14-year-old in custody

Axe murder: On Monday there was an empty seat at school

The crime scene: Until last week, R. (14) went to school normally.

(Bild: Jürgen Fuchs)

Great shock in Kindberg in Upper Styria: a 14-year-old killed his brother (36) with an axe. The "Krone" newspaper has new details: the dispute arose over household chores. And R. had gone to school inconspicuously the previous week.

How could this happen? Many people in Kindberg, where a terrible bloody deed took place on Monday, are asking themselves this question. Shortly after 1.30 p.m., a 36-year-old man was discovered dead by his sister in the family home. Shocked, she alerted the Red Cross. Due to the way he was found and the nature of his injuries, it was immediately clear that the Styrian had died a violent death. 

Strongly suspected: R. (first name abbreviated by the editors), the victim's brother, who was only 14 years old. The rescue workers alerted the police, who immediately launched a manhunt for the teenager. Less than an hour later, he was arrested by officers from the Kapfenberg police station and a service dog patrol (Tasso Nord) not far from the scene of the crime. The suspected murder weapon was also found in his rucksack - a 50-centimeter-long decorative axe with two sharp blades at the front and back.

The crime scene: Until last week, R. (14) went to school normally.

(Bild: Jürgen Fuchs)

When the emergency services arrived at the apartment, it quickly became clear from the serious injuries to the man's upper body that a violent crime must have taken place here.

Polizeisprecher Heimo Kohlbacher

Dispute over household chores
The 14-year-old was questioned in the presence of a lawyer on Tuesday night. He immediately confessed. He stated that there had been a long-simmering dispute with his brother over the division of household chores. This argument is said to have been the decisive factor in the fatal attack. According to the police, the 36-year-old was hit by several powerful blows to the upper body.

The public prosecutor's office in Leoben ordered an autopsy. R. was transferred to Leoben prison on Tuesday - his confession is being examined.

Perpetrator family led an inconspicuous life
For tactical investigative reasons, the police do not want to go into further detail about the course of events and the circumstances. Not much is known about the alleged perpetrator's family in Kindberg. All we hear from the neighbors is that they only moved to Mürzhofen a few years ago and that all family members led a rather inconspicuous life. Nobody knows any more details.

But there is also said to be no history of violence. The family was not previously known to the police. According to information from the "Steirerkrone" newspaper, the boy's stepfather told the police that Sunday evening had been very calm. He was completely puzzled as to how this escalation of violence could have happened: "We had no idea."

And what is known about the alleged perpetrator? Well, as the "Steirerkrone" learned from law enforcement sources, R. first attended the Körner Kapfenberg secondary school and then the Kapfenberg polytechnic school. "He had been completely inconspicuous until then", they say, "in the first week of lessons after the vacations he was still quite normal in class." But on Monday, the day of the incident, the 14-year-old was absent from the polytechnic. No reason given.