Mother shot herself

Children killed: Only the why remains unclear

Helena and Eleonora (5, 8) were suffocated with a cushion by their mother in the house in Muckendorf. Then the 30-year-old shot herself with a pistol.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Tanja Pfaffeneder, privat)

The terrible bloody deed with three dead in Muckendorf in the district of Tulln (Lower Austria) made many people's blood run cold. Now it is clear: the woman who killed her two children did it herself. But the motive remains a mystery.

Three weeks after the discovery of three bodies in a detached house in Muckendorf, the small town in the district of Tulln is still in shock. Nobody can understand what drama took place behind the door of the pretty little house, as a result of which the partner of the dead mother (29) also took his own life.

This is where the terrible crime took place.

(Bild: Holl Reinhard/Reinhard Holl)

So far, it had only been confirmed that the two girls, aged five and eight, had been suffocated. But now there is also clarity about the 29-year-old. According to the forensic investigation, she grabbed the gun herself and shot herself. According to the police, no other people were involved in the atrocity.

Many unanswered questions
The only unanswered - and possibly eternally unsolved - question is therefore why. And it is not only the investigators who have been puzzled by this question ever since. Because so far there is no motive. Neither mental nor physical illness nor family disputes (she lived separately from the children's father, but the two were friends) have been revealed so far.

If you find yourself in an exceptional psychological situation or are having suicidal thoughts, please contact the telephone helpline on 142 - around the clock and free of charge. You can find more crisis telephones and emergency numbers HERE.