Murder trial in Tyrol

Leon case (6): High tension on the first day of the trial

The defendant was surrounded by journalists at the beginning of the trial.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof/Krone KREATIV)

Was his own father the murderer of little Leon (6) from the Tyrolean lowlands? The trial started with a champagne bottle as the murder weapon, pedometers and a family life between hope and sacrifice. The day was also peppered with emotions and tears. 

A dozen TV crews surrounded the defendant (40) as he took his seat in front of the jury after 509 days in pre-trial detention, looking focused and initially composed.

"I believe that you are a good person"
"I believe that you are a good person," said the prosecutor to the former German mountain hunter and personal trainer - but at some point he could no longer cope with the difficult life with the disabled and often restless child (syngap syndrome).

The accused father entering the courtroom.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof/Krone KREATIV)

Leon was very attracted to water
According to the prosecution, he pretended to have been knocked unconscious by a robber with a bottle in August 2022. The father also insisted at the Innsbruck Regional Court that Leon then crawled into the flooding Großache and drowned. What speaks for and against this version?

krone.at ticker: This was the first day of the trial

No kindergarten place, a low point for the family 
The motive: The public prosecutor outlines how Leon received a rejection letter from a kindergarten four days before the tragedy. "The worst day yet," the parents exchanged in the chat. "This further fallout", the prosecutor believes, "was the last straw".

The bottle as the murder weapon: shards of a Frizzante bottle were found at the crime scene, which is said to have caused a 15-millimeter-long laceration to the back of the head. A homemade video and a surveillance camera in St. Johann show that the bottle was in the baby carriage before the crime, so it could not have come from the perpetrator. "Like many things, the bottle was in the junk compartment of the buggy, I never saw it before," the father affirmed.

Judge Andreas Fleckl followed up several times.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Public prosecutor Joachim Wüstner

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Albert Heiss (left) and Mathias Kapferer, the accused's defense attorneys.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof/Krone KREATIV)

The defense, on the other hand, pointed out Leon's progress, saying that he mostly slept through the night, communicated with signs and had new care. The father tearfully describes: "Leon celebrated every single snowflake as if it were made of pure gold." He was a ray of sunshine - "and many people liked him very much, even though he couldn't even speak".

Pedometer: The defendant's steps were recorded on his iPhone on the night of the crime. However, the crucial 13 meters that the alleged robber would have had to have walked to a garbage bin with the phone were missing. The defense countered vehemently: the pedometer was faulty.

Google search: The 40-year-old is accused of having googled "fainting" around four weeks before the crime. He explained this with a fire jellyfish experience on vacation in Jesolo. This was the only reason he came across "circulatory collapse" and "fainting".

Is unconsciousness after being hit realistic?
The forensic pathologist considers the injury pattern to be compatible with the defendant's statements ("like a lightning strike in the head"), but a long period of unconsciousness is not plausible. Experts for the defense vehemently questioned this.

Interim conclusion after day one: even experienced observers are puzzled as to how this trial will end. Today, Leon's mom has been summoned as a witness, she did not follow the first day of the trial live. "There's not a piece of paper between her and the defendant," says the defense, referring to the strong support of the entire family.

The biggest media crush ever seen at the Innsbruck Regional Court
Incidentally, the media rush at the start of the trial proved that this is one of the most sensational criminal cases. Around 25 media representatives, not only from Austria but also from Germany in particular, were present live on site.

Interviews, live feeds, reports
For example, the TV stations RTL and ZDF. Both teams traveled to Tyrol the day before to film their first impressions and interviews - each with an editor, cameraman and sound technician. Yesterday, they were already to be found in front of Innsbruck Provincial Court from the early hours of the morning - filming live feeds for their news programs and reports. A representative of the Bild newspaper also made the long journey to Tyrol.

Her conclusion: "It's really hard to say how it will turn out." 

Continuation on July 18 and August 1
The trial continues tomorrow, Thursday, July 18. The verdict is currently expected on Thursday, August 1. The "Krone" will also be live in the courtroom on these two days.