Third placement

16 years of peace and quiet: 41-year-old is committed again

Fire department operation after the first cellar fire in Gramatneusiedl (Lower Austria).

(Bild: FF Gramatneusiedl)

A man from Lower Austria spent almost a decade and a half in a detention center and was classified as harmless by a psychiatrist some time ago. However, the stress of everyday life became too much for the 41-year-old again. After two attempted arsons, he was once again placed in a forensic therapy center without legal force and served a prison sentence.

The Lower Austrian had already spent a total of 14 years of his life in a forensic therapy center. According to a psychiatric report, a personality disorder makes the 41-year-old dangerous. This is also shown by the defendant's previous convictions, which include rape and robbery ...

Cellar compartment set on fire twice
Now he is back in Korneuburg Regional Court (Lower Austria) - for arson. On March 9, he is said to have set fire to a cellar compartment in his home in Gramatneusiedl for the first time, and the second time in mid-April. Although the fire department was always able to extinguish the fires before anything worse happened, the Lower Austrian still has a lot at stake in his trial: not only does he have to answer for two counts of attempted arson, the public prosecutor's office is also requesting that he be placed in custody again. 

At some point, I got to the point where I couldn't take any more. I was sometimes in a state where I no longer knew myself.

Angeklagter (41) im LG Korneuburg

The court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann diagnosed the 41-year-old with "sustained stabilization" for the first time - he had a stable relationship, a permanent job and was living a regular life. But even that had its pitfalls: a lot of stress at work, renovation work in the apartment and finally an operation on his partner threw the defendant off balance: "At some point, I reached the point where I couldn't go on. I was sometimes in a state where I no longer knew myself."

Fire "just happened"
And in this state, the arsons are said to have "just happened". Because he did not set the fires deliberately, "as with the last acts". The first time he "played stupidly with the lighter". A few weeks later, he accidentally dropped his lit blowtorch. "I was just full of thoughts." Shortly after the incident, however, he told the police a completely different story, talking about two strange men who had allegedly attacked him ...

Smoke quickly built up when the 41-year-old started a fire in the cellar of his home.

(Bild: FF Gramatneusiedl, Krone KREATIV)

According to the public prosecutor, the motive for setting the fires was "friction with a neighbor". He regularly got upset with her and her children. They would leave their bicycles in the way and leave the front door permanently open. In court, the young woman reported in tears: "He talked badly about me to all the neighbors. He is a racist. I don't know what I did to him. He burnt everything to the ground. It's all gone." Her belongings, which she had stored in the cellar compartment, were completely destroyed.

Third incarceration for Lower Austrians
One neighbor after another is questioned as a witness in the Korneuburg provincial court. The property manager reports on the damage - a total of 129,000 euros. After court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann also has his say in camera, the non-final verdict is handed down: four years in prison and placement in a forensic therapy center - now for the third time for the 41-year-old.