Attempted murder with knife

“Santa Claus” claims innocence after bloody attack

The suspect maintains his innocence: "He wasn't thinking at that moment".

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

At the end of July, there was a violent confrontation among homeless people in Vienna's Alsergrund district, which ended in a life-threatening attack on one of the participants. Due to his appearance, the man was identified by witnesses as "Santa Claus" - the suspect denies the crime. "He only wanted to help a friend" and had only put the knife in his pocket "out of Fiaker tradition".

A late-night drinking session in Sigmund Freud Park in Vienna ended in a life-threatening attack on a 54-year-old man. In the course of a stabbing in which the victim was seriously injured on the night of July 30, the suspect denies the crime. The public prosecutor's office is now investigating him for attempted murder - according to his legal representative Anita Schattner, "he only wanted to help a friend".

Stabbing after a party in a park
The suspect had apparently met up with a friend in front of the Votive Church, both of them would have been heavily intoxicated. Later in the evening, the two were said to have danced to music with a group of young women and boys, and the atmosphere was said to have been exuberant at first. 

Until the tide turned: there was an altercation between the 59-year-old's friend and the 54-year-old, who was later critically injured. The victim is said to have attacked the suspect's drinking buddy first, after which the suspect rushed to help his friend and is believed to have pushed the 54-year-old into a bush with a headbutt. 

The situation then escalated completely, as the young group of witnesses described the course of events to the police. "I think the victim hit him first," said a community service worker who was partying with his friends in the park in front of the Votive Church.

Four stab wounds in the chest area
The "Santa Claus" - as the group of witnesses described him on the basis of his appearance - then probably pulled out his knife and stabbed the 54-year-old. A 23-year-old electrician recalled that he "tried to stop the victim, who had been pushed into the bushes, from attacking the other man again". He was unable to do so and the victim was "quite aggressive". This is when the stab wounds occurred. The 54-year-old was stabbed at least four times in the chest area. 

A young female doctor, who happened to be nearby, immediately administered first aid. The authorities praised the successful rescue chain, as the seriously injured man was immediately taken to a nearby hospital and survived thanks to emergency surgery.

"Just wanted to help a friend"
The suspect maintains his innocence. He only wanted to "help his friend", but his strength had left him during the violent confrontation. For this reason, he pulled out his folding knife and stabbed his friend "as a reflex" because his opponent was not intimidated by the weapon. During the interrogation, the 59-year-old was remorseful. "I wasn't thinking at that moment", as he is said to have told the police.

When asked why he had a knife with him at all, the man referred to his longstanding profession as a hackney carriage driver. He said he always had to have a knife with him, it was "a horse-drawn carriage tradition". If a horse falls and gets tangled up in the harness, you have to release it quickly. A knife is needed for this. Although he no longer had a regular job, "I still feel a bit like a hackney carriage driver", the 59-year-old remarked.