Attempted double murder

Court retrials after stabbing

This is the second round of legal proceedings after jurors suspended the verdict the first time (symbolic image).

(Bild: EVA MANHART / APA / picturedesk.com)

On Wednesday, the trial of a 22-year-old Chechen man who stabbed two Syrians aged 18 and 21 in the chest with a folding knife at Reumannplatz on March 1, 2024 was repeated at the regional court. The sentence: four and a half years in prison. 

The man was charged with attempted double murder. He was "guilty of the stabbings", said the accused. However, he denied the intent to kill. His client had wanted to "incapacitate" the men, said defense lawyer Florian Kreiner. 

Jury suspends verdict the first time
The trial was a so-called second trial. The first time, at the beginning of October, the jury had dismissed the charges after hours of deliberation. They found the 22-year-old guilty of two counts of intentional bodily harm. They found that the 46-year-old father of the young Chechen, who was originally co-defendant, was guilty of justified self-defense in a coercive situation. However, the three professional judges - two men and one woman - did not accept these decisions. They suspended the verdict on the grounds of juror error.

Re-trial without the father, who was originally a co-defendant
Surprisingly, the father was no longer summoned to the retrial as a defendant, but as a witness. In the meantime, the public prosecutor's office had withdrawn the charges against the 46-year-old because it no longer saw any "actual grounds for further prosecution" of the man, as stated in the reasons for discontinuation.

As a result of frequent stabbings in the area around Reumannplatz and Keplerplatz, a weapons ban came into force for this area last spring.

(Bild: Zwefo)

The 22-year-old had initially been approached by one of the two Syrians on Reumannplatz on the afternoon of March 1, 2024, allegedly for drugs. This had made him "grumpy", his defense lawyer stated: "He finds drugs despicable." This led to assault, with the Chechen losing out as his opponent sprayed him with pepper spray and allegedly also headbutted him. The Syrian then ran away, the lawyer explained.

"Didn't expect him to die"
The young Chechen went home, where he talked to his father. In the evening, they both went to Reumannplatz. When the younger man saw one of the two Syrians again, a fight broke out. Because the Syrians had received support from other men and were superior to him, he drew his knife, the defendant stated on the record.

I didn't expect him to die.

Der Angeklagte

He used it to stab the 21-year-old in the chest: "I didn't expect him to die." When asked about his motives, he replied: "The way he looked at me, I just couldn't control myself". He continued: "The way he hurt me, I wanted to hurt him too". When asked why he had a knife with him at all, the defendant replied: "Because Reumannplatz, stop." He always had the weapon with him, not just on the day of the crime. After the 21-year-old's statement, the accused apologized in person. Victim and defendant shook hands and patted each other on the back.

He then left in the direction of Quellenplatz. A group of other Syrians followed him and his father and surrounded them, some of them armed with iron bars. When an 18-year-old was about to attack him allegedly "in a fighting position", he stabbed him again.

The 22-year-old first defendant with his defense lawyer Florian Kreiner at the first trial.

(Bild: Sophie Pratschner, Krone KREATIV)

Ten centimeter deep stab wound in the chest
The victims survived, although the blade had severed the younger man's internal thoracic artery and damaged his lungs. After being transferred to hospital, the critically injured man suffered a circulatory collapse on the operating table and no longer had a pulse. He was resuscitated thanks to the rapid reaction of a surgeon. The 22-year-old inflicted a ten-centimeter deep stab wound in the right front chest wall of the second Syrian. 

The co-defendant father of the young Chechen was originally accused of holding witnesses to the crime at bay with a drawn knife and preventing them from coming to the injured man's aid. The public prosecutor's office changed its mind - apparently under the impression of the results of the evidence in the first main hearing.

As a result of frequent stabbings in the area around Reumannplatz and Keplerplatz, a weapons ban came into force in this area last spring. This was recently extended.