Styrian sentenced

No self-defense: knife attack was attempted murder after all

The defendant at the start of the trial at the end of November.

(Bild: Stockner)

A 48-year-old man barely survived an attack in a pub in the center of Graz: A 27-year-old man had inflicted a bloody cut on his opponent's face. In court, he and his defense lawyer claimed self-defense, but the jury found attempted murder. The non-appealable verdict: twelve years in prison. 

Was it attempted murder or self-defense? Eight jurors presided over by Judge Andreas Lenz at the Graz Regional Criminal Court have had to deal with this question since the end of November. It was about a bloody incident in a pub in the center of Graz, about a "drunken brawl at one o'clock in the morning", according to public prosecutor Rudolf Fauler.

From the corner of the mouth to the back of the head
The accused 27-year-old attacked a 48-year-old man, who had previously insulted and attacked him, with a knife and inflicted a 15-centimeter-long wound from the corner of his mouth to the back of his head. "He deliberately tried to kill him," said the public prosecutor.

The verdict is not final
Defense lawyer Bernhard Lehofer, on the other hand, spoke of a cut "out of defensive behaviour, out of fear". His client had no intention of killing the other person. The defendant himself spoke of a panic attack.

On Thursday, the jury rejected the self-defense verdict by a vote of 8:0, seven of them also voted for attempted murder. The sentence, which is not final, is twelve years in prison.