Trial in Feldkirch

Ex-soldier threatened BH employee with a killing spree

The defendant denied the threats he was accused of, but Judge Dietmar Nußbaumer nevertheless found him guilty.(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

On Wednesday, a former professional soldier (37) from the Oberland had to answer for resisting public authority and coercion at Feldkirch Regional Court.

When public prosecutor Markus Fussenegger read out the charge, memories of the terrible murder in February 2019 in the Dornbirn district administration office immediately came to mind. Back then, a 34-year-old Turkish man stabbed a clerk to death because he felt he had been treated unfairly.

In the current case, the defendant did not kill anyone, but threatened to go on a rampage against the caseworker at the Bludenz district authority and a caseworker from the state of Vorarlberg because they had refused to revoke a penalty notice issued by the district authority against the defendant. "Yes, I'm an emotional person, but I didn't make a threat, I just said that if an authority treats people like that, you shouldn't be surprised if people go crazy and run amok," the defendant justifies himself. This was confirmed almost verbatim by his partner, who was called as a witness - she claims to have overheard parts of the telephone conversation.

Suspended sentence and a fine
However, the version of the BH employee, who according to her still remembers the conversation very well, is completely different: "If you don't take back this decision, I'll run amok", the accused is said to have said. She then asked him whether this was a threat - the man then replied "No".

Yes, I'm an emotional person, but I didn't make a threat, I just said that if an authority treats people like that, you shouldn't be surprised when people go crazy and run amok.

Der Angeklagte vor Gericht

The clerk at the Vorarlberg district authority also remembers the incident with the 37-year-old well and says that the conversation got out of hand and the word amok was used.

In the end, the judge sentenced the former soldier to six months' suspended imprisonment and a fine of 480 euros for resisting public authority and coercion and announced proceedings against his partner for giving false testimony. The verdict is not yet final.