Emotions in the hall

Leon case: murder trial enters grand finale today

The relief after the verdict is huge.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger, Krone KREATIV)

A bang in the tragic case of Leon (6): a unanimous verdict was reached today, Thursday, in the murder trial against the 39-year-old father. The father has been acquitted. The verdict is not yet final.

"You may leave the courtroom a free man." - This sentence by Judge Andreas Fleckl caused many tears of joy on Thursday after the third day of the trial in the case of the tragic death of little Leon.

The defendant, his wife, relatives and friends lay sobbing in each other's arms. The relief was palpable in and outside the courtroom. Shortly beforehand, the jury had decided that Leon's father was not guilty both on the question of whether he had killed his son and on the question of whether he had faked a robbery - unanimously, in fact.

Final expert reports in the trial inconclusive
In August 2022, the six-year-old drowned in the Kitzbüheler Ache in St. Johann in Tirol. The public prosecutor's office in Innsbruck accused the 40-year-old of drowning his son. A faked robbery was intended to divert attention from the murder.

The fact that the person responsible for my son's death is still on the loose is intolerable. Please let me go back home to my family.

Der Angeklagte

Before the jury had retired to deliberate, the defendant had again proclaimed his innocence in his closing statement. In tears, he said that "nobody can understand how you feel when you are exposed to such accusations. And the fact that the person responsible for my son's death is still on the loose is unbearable. Please let me go back home to my family". And he is finally allowed to do so after the intensive trial closes in the evening.

The relief after the verdict is great.

(Bild: Manuel Schwaiger, Krone KREATIV)

(Bild: Christian Forcher/Fotoworxx/Christian Forcher, Krone KREATIV)

There is great interest in the case and the jury courtroom in the regional court is filled to capacity.

(Bild: Christian Forcher/Fotoworxx/Christian Forcher, Krone KREATIV)

The live ticker for the third day of the trial:

The program was also full on the last day: The first expert opinion dealt with DNA traces on the broken glass of the Frizzante bottle with which the accused is said to have been attacked, the baby carriage, the accused's clothing, the umbrella, traces on Leon and on other found objects at the crime scene. On both the jacket and the defendant's trousers, either traces of himself, little Leon or "too little to no DNA were found", explained expert witness Petra Hatzer-Grubwieser.

She took a closer look at 27 pieces of the bottle, examined 15 cigarette butts from the trash can, the wallet and the defendant's cell phone. The result after all the analyses: "We detected the DNA of an unknown male and also traces of DNA from Leon and the defendant."

The next focus was on the 40-year-old's cell phone. The expert witness responsible for IT forensics, Cornelia Menzel, explained precisely that the "Apple Health" app with the pedometer can be inaccurate or even malfunction. What was done with the phone and when was also logged down to the minute. However, various apps would also perform activities automatically.

The first two days of the trial in retrospect:

"Nothing will bring our son back"
In his summation, public prosecutor Joachim Wüstner focused on "trivialities" that the defense was dealing with in order to "distract from essential matters". He was convinced that "the defendant invented the robbery". The evidence was not sufficient for the jury. Wüstner is taking time to reflect after the acquittal - so it is not yet legally binding.

Although the family's relief is clearly palpable, the father says at the trial: "This story doesn't have a happy ending for us - because nothing will bring Leon back."