Committed to an institution

Viennese drowned bulldog “Benji” in a bucket of water

The terrible cruelty to a French bulldog and the mistreatment of its own mother are the subject of a court case in Vienna on Tuesday. A 38-year-old Viennese man is said to have beaten his mother and drowned the poor animal in a bucket. Not the first animal to die in the man's care.

"Benji" suffered terrible agony in the last three days of his life. The French bulldog had the great misfortune of being taken in by a mentally ill man. The 38-year-old Viennese recounts his actions in a sober and composed manner. "I admit it," says the man in his trial in Vienna's regional court, in which he is not the defendant, but - as it is called in placement hearings - the victim. 

Dog is said to have been "remote-controlled"
However, "Benji" and the Viennese man's mother are actually affected by the events. In May, he shaved off the playful animal's head and whiskers with a pair of scissors: "Because I'm paranoid and thought he was being remote-controlled." - "What do you mean by alienated?" asks the prosecutor. "Well, that he was remote-controlled by a supernatural force."

He fetched the Floridsdorfer a bucket and filled it with water. "I just dipped him in," he says. Until the poor animal drowned in agony. "Why did you do that?" Mr. Rat wants to know: "Because of my paranoia. I thought he might eat me." After the crime, he took the carcass to the garbage dump and disposed of the dead dog.

Defendant's former dog died in balcony fall
Explosive: The accused was already on trial once before in October 2023. At that time, he was acquitted of the charge of throwing his dog from the balcony. During the trial, he claimed that the animal had jumped over the railing itself - Benji's predecessor died on impact. The fall of this dog was no longer an issue in the trial on Tuesday.

The victim in the Vienna regional court.(Bild: Anja Richter)

His own mother also seriously injured in the madness
But it was about another terrible incident. The victim was visiting his mother and had said that he wanted to talk to his father on the phone. The mother replied: "You can't talk to him on the phone. Dad is dead." Because the man refused to accept this, he hit the woman with his fists, breaking her nose and sternum, among other things. "I was afraid that he actually wanted to kill me. That breaks my heart as a mother," said the woman, who was seriously injured by her son.

Committed to an institution
The man also remembers this incident without any gaps. Nevertheless, the psychiatric expert states that the man concerned was not of sound mind when he committed his actions. "He acted under the influence of an acute psychosis." In addition, the man, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, had always smoked cannabis before committing the crimes. According to the psychiatrist, the risk of a serious act of violence is then six to twelve times higher. The expert ruled out a conditional placement. It is therefore clear that the man will be placed in a forensic therapy center. He accepts the decision.