Man on trial

Axe attack out of fear of retriever “Goldi”

The man was afraid because the golden retriever was barking.

(Bild: AFP)

Because he was afraid of his neighbor's golden retriever "Goldi", a 34-year-old man in Wildon (Styria) got an axe and threatened to "dismember" the dog's owner. Although his parents were able to prevent the attack, the man had to answer to the jury.

"The dogs were off the lead and without a muzzle, that scared me," the Romanian described the situation at the time to the presiding judge Andreas Rom on Tuesday. Goldi", the golden retriever, in particular, scared him with his barking. The second dog, a Greenland dog, was rather inconspicuous.

"I wanted to chop him up"
"He said he wanted to chop me up", the victim told the jury. The 34-year-old did not deny that he wanted to attack his neighbor: "I wanted to hurt him. I was full of anger and fear", he justified himself. He then allegedly said to the police: "I wanted to chop him up. I don't have a gun like you do, otherwise I could have shot him."

He is basically inconspicuous, friendly and nice. But further serious acts, including murder, cannot be ruled out.

Gerichtspsychiater Manfred Walzl

"He wants to kill someone because of his illness, and there won't always be someone around to prevent it," said prosecutor Gilbert Zechner-Gfreter in his summation. "Just because someone shows a pickaxe doesn't mean they will strike," said defense attorney Alexander Haas.

"Serious acts up to and including murder cannot be ruled out"
The psychiatric expert Manfred Walzl explained that the 34-year-old suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and thus from a serious and lasting mental illness. He was basically unremarkable, friendly and nice, but further serious acts, including murder, could not be ruled out.

He spoke out very clearly in favor of placement in a forensic therapeutic center. The jury followed this recommendation.