Perpetrator still on the run

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Relatives were worried and kept an eye out. The dead woman was finally discovered on Monday afternoon.

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

Murder alert in the popular spa town of Baden on the outskirts of Vienna: on Monday, police officers found the body of an elderly lady in her apartment in the town of 25,000 inhabitants in Lower Austria. Local residents were shocked - the single pensioner was well established in life and had many friends. Who is responsible for the crime remains a mystery.

The body of the 81-year-old woman was found dead with massive head injuries. The police are therefore assuming a violent crime and have started an investigation, as Chief Inspector Johann Baumschlager of the St. Pölten police confirmed. 

Relatives were worried
The elderly woman could not be reached, which is why relatives were worried and alerted the police. Officers used a spare key to get into the apartment and discovered the deceased on Monday afternoon, according to a police spokesperson. According to him, an autopsy that had already been carried out confirmed that the 81-year-old died of skull injuries. The victim is said to have been beaten to death. According to Baumschlager, the investigators are not assuming a robbery-murder.

The door to the crime scene in Baden, where the body was found with massive skull injuries.

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

(Bild: Kronen Zeitung)

Neighbors in fear of fugitive perpetrators
The neighbors expressed their shock at the "Krone" local inspection: "She was such an elegant woman, you couldn't tell her age at all. The last time I saw her was three days ago. I don't understand how anyone could do this to her. She was such a lovely woman," said one young mother. "I wonder how the perpetrator got into the house, the front door is locked. I have children, that's enough to worry about."

An elderly lady, who is also a neighbor of the deceased, knew the woman who was born in Baden. She was her hairdresser and they met at a funeral on Friday. Margit G. was "single" and had "no children, but still had relatives and quite a large circle of friends". She also did not know who might have been the last person in the apartment. 

Help for victims of violence

The police are the point of contact for people who perceive violence or are victims of violence themselves. The police emergency number 133 can be called at any time.

The crime prevention department of the Vienna Criminal Police Office also offers personal advice on the hotline [phone].

Further contacts:

• Women's helpline: 0800 222 555
• Violence Protection Center: 0800 700 217
• Emergency call for victims: 0800 112 112
• Emergency number of the Vienna Women's Shelter Association: 05 77 22
  

The officers painstakingly collected evidence at the scene of the crime. These are now being compared in the authorities' database. The search for one or more unknown perpetrators is ongoing. The background to the crime is still completely unclear. 

Second femicide in Austria this year
This is the second femicide in Austria this year. Shortly after the New Year, there was a suspected murder and extended suicide of a brother and sister in the municipality of Pischelsdorf in Styria.

The 81-year-old man allegedly brutally killed his sister (77), who lived in the same household, with an axe and then took his own life. Both the public and the investigators were particularly concerned about the question of why.