Trial in Ried/I.

Assisted living for stabber angers victim

Several prison guards accompanied and guarded the stabber. In future, he will live in an assisted living facility. Nurses and doctors will look after him there.(Bild: Scharinger Daniel)

A mentally ill North Macedonian (45) stabbed his ex-brother-in-law (43) to death in Uttendorf in October. At the trial in Ried/I. he was admitted to a supervised facility, given pills and monitored. His traumatized victim, on the other hand, is looking through his fingers and is quite angry.

At the trial, he appeared as cheerful as a lamb, as if he couldn't drink a drop of water: But the 45-year-old Fleischhauer stabbed his 43-year-old ex-brother-in-law with a folding knife in Uttendorf in October, taking him completely by surprise. He is severely mentally ill and therefore not culpable. At the time of the crime, he had a so-called schizoaffective disorder.

Application for placement
On Thursday, the person concerned - the current jargon for such offenders - stood trial in Ried im Innkreis for intentional grievous bodily harm. The public prosecutor's office had filed an application for criminal placement in a forensic-therapeutic center.

"For me, it was all like a dream"
The accused himself was remorseful: "I'm sorry for what I did. It was all like a dream." According to the expert opinion of psychiatrist Adelheid Kastner, at the time of the crime he was under the influence of his illness, which had been recurring for around three years, and was unable to think realistically.

Good appearance helped
His good appearance at the trial and Kastner's expert opinion spared the stabber a life behind bars, i.e. a prison sentence. He fared much better and was "only" sentenced to placement in an assisted living facility, with the conditions of regular medication and medical supervision. This milder measure is indefinite and is reviewed by the court once a year. The judgment is final.

Victim is not "happy" at all
Understandably, the victim is not very happy. The 43-year-old was hospitalized for weeks, lost his job, has debts due to lack of earnings - and has little prospect of ever receiving compensation for pain and suffering, explains his lawyer Daniel Strauss.