Drexler shot father

What the daughter of the murder victim says to “relativizers”

Josef Hartl (64, small picture) was murdered: There was great sympathy at his funeral in Arnreit.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Markus Wenzel)

Comments on social media infuriate the grieving family of Roland Drexler's second murder victim. Insensitive posters who show sympathy for the murderous hunter are particularly bad. Nevertheless, there is also sympathy for the perpetrator's relatives. Now a daughter of the murder victim Josef Hartl is speaking out.

The cold-blooded double murder of two opponents by hunter Roland Drexler shook the whole of Austria. But how are the grieving relatives doing now? "Since October 28, 2024, my world and that of my family have been upside down. 1000 thoughts and feelings are trapped in it, difficult to impossible to sort out. I don't even want to talk about the pain," writes Susanna H., a daughter of Josef Hartl (64), the second victim of the Altenfelden double murderer, to the "Krone".

Comments on social media about our report on the funeral of the perpetrator Roland Drexler (56) annoyed her greatly: "I thought for a long time about whether it was wise to write these lines. You basically try to protect yourself from so many negative and hurtful words. The pain was joined by sadness, anger, emptiness, suffering and, in some comments, bewilderment and fear."

"We are all just guests on earth"
Susanna H. continues: "One of the most important things I learned from my dad was that we are all just guests on earth. Appreciate every human being, the living creatures and nature. Be grateful for this wealth and always treat it all with respect and reverence. My father taught this not only to me, but also to my siblings, his grandchildren, the neighbors' children, young hunters and many more. Working together instead of against each other, sticking together and not letting each other down. Being there for each other. Being courageous when necessary and sometimes acting for others when they don't have the strength to do so."

"Dad was really good at that"
The daughter also writes: "'Let's sit down together and talk it out,' said my dad. And he was good at it, really good. Talking things through, talking things out, no matter how unpleasant, annoying or hopeless they were. I don't want to put anyone down in these lines. My sympathies lie with the family of the first victim as well as with the family of the perpetrator. The fact is, and this can neither be glossed over nor denigrated, that the perpetrator has been doing things for years that are simply forbidden. And does anyone wonder whether the murder of those who reported him after several unsuccessful conversations is justified?"

A comparison from the daughter: "Suppose someone has been driving for years at 90 km/h through the local area where 50 km/h is permitted - nobody asks whether they are allowed to do that."

Kommentar

Nichts ist mehr, wie es war

Films, books and podcasts about crime are booming under the genre title "Crime". Perhaps because for most of us, thank goodness, bloody deeds have nothing to do with our own reality, which is precisely why thrills and horror are perceived as a stimulating distraction from everyday life.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV, Alexander Schwarzl, Markus Wenzel)

In real life, in reality, it is quite different. The murder of a loved one turns everything upside down. And it often takes a very long time for the open emotional wounds to become scars. This is usually forgotten when, for example, the TV plays a cozy Bavarian tune in the evening: "Es gaabat a Leich!"