17 instead of 18 years in prison

Murder of mother: lenient sentence for repentant son

The convicted man, here at the jury trial at the beginning of May(Bild: Tschepp Markus, Krone KREATIV)

The final sentence for Markus S. (32) is 17 instead of 18 years in prison. At the appeal hearing on Wednesday at Salzburg Provincial Court, the man from Pinzgau apologized for his crime. 

Markus S. (32) shot his own mother with a "Baikal" shotgun in November 2023 - an act of bloodshed that shook the Pinzgau community of Lofer. At the beginning of May 2024, the trained but unemployed nurse explained the crime to the jury in the Salzburg provincial court: "So that she doesn't have to suffer any more because of me," he said, talking about his depression and his addiction to alcohol and medication.

It is an incredibly sad case that must of course be punished severely. But what is the just punishment here?

Verteidiger Kurt Jelinek

Remorseful words
After the confession, the eight lay judges voted unanimously for murder. His sentence: 18 years in prison. S. and his defense lawyer Kurt Jelinek appealed against this sentence. On Wednesday, the appeal hearing took place in the Salzburg Provincial Court under the chairmanship of a panel of judges from the Linz Higher Regional Court. The man from Pinzgau asked for a reduced sentence. "An 'I'm sorry' doesn't even come close, there are no words for it", the 33-year-old expressed his deep remorse for his crime.

Previously, defense lawyer Kurt Jelinek had underlined his client's confession - the crime had also been committed in a state of emergency, as S. had relapsed and also had 2.3 per mille.

All these factors, his previous integrity and the fact that the man from Pinzgau had turned himself in immediately after the crime led the judges to reduce the sentence: 17 instead of 18 years in prison.