Boy fell out of window

Mom was out for a walk when Dominik (5) fell to his death

The boy fell from the fourth floor.

(Bild: laumat)

The drama surrounding five-year-old Dominik from Linz caused great consternation at the beginning of March. The little boy fell to his death from the fourth floor of his parents' apartment. As the "Krone" already knew at the time, the mother was not in the apartment at the time of the accident. There was no official confirmation of this at the time. However, the public prosecutor's office has now filed a criminal complaint against the woman and her boyfriend.

The tragedy happened on the afternoon of March 3 in Linz's harbor district. Little Dominik was probably asleep in his nursery when the mother (36) and her boyfriend (39) decided to go for a walk. They obviously didn't want to wake the five-year-old. 

They locked the door to the child's room and were not in the apartment for about an hour. The boy must have woken up in the meantime. He probably wanted to see where his mother was. 

Polytrauma was fatal
He climbed up to a small window that was unsecured. He probably leaned too far out and lost his balance. The consequences were terrible. The child fell from the fourth floor, hit the asphalt and was probably killed instantly. "The cause of death was polytrauma," explains Ulrike Breiteneder, spokesperson for the Linz public prosecutor's office. The autopsy revealed, among other things, a traumatic brain injury as well as massive injuries to the cervical spine, chest and other fractures. 

We have filed a criminal complaint against the child's mother and her boyfriend on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

Ulrike Breiteneder, Sprecherin der Staatsanwaltschaft Linz

A passer-by found the child and raised the alarm. When the police arrived, the mother was not yet at the scene. When the woman learned of Dominik's death, she suffered a nervous breakdown. 

Three years in prison possible
The Linz public prosecutor's office has now filed a criminal complaint against the 36-year-old and her boyfriend (39), who is not the boy's father, on suspicion of grossly negligent homicide. This carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison. The trial will take place on July 23rd at the Linz Provincial Court.