly did to Gerhard (name changed) - the son of the first defendant.
Prosecutor: "Inconceivable martyrdom"
"It's one of those few cases that has kept me busy at home," the prosecutor opens her plea. It was an unbelievable ordeal that Gerhard had to go through. In 2022, she tortured the twelve-year-old boy almost to death.
The horrific mother locked her son, whose upbringing she was "unable to cope with from the start" according to defense lawyer Astrid Wagner, in a dog crate for hours on end over a period of months. Beforehand, she doused the child with ice-cold water and opened the window: "This wet, screaming and crying child sits in the dog crate and the mother stands next to it and watches," the prosecutor's voice breaks. What's more, the accused even enjoyed the child's immense suffering, as numerous chat messages are said to prove.
Body temperature dropped to 26.8 degrees
The boy had to stay in the dog crate for several hours. The mother is also said to have starved the child. According to the prosecutor, to break it down: "Within a few months, the boy lost 20 kilograms." He was 1.65 m tall and weighed only 40 kilograms. On November 22, Gerhard's body temperature was only 26.8 degrees and he fell into a coma as a result. "If he hadn't been taken to hospital at the last minute, the boy would have died."
The charge is therefore attempted murder. The 33-year-old's best friend is also on trial. The 40-year-old mother of four is said to have given the instructions for the torture. "It was a very close friendship," says the first defendant about her relationship with the second defendant. The two families lived together during Covid and had even planned to move into a house together.
"I wanted him to follow me"
The defendant speaks quietly and in a Lower Austrian dialect: "It was always difficult between Gerhard and me. I didn't know why. I thought he hated me. His behavior wasn't normal. He was in therapy from an early age."
In July 2022, the second defendant told her that Gerhard was wetting the bed. She had observed this via video surveillance of his room (although there was apparently no camera installed there). As a result, Gerhard had to sleep in dog beds. The court employee brings two small dog beds into the courtroom. "As a mother, how did you come up with the idea that your twelve-year-old son had to sleep in a dog bed because he wet his bed?" asks Ms. Rat.
Only got a blanket if he was "good"
"Because I wanted him to follow me. I thought he liked it on purpose." - "Was he ever allowed to sleep in bed again from July?" - "No" - "Did he get a pillow?" - "No" - "A blanket?" - "Only if he was good." The woman only went out with the permission of the second defendant. The boy was then no longer outside at all: "It stank in the apartment. That's why I had to open the windows," she says. The answer to several "why" questions is: "Because she said so to me ..." - "She" refers to the second defendant.
She is also said to have come up with the idea of the cold water. For example, when Gerhard didn't want to get up. "Where did you pour the water?" - "Over his head." When images are shown on the video wall, it is not only the jurors who are taken aback. The consternation in the courtroom is enormous. The second defendant, however, accepts the footage without emotion - the disturbing images are nothing new to her. After all, the first defendant had only taken the photos and videos to send to her former best friend.
Police brought child who had run away back to his tormentor
Because the child had once escaped from the balcony and the police brought him back (!), the second defendant allegedly had the idea of the dog box: "As punishment, so that he wouldn't do it." According to the accused mother, he had to stay in the small container for hours on end. Judge: "What did you do when he was locked up?" - "I was doing housework." The box now stands in the courtroom with the door open opposite the jury.
She received two visits from the youth welfare office. On October 28 and November 19, 2022 - four days before Gerhard fell into a coma. They complained that he didn't have a bed (there was only a mattress in the room), that the child was cold and that the apartment reeked of urine. However, the young victim was not brought to safety.
Verdicts will be handed down on Thursday
"I was delusional", says the first defendant. The second defendant, on the other hand, claims to have noticed very little: "I wasn't aware of the extent that it had taken on. I let the mother drag me into it," she claims. 503 pages of sadistic chats paint a completely different picture. In them, she was asked by her mother about every little step and then waited for instructions from the second defendant.
The two defense lawyers also blame the other woman. The unassuming mother is facing life imprisonment. Her former girlfriend, represented by Sascha Flatz, faces up to 15 years in prison. Court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann attests to the women's sanity, but in addition to a criminal conviction for dangerousness, he also requests placement in a forensic therapy center. The sentences are due to be handed down on Thursday.
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