Trial in Feldkirch

Girlfriend badly beaten up

The defendant still has to serve five and a half years.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

The 33-year-old man from Vorarlberg is currently serving four and a half years in prison for other violent crimes. The jury in Feldkirch has now given him a one-year prison sentence on top of that for intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and making a dangerous threat to his girlfriend.

The relationship between the 33-year-old defendant and his 29-year-old partner, which consisted of alcohol and drug excesses, only lasted a few months - and was very much characterized by arguments and violent outbursts by the man. According to the indictment, the man strangled the victim with a cable in his apartment in Götzis in April last year until she was unconscious. This left the 29-year-old with a six-centimeter-long scar on her neck. On another occasion, he is said to have given her a black eye by punching her.

The most serious incident finally occurred in September 2023. Assuming that his girlfriend had cheated on him, the man, who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, went crazy again and punched his girlfriend several times in the head. When the victim was lying on the ground, he pulled out a knife and threatened to kill her. Although the woman managed to knock the weapon out of his hand, the torment did not end there. The enraged boyfriend beat the 29-year-old with a wooden slat, kicked her and finally trapped her neck in the front door until she lost consciousness. While neighbors called the police and ambulance, the 33-year-old fled.

Violent offender gets away with additional punishment
The defendant pleaded guilty to only part of the charges. He had been provoked by her and had not known how else to defend himself, he said in court. He completely denied that he had strangled his girlfriend with a cable. "She had strangled herself. I saved her." The 29-year-old confirmed this in her statement: "The defendant is not responsible for the injuries. I probably wanted to take my own life again." In the end, the presiding judge acquits the defendant on this point.

He was found guilty of the remaining charges and given an additional sentence of one year. The 33-year-old still has four and a half years to serve for other violent crimes. This time, the defendant could have faced up to ten years in prison for the heinous abuse and dangerous threats. However, because he had committed the crimes before his most recent conviction in December 2023, the court had to take into account the prison sentence imposed at that time in these proceedings and was only allowed to impose an additional sentence. In total, the violent criminal still has five and a half years to serve behind bars in Sweden. The sentence is final.

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