Over 100 stab wounds

Triple murder in Asian studio: “I was bewitched”

The 27-year-old Afghan in the Vienna countryside.

(Bild: Sophie Pratschner, Krone KREATIV)

"There were over a hundred knife stabs and cuts in total" - with which a 27-year-old Afghan literally executed two sex workers and the studio owner in an Asian studio in Vienna on February 23. He was "bewitched" during his escape to Austria, he says. In Vienna's Landl district, a jury decides on his placement in a forensic therapeutic center.

"The sight shocked even experienced murder investigators," says the public prosecutor, trying to explain what the police found in an Asian studio in Vienna's Engerthstraße on February 23. With over a hundred knife stabs and cuts, a 27-year-old man caused a bloodbath there, murdering two sex workers and the owner of the studio.

Institution instead of prison
The Afghan is being tried in Vienna's regional court on the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women" of all days - but he is not facing a prison sentence. He is also not taking his place as the accused, but as a "victim", as it is called in applications for accommodation. According to the expert opinion, the "victim" cannot be held responsible for the brutal executions of three women in Vienna, two 47-year-old employees and the 67-year-old operator of the brothel. 

According to court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann, he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia: "It was an explosive outburst of aggression. The psychosis determined his actions."

The term "victim" nevertheless seems like a mockery for the victims. Especially when it is reported how much the Chinese women who were attacked had to suffer. According to expert witness Nikolaus Klupp, the stab wounds were exceptional and the violence was particularly severe.

The court experts Nikolaus Klupp and Peter Hofmann (right).

(Bild: Jöchl Martin)

Woman had "bewitched" him
In 2021, the 27-year-old - who studied computer science in his home country and ran an advertising agency - fled to Austria. In the course of the investigation, the Afghan reported that he had met a woman - "a witch who had bewitched him", according to the public prosecutor. She had had influence over him until the crime. "She wanted me to acknowledge her power."

Witness heard the screams of a victim for 20 minutes
The woman who also worked in the Asian studio that evening and survived the attack appears in court as a visibly marked witness. "I heard screams. From a woman," she says. "It lasted for 20 minutes." Her life was turned upside down by the incident. "I've had great difficulties since then. I have great fears. But I'm grateful that I'm still alive," she begins to cry. "I miss my children so much. I'm not allowed to leave the country because of the proceedings. I have never seen my granddaughter," she says before she is taken out of the courtroom, supported by social workers and her husband. The woman is not entitled to compensation due to the mental illness of the "victim".

Three knives bought for murder
"He also studied Islam intensively," explained the prosecutor. God had then commanded him to wage jihad against "the enemies" - he ultimately found these enemies in the three sex workers who were killed. "He attended Friday prayers in a mosque. Then he went to the Asian studio with three knives. He only bought these knives for this purpose." He pretended to visit the brothel as a customer. He murdered the three women with unspeakable brutality. 

"Unbelievable catastrophe"
The 27-year-old does not deny this either - "this unbelievable catastrophe" is how his defense lawyer Philipp Springer describes it. The lawyer describes the escalating spiral of his client's illness, which had already begun months before the crime. The Afghan states: "The witch was in my head and was talking." The asylum seeker had testified to the police that he had quoted the Koran during the crime.

On Monday, however, he no longer remembered the crime at all. "My first memory is that my hands were injured," says the Afghan, who takes his seat in front of the jury in the large jury room wearing a winter jacket. The man is tall and has a short beard.

No repatriation possible
In the course of the trial, court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann will also give a detailed expert opinion. He confronts the man with his terrible deeds: "This can be described as a massacre! Why did you execute these women with such unbelievable brutality?" The man does not answer. The asylum seeker should have flown back to Tehran in March. Even now, he would like to serve his sentence in his home country. But as there is no repatriation agreement with Afghanistan and there are no forensic therapeutic centers there, he will remain in Austria.

In the afternoon, it was finally decided: as expected, the jury agreed with the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office's request for placement. The 27-year-old will therefore be committed to an institution for an indefinite period.