Bloody deed with two dead

Bärnbach: Fire brigade finds slain comrade

The black flag hangs in front of the Bärnbach armory.

(Bild: Jürgen Fuchs)

The day after the terrible bloody deed in Bärnbach that left two people dead, the West Styrian municipality is stunned. The victim was well integrated into local life, everyone knew the 61-year-old. The fire department, of which he was an active member until the end, is in mourning.

The crime must have happened out of the blue, otherwise passers-by who met the "Steirerkrone" near the crime scene on Monday and the mayor cannot explain it. Nothing was known about family disputes or even a quarrel over inheritance. The 61-year-old well builder Johannes E. and his cousin Anton (56), who, according to current knowledge, took up the axe, killed his relative and then took his own life, were both said to be well off. The older man had always been an integral part of community life.

Master well builder and active community citizen
E. had closed his business in a quiet side street of the main street the previous year, reports Max Kienzer, who has known the family for generations. On the contrary: the 61-year-old remained involved in the community, for example in the dance club, and was active in the volunteer fire department, as were his two sons.

There is a particular tragedy behind it: when his father did not arrive for lunch on Sunday as agreed, the 30-year-old son became worried, rushed to the abandoned workshop, which was locked from the inside, and at the same time called the fire department. The fire brigade broke open the door and discovered the lifeless body of his comrade and the body of the second man, who had hanged himself, as Hansjörg Bacher, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Graz, confirmed on Monday.

Silent remembrance of killed comrade
The black flag hangs in front of the armory on this spring-like Rose Monday. A small memorial service has been spontaneously organized for the evening, says Mayor Jochen Bocksruker. "What happened is unimaginable," says the head of the village in a fragile voice. In the short term, they even considered stopping the activities on Shrove Tuesday, but at least the program in the elementary school will go ahead as planned. "What can the children do when something terrible like this happens?" says Bocksruker.

Even though the crime only became known late on Sunday evening, word had long since spread throughout the town by the next morning. "Everyone knew him," says Harald Neukam, who lives near the workshop, about the master well builder. "When I heard that in the morning, I could hardly believe it. I already knew him when he was still a little 'button' ..."

Victim very present, cousin very withdrawn
Max Kienzer, who lived in the neighborhood for a long time, is also struggling for words in the face of the tragedy. "Hannes was very well respected as a tradesman and in the fire department," he says, adding that only positive things can be said about the large family, some of whom live in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene. However, both walkers report that far less was known in the village about the second deceased, Anton E., than about his affable cousin. The 56-year-old lived a very secluded life with his mother, according to the mayor.

What ultimately led to the horrific act is being investigated at full speed. Traces of blood were found on the axe, and the autopsy of the victim ordered by the public prosecutor's office on Monday confirmed the worst suspicions: Johannes E. had been beaten to death with several blows, says spokesman Bacher. The time of the crime was probably Sunday morning or noon, at 2.30 p.m. the worried son alerted the fire department.

Everything points to an act of passion
The exact motive will probably never be fully clarified, as the 56-year-old did not leave a suicide note or anything similar. As there is currently no evidence of a long-simmering dispute, the investigators are currently assuming that the attack was committed in the heat of the moment.