Parents sentenced

28 years in prison for the death of baby Elias

The 20-year-old mother in the jury courtroom of the Salzburg Provincial Court before the start of the criminal trial.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus, Krone KREATIV)

Seven of the eight jurors were in no doubt: a 20-year-old woman killed her seven-week-old son by shaking him. And the father is also guilty. Because he stood idly by. She is now to serve 16 years in prison, he twelve years. The verdicts from Salzburg are not legally binding.

The jury had already retired at 9 o'clock in the morning to deliberate. It was not until late afternoon that the decision was made: the 20-year-old woman from Salzburg killed her own child, who was only seven weeks old, the lay judges decided by seven votes to one in favor of murder. And they also found the father, a 25-year-old from Salzburg, guilty: because he had watched and not intervened when the mentally ill 20-year-old took her baby out of the crib and shook it to death. In addition to 16 years in prison, the 20-year-old was also committed to a closed mental hospital. The 25-year-old received a 12-year prison sentence for continued bodily harm resulting in death by omission. The sentences are not final.

(Bild: Tschepp Markus, Krone KREATIV)

The crime, which took place on October 22, 2022, caused horror throughout Austria. "She shook the child violently seven to ten times and slapped her in the face," accused public prosecutor Elena Haslinger. At the time, the couple had lived together in a 21-square-meter room in an assisted living home in Salzburg. On the day the terrible thing happened, they were lying in bed together, arguing about who should feed the child. According to the indictment, the 20-year-old then shook her son Elias to death. And then went back to sleep. What only later emerged from forensic experts: Elias had been abused, beaten and shaken several times. Haslinger therefore accused the parents of murder as well as continued violence.

At the beginning of the trial, they blamed each other, mostly sobbing. The 20-year-old even spoke of the man's physical violence against her. She stuck to this until the end: "It was him." She only allowed it because: "I didn't care about the child. I wanted to save the relationship." Court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann attested that the mother had a mental illness: she had "disturbed emotions" and lacked empathy. "I consider her dangerous in the future without treatment." The 25-year-old, on the other hand, emphasized on the first day of the trial: "I never hit Elias". He also claims not to have done anything violent to his girlfriend. On the third day of the trial, the accused, who already has two children, admitted to neglecting his son: "I should have taken the child to the doctor and not just googled." In the end, Elias was only allowed to live in this world for seven weeks.