Robbery and attempted murder

Petrol station robbery: “Voice told me to do it”

A 21-year-old Styrian woman stood trial in Leoben on Monday for aggravated robbery and attempted murder.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

A 21-year-old Styrian woman robbed the same petrol station in Liezen twice. The second time, she stabbed an employee with a knife. On Monday, the mentally ill woman was sentenced to 14 years in prison for aggravated robbery and attempted murder and committed to a forensic therapy center.

"Give me all the money or I'll stab you!" With these words and armed with a kitchen knife, a 21-year-old woman allegedly robbed a petrol station in Liezen, Upper Styria. Once in September last year, and again this year in March. She stole a total of around 6600 euros.

On the second occasion, she stabbed a petrol station employee seven times with a knife, although she had already given her all the money. The employee in question was a former colleague - the accused had worked at the petrol station herself for about one and a half months before the robberies. The woman who was attacked was lucky to escape with minor injuries.  

This petrol station in Liezen was attacked twice by the accused - who had once worked here herself.

(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz, Krone KREATIV)

A lack of empathy
On Monday, the 21-year-old had to answer to a jury at Leoben Regional Court for aggravated robbery and attempted murder. The petite and unassuming young woman speaks so quietly and timidly that the presiding judge asks her to move her chair as far forward as possible. "She will make a very unempathetic impression, but that is due to her mental illness," the defense lawyer had already said to the jury in advance. 

She was proved right. Although the young woman confessed for the first time during the trial, there was no sign of remorse or insight. Instead, for the first time since her arrest, she spoke of a voice that controlled her and told her to rob the petrol station. "About four years ago, something cracked in my head and I've been hearing this voice ever since," the 21-year-old explained. 

Mental health problems for years
Forensic psychiatrist Peter Hofmann has his doubts about this new version of the voice. However, it is certain that the 21-year-old has had serious psychological problems for a long time. Among other things, Hofmann diagnosed a schizotypal disorder, i.e. not full-blown schizophrenia, but symptoms of this illness. The defendant was treated for the first time at the age of 14 because she behaved aggressively at home and self-harmed. She left secondary school after five years without any qualifications, did not learn a trade and only worked sporadically. 

Despite all this, she was sane at the time of the crime, the expert found. She had planned the robberies carefully, which speaks against a psychotic outburst.

Money for cigarettes
The motive - albeit under the influence of her mental illness - was financial hardship, according to the public prosecutor: "She had been out of work for some time and had consumed large quantities of cigarettes." It remains a mystery why she stabbed an employee during the second robbery, even though she gave her all the money without resistance. "I don't understand why. If things had gone badly, she would have taken a five-year-old child's mummy," says the visibly scarred victim, who no longer works at the petrol station and is undergoing psychiatric treatment. She had "the urge to stab someone", said the accused rather casually.

She sits there with a grin on her face during the emotional descriptions of the witnesses. Asked by the judge why she was laughing all the time, the 21-year-old replied: "I'm cold." Laughing in completely inappropriate situations was part of her clinical picture, the expert witness interjected.

The jury unanimously found the defendant guilty on all counts. The 21-year-old was sentenced to 14 years in prison and will be sent to a forensic therapy center.