"Punishment" for children

Stepfather throws guinea pig out of window

The guinea pig (symbolic image) died after being thrown out of the window.

(Bild: sasel77 - stock.adobe.com)

It was a tragedy for the daughter of his then partner just five days before Christmas. On December 19, the man threw her guinea pig out of the window of their apartment in Vienna's Meidling district. The animal hit the sidewalk from a height of three meters.

The defendant appears neatly for his trial in room 208 of the Vienna Regional Court. He speaks calmly and politely to the judge and knows how to behave. But apparently this is not always the case. "I'm bipolar," says the 44-year-old native of Lower Austria, who is also an alcoholic.

What happened that day in December, Judge Stefan Renner wants to know? "I had a fight with my girlfriend. We kept bumping into each other because the children weren't looking after the animals." He then said: "If they don't look after them, I'll throw them out of the window." His partner at the time replied: "You'd never dare!" - "Then I did it."

Animal had to be put down
He took one of the three guinea pigs - the one belonging to his girlfriend's daughter - out of the cage and threw it three meters down. "The animal had to be euthanized due to the injuries sustained as a result of the crime," the public prosecutor explains.

If they don't take care of the animals, I'll throw them out the window.

Der angeklagte Stiefvater machte seine Drohung wahr

"Besides, I had 3.6 per mille alcohol in my blood" 
"I'm sorry anyway. That was complete nonsense", the man in the animal cruelty trial shows remorse. He was in an exceptional mental state because his father had died a few days earlier. "I also had 3.6 per mille alcohol in my blood." There is no risk of repetition: "I won't be that stupid again."

After the incident, his partner separated from him: "I've started violence therapy and am waiting for a place in psychotherapy." The man has high debts following a bankruptcy and is unemployed. Mr. Rat acknowledges his remorse and proposes diversion. This means that the proceedings against the blameless 44-year-old are provisionally suspended without punishment, subject to a two-year probationary period.