New findings

Bloody deed in Bärnbach: struck three times with an axe

Touching commemoration on Rose Monday in Bärnbach

(Bild: Freiwillige Stadtfeuerwehr Bärnbach)

On Monday evening, hundreds of people gathered at the Bärnbach fire station to commemorate the Styrian man murdered the day before. There are new insights into the course of events.

It was a simple but very moving memorial service on Monday evening in front of the fire station in Bärnbach in western Styria. Hundreds of people had come and lit torches and candles in memory of their murdered comrade, 61-year-old Johann E.

Tragedy on Shrove Sunday
On Sunday, the Styrian was found dead by his fellow firefighters in his abandoned workshop. His son (30) had raised the alarm after his father had not come for lunch and the workshop door was locked from the inside.

According to the current state of the investigation, the 61-year-old was beaten to death with a hand axe by his cousin, who was five years younger. The 56-year-old covered the dead man with a plastic bag and hanged himself. The background is still unclear. No one is aware of any dispute.

Loner who avoided doctors
But the perpetrator was a loner who lived in seclusion. There are many indications of a mental illness. "But there is no medical history because he avoided doctors," said Hansjörg Bacher, spokesman for the public prosecutor's office in Graz, to the "Krone" newspaper.