Homeless murders

Homeless murders: trial against “phantom” begins

(Bild: Jöchl Martin/Martin Jöchl)

The trial against a high school student who killed homeless people started today in the Vienna Regional Court. His target was not specifically homeless people, but Thomas A. roamed the streets looking for defenceless victims. The "Krone" reports live from the start of the trial.

As the "Phantom of Vienna", he not only caused fear and terror in the homeless scene after two homeless people were brutally murdered. Today, the 18-year-old who confessed to murdering the two men and seriously injuring a woman has to stand trial.

• Thomas A. (name changed) is accused of stabbing two men with a stiletto knife and seriously injuring a woman at the age of 16. He is facing 15 years in prison and placement in a

  forensic therapeutic center. 

• After weeks of a manhunt, the teenager turned himself in in December 2023. He confessed to the crimes during interrogation. 
• He is classified as dangerous due to a serious personality disorder. He was sane when he committed his crimes.
• At the start of the trial on Monday, the 18-year-old testified that he had already toyed with the idea of going on a killing spree at his school when he was 14. His family history is tragic: his mother committed an extended suicide in which his half-sister also died.
• The accused, who killed two defenceless people, confessed. His statements were characterized by self-pity, and there was no remorse towards the victims.

The police used this image from a surveillance camera to search for the "Phantom of Vienna".

(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

The "Krone" reported live from the start of the trial:

Death of stepsister threw him off course
The background to the case is tragic and also introduces the eight-page indictment. In 2021, the accused's stepsister died at the age of just four - the girl was shot dead by her mother in an extended suicide. Post-traumatic stress disorder in Thomas A. is just one of many mental illnesses that a total of five expert witnesses will report on during the trial. According to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, the accused cited "inner rage, restlessness and endless sadness" as his motive. 

"My client has confessed and deeply regrets his actions," says his lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger ahead of the trial, which has also been announced for the international press.