Start of trial in Vienna

Machete murder: “Arms and legs almost chopped off”

The four Algerians are being heavily guarded in the Vienna provincial court.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

"All four defendants planned this horrible, brutal and terribly bloody murder and committed it together", the public prosecutor in the Vienna Regional Court accuses. At the end of April 2023, they allegedly executed a 32-year-old Algerian man together. A 22-year-old compatriot admits to having maltreated him with a machete.

Injury by injury, the public prosecutor in Vienna reads out to the jury what the numerous blows with the machete did to the 32-year-old victim. "You need a strong stomach for this," the prosecutor tries to prepare the lay judges for the extent of the brutality. Part of the machete blade even got stuck in the victim's shin bone - the second defendant struck the man with such force.

The second defendant struck the victim many, many times in a complete rage, in blind fury. Especially on the man's arms and legs, which he almost chopped off.

Die Staatsanwältin verbildlicht die Grausamkeit.

This is why the 22-year-old Algerian is on trial for murder - together with three compatriots. On April 20, 2023, four of them are said to have attacked the 32-year-old: "Armed to the teeth, they went to a park between the Jägerstraße U6 station and Leipziger Platz" - where the defendants are said to have literally executed him. A trail of blood would have led through the entire park.

The second defendant pleaded guilty to the murder of the 32-year-old.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl, Krone KREATIV)

The 25-year-old worked for the victim as a street dealer.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl, Krone KREATIV)

The third defendant (29) claims to have been good friends with the murder victim.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl, Krone KREATIV)

The 21-year-old fourth defendant claims to have had nothing to do with the murder.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl, Krone KREATIV)

The four Algerians are heavily guarded in the Vienna provincial court.

(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

Street vendors allegedly "chopped up" boss
Why? The Algerians, just like the victim, belonged to a North African drug gang - the man killed was the highest ranking. "I came to Austria to sell drugs with the victim," admits the second defendant. The two even lived together at times.

But things didn't always go smoothly: the 32-year-old threw the ten-year-old out of his apartment because of disputes about selling drugs and conflicts in their shared home. "He exploded because of all the insults and humiliation from the victim over the last few months," says his defense lawyer, explaining the unbelievable bloody deed. 

Three defendants deny any guilt
The other three Algerians want nothing to do with it. Lawyer Anita Schattner, who is defending the defendant who was fished out of the Danube immediately after the murder: "My client had no problem with the victim. He was nearby, saw the incident and ran away when he saw blue lights. He was afraid of detention pending deportation." And a 29-year-old and a 21-year-old also claim to have been at the scene of the crime by chance. 

Prosecutor: "Terrible, brutal and terribly bloody murder"
However, they are incriminated by the second defendant, who admits to having maltreated the victim with a 70-centimetre-long machete. The public prosecutor is therefore also convinced: "All four defendants planned this terrible, brutal and terribly bloody murder and committed it together."

The 32-year-old Algerian was killed by such a machete.

(Bild: LPD)

The 22-year-old machete attacker, who has basically confessed, denies this. He was the first to take his seat in the middle of the large jury courtroom in Vienna and described his view of the case: the victim had attacked his co-defendant friends together with his gang, he had only rushed to help. And would have grabbed the cutlass to do so - without any intention of murder. And even when he attacked the victim, who was already lying on the ground, completely uninhibited: "During my attack, I wasn't aware that I was hitting him in this way."

"The victim was a dangerous criminal"
Like two other young men, he fled to France after the attack, where they were arrested one after the other. "Now they are taking all the blame for the crime. Is there a reason for this?" the public prosecutor is skeptical - "I didn't see anything on the part of the other defendants." The 22-year-old is adamant that he is not deliberately protecting his compatriots.

He also ruefully translates: "If it were possible for me, I would want to bring him back to life from the grave." A few sentences before that, however, he said: "The victim was a dangerous criminal. He attacked people and filmed himself."

The trial is scheduled to last four days - nine witnesses have been summoned. And the forensic medical report on the 32-year-old's fatal and above all countless injuries is also likely to take some time. A verdict is not expected until March 20.