Car set on fire

A bear got up close and personal with his ex-girlfriend

(Bild: Harald Schume, Krone KREATIV)

Having just been released from custody, a 33-year-old put on a mask, threatened his ex in Eisenstadt and set fire to her car with a Bengal. The Lower Austrian admitted his mistake: "I shouldn't have dressed up as a bear."

Back in 2016, the student - who would like to become an English and history teacher - spent nine months in an institution for mentally disturbed offenders because he had repeatedly threatened politicians. He was released as "treated".

For seven years, the Lower Austrian was quiet as far as criminal offenses were concerned. "But I never quite got my inner aggression under control," says the 33-year-old at Eisenstadt Regional Court, who was remanded in custody this summer after persistently stalking his ex-girlfriend. A few pills later, he was released on October 24.

Bear mask instead of police station
As soon as he was released, he called his ex, blamed her for the pre-trial detention, insulted her savagely and threatened her with "You will suffer" or "Say goodbye to your children". She listened to him patiently, which seemed to make him even angrier, and reported him to the police. An officer told the man to come to the station in Eisenstadt immediately. So he drove off. "Her apartment is right on the way, I couldn't help myself," says the 33-year-old, who stopped and rang the woman's doorbell. Through the peephole, she saw a figure in a bear mask holding her license plates in his hand. Of course, the door remained closed. The bear trolled away, got into the car, rolled off and threw a Bengal on her vehicle. It burst into flames - a total loss.

Bengals "From the age of 12"
"I shouldn't have dressed up as a bear," he says in front of the grand jury. "And what about the Bengal?" the chairwoman wants to know. "I just wanted to play a trick on her. The packaging said '12 years and over', so it didn't seem that dangerous to me."

My client is aware that he has made a serious mistake. He realizes that he needs medication. However, back in 2016, a prison directorate made a decision about a person they didn't know and didn't implement the prescribed therapies.

Nikolaus Mitrovits, Anwalt

Bild: HS

The court expert consulted diagnosed a long-term mental disorder, a so-called anger mania. "She was not sane when she committed the crime," says Manfred Walzl. Only in a forensic therapeutic center could he be treated effectively. "He needs a clinical setting with monthly depot injections. That's not possible on an outpatient basis."

The man is committed, the verdict is final.