70-year-old man sentenced

Murder trial: Woman executed as in violent movie

The verdict against the murder suspect was reached in record time - after a three-hour trial!

(Bild: Wassermann Kerstin/Kerstin Wassermann, Krone KREATIV)

A penchant for perverse so-called snuff videos, in which the death of people is re-enacted, has led to a murder in Carinthia: A Dutch-born man had to answer to a jury after his partner was found dead with 17 stab wounds following a sex game. The guilty verdict was reached in record time.

A 70-year-old man and his partner, seven years his junior, had been a couple for decades - with ups and downs, divorce and reconciliation. Nobody suspected what was behind the turbulent relationship and that the man was said to have a very dark side. "We found thousands of films with brutal, sexual content on his cell phone," reports public prosecutor Daniela Zupanc. "I'm used to a lot in my job, but this was almost unbearable."

His perverse tendencies ultimately even cost his wife her life last July in Eberndorf.

Victim bled to death
"The victim was stabbed a total of 17 times with a Stanley knife," Zupanc explains. "Several of the cuts were fatal; the woman bled to death." In addition, there were gruesome mutilations, strangulation and degrading rituals on the long-time partner.

"I don't care about anything"
"Yes, guilty", admits the accused. However, he doesn't want to say much more, becomes violent and loud, so that the court guards are constantly on the alert: "I don't care about anything," he shouts. Judge Christian Liebhauser-Karl follows up anyway: "I'm also asking on behalf of your joint children: why? Can you explain this to your daughters?" He can't. 

Preference for violent videos
The court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann tries: the man had been classified as dangerous due to his sexual preferences. The Dutch-born man, who wanted to spend the rest of his life in Carinthia, is said to have a penchant for brutal violent videos - known as snuff films. In these deviant films, women are tortured and executed. "The murder was scripted."

The jurors - mostly women - have to look at the crime scene photos. They are so repulsive that it is questionable why schoolchildren were dragged to this trial of all trials as courtroom kibitzers. "These are images that stay in your head," warns the judge.

Life imprisonment and committal
The verdict is handed down quickly: a guilty verdict, life imprisonment plus committal to a forensic therapy center, not legally binding.