Brutal perpetrators in custody

Home invasion: victim narrowly escaped death

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, krone.at-Grafik)

After a brutal home invasion in the district of St. Pölten, a gang of Bulgarians was successfully tracked down. The perpetrators had tied up a 76-year-old woman and buried her under cloths and curtains; the woman had to wait 20 hours to be rescued. The trio are facing charges of attempted murder.

A 76-year-old woman will probably never forget those agonizing hours for the rest of her life. The pensioner had to wait in agony in her own home after a brutal robbery, not knowing whether she would survive the ordeal. Masked men broke into her home in Untertullnerbach in the district of St. Pölten at around 9.30 p.m. on February 23. They gained access via the patio door on the upper floor before making their way through the living rooms. However, they were caught red-handed by the pensioner.

Then everything happened in a flash: visibly surprised, the criminals knocked the elderly woman to the floor. They tied the victim up with a telephone cable and also wrapped her head with cloths and curtains. After tying her up so violently, the perpetrators simply left the 76-year-old woman in the living room.

The perpetrators searched the entire house for valuables.

(Bild: LKA NÖ)

Gun cabinet disguised as a safe

(Bild: LKA NÖ)

Telephone cable

(Bild: LKA NÖ)

Pfandler, Karner, Popp at the press conference after the successful manhunt

(Bild: Thomas Werth)

The perpetrators then searched every inch of the house for an hour looking for cash and valuables. They also tore a safe used as a gun cabinet from its wall anchoring and broke it open. They snatched cash, gold coins and jewelry worth around 50,000 euros and fled. They carelessly left the 76-year-old woman behind. 

Miracle that the woman survived
It was not until over 20 hours later that the pensioner was discovered by an acquaintance and freed from her ordeal. As a result of the brutal attack, the woman suffered numerous serious injuries to her arms and legs - due to the very tight restraints - and due to the shock and excitement, functional disorders of the heart, which were classified as "particularly severe and agonizing" by the medical expert.

"It is nothing short of a miracle that no amputations were necessary due to the severe injuries to the hands and feet," said Stefan Pfandler, head of the State Office of Criminal Investigation. The psychological pain will probably never go away. 

"The professional crime scene work and the tenacity of the investigation were the key to success."

Landespolizeidirektor Franz Popp

In the course of the manhunt, investigators from the Provincial Criminal Police Office, together with authorities from Germany, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, quickly managed to track down three perpetrators. The three Bulgarians, aged 35, 39 and 40, have criminal records in their home country and in other European countries.

In the robbery in Untertullnerbach, two perpetrators carried out the burglary, the third drove the getaway vehicle. The head of the gang - the 39-year-old - is still on the run. He already has 28 previous convictions for attempted murder, robbery and theft. The Bulgarian was also convicted of a burglary in Baden at the beginning of February, in which he stole jewelry and brand-name watches worth 200,000 euros. 

Main perpetrators still on the run
The three accomplices have already been extradited to Austria and have not confessed to the charges. The manhunt for the 39-year-old main perpetrator is still in full swing.

After a series of brutal home invasions - for example in Hinterbrühl, Würnitz and Stripfing - the investigators have thus succeeded in striking another blow against an internationally active group of perpetrators. Interior Minister Gerhard Karner praised the international network. Thanks to a personnel offensive, 50 new employees have joined the Lower Austrian State Criminal Police Office as part of the reform.