"Was in a bloodlust"

Homeless murders: trial against “phantom” begins

The prosecutor made no statement after the jury's decision was announced. The verdict is therefore not final.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

The trial of an 18-year-old man for double murder, attempted murder and grievous bodily harm began at Vienna Regional Court on Monday. He is alleged to have killed two sleeping homeless people with a knife and seriously injured a woman without shelter in the summer of 2023. "I plead guilty", he said during his interrogation. The sentence: twelve years in prison and placement in a forensic therapy center. The verdict is not final.

As the "Phantom of Vienna", he caused fear and terror not only 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 had to stand trial. 

• Thomas A. (name changed) is said to have stabbed two men with a stiletto knife and seriously injured a woman at the age of 16. 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 stepmother committed an extended suicide in which his half-sister also died. His biological mother was said to be manic-depressive.
• The verdict came earlier than expected: The homeless murderer receives a twelve-year prison sentence and placement in a forensic-therapeutic center. "I accept the sentence," said the 18-year-old. The verdict is not final.

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 trial:

Death of stepsister threw him off course
The history of the case is tragic and also led to 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. "I died partly with her," said the 18-year-old.

According to the defendant's interrogation, his biological mother suffered from "manic depression". Defense lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger emphasized that the 18-year-old was "not an empathy-less monster", but a "nice, kind 18-year-old".

Thomas A.'s post-traumatic stress disorder is just one of many mental illnesses that were discussed by a total of five expert witnesses during the trial. According to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, the accused cited "inner rage, restlessness and endless sadness" as his motives. "My client has confessed and deeply regrets his actions," said his lawyer Arbacher-Stöger before the trial, which was also attended by the international press. 

Start of the trial at the Vienna Regional Court on Monday morning.

(Bild: Anja Richter)

The accused Thomas A. (name changed).

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Had to be "completely clean" before every crime
"If I have to decide over life and death, I have to do it", the 18-year-old explained. He had "fallen into a kind of bloodlust", said the accused. He had "felt dirty and grimy before every act. I had to be completely clean, freshly showered, cleaned." He was "a stupid person who goes around killing people". This had been on his mind for "a long time, two to three months". The thought "never left him".

"It wasn't specifically homeless people", the accused emphasized. He had "not been able to look the victims in the eye. I couldn't see the suffering on their faces. They were sleeping people." After the first completed murder, he was overcome by a feeling of fulfillment: "The victim was supposed to die." On the one hand, he "felt bad. On the other hand, it was a thrill I'd never felt before. Somehow it gave me what I was looking for". "The little devil had the upper hand," the defendant remarked. "The big devil," corrected the presiding judge Andreas Hautz.

The presiding judge Andreas Hautz.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

The desire to murder ended with a firm girlfriend
It was not until the third homicide that the accused began to feel bad, especially "when he stabbed himself". After that, he no longer went after defenceless people with a knife. When asked why, the 18-year-old referred to his girlfriend, whom he had met in the meantime. She had given him "unconditional love that I didn't deserve". This "sudden feeling that I can't understand" made him stop.

In addition to the homicides, an act of violence against the boy's mother was also tried. According to the indictment, on September 18, 2023, he attacked his mother and inflicted several rib fractures, a skull contusion, hematomas and abrasions all over her body by punching her in the face and then kicking the head and body of the woman who had fallen to the ground.

The mother's photos appeared on the large screen in the jury courtroom - showing how badly battered the woman was after the attack by her own son. The 18-year-old stares fixedly at the floor, never once looking at his mother's injuries.

Many people grow up with a psychotic parent and experience many other traumas, but do not become serial killers.

Gerichtspsychiater Peter Hofmann

Bild: Groh Klemens

Three victims means "serial offender"
A psychiatric report certifies that the boy was sane and therefore guilty at all times. "He prepared meticulously, planned everything precisely," says court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann. Three victims means "serial offender", according to the expert. It was positive that he had turned himself in to end the series. Both child and adolescent psychologist Kathrin Sevecke and court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann agree: "He meets all the requirements for placement in a forensic therapeutic center because of his dangerousness. He knows exactly what is good and bad."

After the death of his half-sister, he increased his drug use - cocaine, ketamine and other substances - according to the defendant.

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

Defense lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger emphasized that the 18-year-old was "not an empathy-less monster", but a "nice, kind 18-year-old".

(Bild: APA/HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Hofmann also relativized the explanation that Thomas A. has repeatedly presented since the beginning of his murder trial - the difficult relationships with his mother and father." The family relationships are not a sufficient reason to justify his actions," said the psychiatrist.

Two people were no longer able to tell their story. They had to die because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Because the accused needed an outlet.

Staatsanwältin Julia Kalmar

In the closing arguments, public prosecutor Julia Kalmar was the first to declare that the accused had killed "out of pure murderous lust", and that the brutal and insidious way in which he had proceeded was also a heavy burden on the accused. Defense lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger: "There are significant reasons for mitigation that were forgotten by the prosecutor: The authorities would never have found him if he hadn't turned himself in." The 18-year-old's last words, shortly before the jury retired for a decision: "I want to do better."