No memory

Newborn baby killed: Parents and aunt on trial

The defendant confessed.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

He was 49 centimetres tall and weighed 2600 grams - but the baby had no chance of a happy life. His mother killed him after birth. The autopsy revealed blunt force trauma to the head, 15 stab wounds to the neck and strangulation by a gift ribbon that was still hanging around the newborn boy's neck. The mother, father and aunt are on trial today, Wednesday, in Leoben (Styria). The lenient sentences were handed down in the afternoon.

The accused herself has no memory of her crime. Calmly, while tears stream down her face, she describes what she remembers of the day of the crime at the end of February 2023. "I woke up because the mattress was full of blood. I wanted to get up, but I fell over. By then the baby had already been born. "That's all I really remember." Not even about the killing.

The young couple have been together since 2016 and are still together today. They kept their relationship a secret out of fear of their parents. "In mid-2022, the 29-year-old became pregnant," explains public prosecutor Sabrina Berger, but the young woman claims not to have realized that she was expecting a child. On the evening of the crime, she only felt a pulling sensation in her stomach. "It was actually labor pains."

Fractured skull and stab wounds
Shortly afterwards, the accused gave birth to the healthy boy. "She cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors and wrapped the baby in a blue bathrobe." Only the defendant knows what happened in the next three to four hours, but she doesn't remember. Presumably to protect herself. According to the autopsy report, the newborn had a skull fracture caused by massive blunt force. It had been strangled with the gift ribbon. The coroner also counted 15 stab wounds to the neck. "Done with the same craft scissors that had previously cut the umbilical cord," said the public prosecutor.

The defendant confessed.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

Public prosecutor Sabrina Berger

(Bild: Stockner)

The defendant confessed from the outset to killing her son in the heinous manner described, as the prosecutor put it. Because she was in an exceptional psychological state due to the unexpected birth, she was only charged with infanticide and not murder. Expert witness Manfred Walzl attested that she had an acute stress disorder caused by the birth. The high blood loss (one and a half liters according to the emergency doctor) could also lead to mental disorders.

"I swear I didn't notice anything"
The father has to answer for failing to render assistance. Although the mother sent him several messages and photos, he did not come to her aid. "I couldn't imagine that she was really pregnant. I swear to all the saints, I didn't notice anything," he affirms in tears before Judge Roman Weiß. "I thought it was normal bleeding," he justifies himself.

"This is madness. Don't be angry with me, but you can't be that stupid!" The presiding judge couldn't believe that the defendant didn't think it was worth the effort to check on his girlfriend - despite the photos full of blood. "The biggest mistake of my life," he said quietly. "You are aware that your son would still be alive if you had reacted sooner," the prosecutor accuses him. "He would be one and a half years old now."

Sister-in-law found woman in pool of blood
It wasn't until the next day, hours later at soccer training, that he had a bad feeling and raised the alarm. The sister-in-law rushed into the apartment and found the woman unconscious on the floor in the bathroom, covered in blood. She then discovered the dead baby in the bedroom. 

Judge Roman Weiß presided over the trial and conducted it with aplomb.

(Bild: Stockner)

Infant and murder weapon put in bin bag
While she waited to be rescued, she put the dead child and the scissors in bin bags and started cleaning the apartment. "Why? Why are you hiding the infant and the scissors in green garbage bags and mopping the apartment? That looks like a classic cover-up to me!" rumbled the judge. "I was in shock, I was pregnant myself", the woman cries bitter tears. "I don't know. I didn't want to cover anything up."

The (not legally binding) sentences: 20 months conditional imprisonment for the 29-year-old for killing a child at birth. The aunt of the newborn received three months probation for suppressing evidence and disturbing the peace of the dead, and the footballer was fined 1,500 euros for failing to provide assistance.