For attempted murder

Arson: Villach man faces 12 years in prison

The Romanian was accused of attempted murder. He now faces 12 years in prison.

(Bild: Wassermann Kerstin/Krone KREATIV)

A man (56) was sentenced to twelve years in prison for attempted murder at Klagenfurt provincial court on Monday. The man was accused of setting fire to an apartment building in Villach last summer in order to kill his ex-girlfriend and her new partner. The verdict is not yet final. 

At the start of the trial in March, the Romanian had only partially pleaded guilty before the jury presided over by Judge Bernd Lutschounig. He had caused the fire, but had not intended to kill anyone. He had merely wanted to scare the new boyfriend of his ex-partner. No one was injured in the fire because it was discovered in time.

Three crimes committed at once
After less than an hour of deliberation, the jury came to the unanimous decision, by eight votes to zero, that the crime was attempted murder. Judge Lutschounig justified the level of the sentence by stating that although it had only been an attempt, the concurrence of three crimes - two attempted murders and one arson - was an aggravating factor. The defendant asked for three days to reconsider and the public prosecutor's office filed an appeal against the sentence.

Threatening the new boyfriend with murder
On the evening of August 8, 2023, the 56-year-old had visited his ex-partner, who was now living with her new partner, in her apartment. There had been an argument, and the woman's new partner also testified that the Romanian had then threatened to kill her over the phone.

Wanted to scare his "ex"
According to public prosecutor Christian Pirker, the 56-year-old bought petrol at a petrol station the following night. He took a cab to the apartment building, where he spilled the petrol in front of his rival's apartment door. The fire then broke out - as the defendant stated, the fumes had been ignited "accidentally" by his cigarette. He had only wanted to scare his ex's new boyfriend with the petrol.

It was only thanks to a neighbor that nothing more happened during the fire: he had noticed the fire when he wanted to go to the toilet shortly before 4 o'clock. If it had been just a few minutes later, the whole building would have been on fire, an expert witness explained in court. 

Ex-girlfriend does not want to testify
The defence had criticized the fact that the man's former partner did not want to testify in court despite being summoned several times. The fact that she was afraid of the accused was a "protective claim" - contrary to her statements, she had indeed had good contact with the Romanian.