Six years in prison

Vienna: attempted murder victim brutally assaulted again

The 28-year-old from Lower Austria in the Vienna regional court

(Bild: Anja Richter)

The victim is brought in a wheelchair to room 201 in Vienna's provincial court. The woman had to endure two terrible acts of violence. Less than two years ago, her ex-partner tried to kill the Polish woman. Now a 28-year-old man from Lower Austria, whom she did not know, is on trial. He tried to rape her outside a homeless shelter in Vienna-Hernals in August 2024. And has to spend a long time in prison for it.

"It was a very brutal, very mean and very vile attack," said the public prosecutor at the start of the rape trial in Vienna's Landl district. The accused is a 28-year-old man from Baden (Lower Austria). The Lower Austrian is alleged to have attacked a woman in front of a homeless facility on August 28, 2024. Perpetrator and victim did not know each other.

Perpetrator had two bottles of vodka
The attacker injured the 40-year-old woman by kicking and punching her in the face. He choked her, pulled her by the hair and then pulled down her pants and underpants, according to the indictment. He then tried to rape the Polish woman. "He was in a rage and shouted that he wanted to have sex," a witness described the situation. "I can only remember the last kick in the face," says the accused, who had 2.8 per mille alcohol in his blood and, according to his own statements, had previously consumed two bottles of vodka. "That's when I got scared."

Woman was the victim of an attempted murder two years ago
Among other things, the woman suffered a displaced nasal bone fracture during the attack. Particularly tragic: the homeless woman had already been the victim of a crime almost two years ago. Back then, her ex-partner tried to kill her. "She only just escaped with her life back then," says the victim's representative, talking about a "really borderline life".

"I must warn you, these are disturbing images," warns Judge Philipp Krasa, before showing the photos of the bloodied injured woman on the monitors. The defendant confesses. It was the first time he had attacked someone, he says. 

The accused is at great risk of committing criminal acts again.

Gerichtspsychiater Peter Hofmann

Bild: Groh Klemens

Mother's suicide not dealt with
He told the jury that he suffers from alcoholism and schizophrenia. When he was 14, he found his mother, who was also mentally ill, dead after her suicide: "I didn't come to terms with that." After school, he fell into alcoholism and became homeless. Due to his illness, court psychiatrist Peter Hofmann recommends placement in a forensic-therapeutic center.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m., it is clear: the jury sentences the man, who has a high school diploma and an apprenticeship certificate, to six years in prison plus admission to an institution. He must pay the victim 5000 euros in compensation within 14 days.