Rottweiler escaped

After fatal dog bites: 21-year-old woman on trial

Rottweiler dog "Kim" forced herself through the garden gate when the 21-year-old defendant was in charge of the animal.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Anja Richter, Marlin Wolf Photography)

In July 2023, Rottweiler dog "Kim" squeezed through the gate in her owners' garden in Wilfleinsdorf (Lower Austria). A family was walking outside and was subsequently attacked by the animal. At the time of the attack, the owner's daughter was in charge of the animal. She had to sit in front of the judge on Thursday. 

In the district court of Bruck an der Leitha (Lower Austria), the tension before the hearing is high, as the small Lower Austrian court is not used to such media interest. It is about a tragic case involving the Rottweiler dog "Kim", who had been rejected by the Kaisersteinbruch military dog squadron and was taken in by a family in Wilfleinsdorf.

"Playing with a ball in the garden"
The tragedy that claimed the life of a 52-year-old woman happened there on July 26, 2023. At the time, the owner's 21-year-old daughter was looking after the dog while her parents were on vacation with her younger sister. "We were playing with a small ball in the garden. She was moving the ball back and forth with her paws. Suddenly it slipped through the garden gate," the young woman recalls in the trial. She has to answer for "involuntary manslaughter" and "involuntary bodily harm" in the district court.

Kim moved the ball back and forth with her paws. Suddenly it slipped through the garden gate.

Die Angeklagte im Prozess.

After the ball rolled out, the Rottweiler dog ran after it and suddenly forced her way under the gate. According to the expert opinion, the slit was only 13 cm high. "I ran into the house and got the key for the gate, which was locked, from the conservatory," the defendant recalls.

The parents of the children who were attacked, who are relatively well again, are following the trial. Matma K.'s mother (left) died as a result of the dog attack.

(Bild: Anja Richter)

Was the animal thrown at with slippers before the attack?
Outside, the decommissioned army dog approached a family out for a walk - two women and five small children - and circled them twice. When the woman finally caught "Kim", she grabbed the animal, who was not wearing a collar in the garden, by the scruff of the neck and made her way back to the property. "That's when the slob came from behind," said the accused. According to the 21-year-old, the grandmother had apparently thrown her shoes at the animal several times. Witnesses were unable to confirm this at the trial. According to the accused, "Kim" turned around after the "slipper snap" and tore off - allegedly biting one of the children first. The grandmother of three children then ran away and wanted to seek shelter in a building shell.

The dog was always soft and cuddly. He never did anything. I can't explain it.

Der Großvater der Angeklagten im Prozess.

At that moment, the defendant decided to fetch the collar and lead. When she returned about a minute later, another woman had already tried to pull the dog away from the victim. It must have been terrifying moments and a wild scuffle. Other people, including the defendant's grandfather, stormed into the shell of the building. With combined forces, they finally managed to overpower "Kim". "We took her back to the kennel," recalls the 21-year-old. The accused's grandfather also expressed his shock as a witness: "The dog was always soft and cuddly. He never did anything. I can't explain it." 

The attack ended fatally for the victim's family. On October 6, 2023, the 52-year-old grandmother died of multiple organ failure as a result of the serious injuries, and two of her grandchildren also suffered severe bite wounds. "They are severely traumatized, one of the children still has an operation ahead of him," says the victim advocate. - "Breaking a Rottweiler that follows an instinct is incredibly difficult," explains the expert witness called in.

At around 2 p.m., the judge acquits the 21-year-old of the charges. Even if the daughter of the house had taken the lead and the bite basket with her in a hurry to get "Kim" back, it was not certain that she would have been able to keep the dog on a lead. Not legally binding. 

Bitch is now with the "Teufels Hunde" association
And what happened to "Kim"? The "Teufels Hunde" association in the Hartberg district, a shelter-like facility for dogs that no one wants to look after after serious bite incidents, took in the Rottweiler dog after the attack. According to the website, "Kim" has since been placed in a new home.