Six years in prison

14-year-old convicted of attempted murder in Lower Austria

A 14-year-old boy had to sit in the dock at Krems Regional Court for attempted murder.

(Bild: Patrick Huber)

Just a few weeks after his 14th birthday, a boy from Lower Austria committed his first offense. A simple punch was followed a month later by a broken nose - and finally an attempted murder in November. Together with two older friends, he maltreated, blackmailed and kidnapped a 45-year-old man. They all received long prison sentences - not legally binding.

They beat their victim for hours, drove him across the Waldviertel and finally held him in an apartment - only to continue beating him with a wooden slat. Until the three defendants finally wanted to abandon the man in a wooded area. To let him die, the public prosecutor's office in Krems (Lower Austria) is convinced and charged the perpetrators of the violence with attempted murder, among other things - the youngest is just 14 years old!

"He almost had tears in his eyes"
The brutality was captured on video. "We all had a drink," admits the teenager. Together with his friends (20 and 29), the aggression got worse and worse. The eldest tried to defend the boy on the first day of the trial in court in Krems: "He just stood by and almost had tears in his eyes. You could tell it was too much for him." - "But you don't notice any of that on the video. You can't hear any tears in his voice either," the judge interrupts him. 

Just 14 and already an offender
Further incidents show that the 14-year-old is not entirely averse to violence. In May - just a few weeks after his 14th birthday - he allegedly punched another teenager in the face. Just a month later, he broke the nose of another. A few days later, he made a dangerous threat to a victim. And he was already known to the police before he reached the age of criminal responsibility. 

According to the public prosecutor's office, there is only one logical outcome: they would have disposed of the victim.

Vertreterin der Anklagebehörde im LG Krems (NÖ)

In the summer of 2024, he met the 45-year-old - the later beating victim. He had sexual contact with the much older man. The 14-year-old also sent him naked pictures on request. "He always gave me money. I thought to myself, I don't care about the pictures if I get money," the young Lower Austrian told the jury. At some point, however, he felt abused ...

"The plan consisted of two components: To give him a beating and to extort money," explains one of the defense lawyers. That's why the three of them drove to the 45-year-old's home on November 21, 2024. "We pushed him into a corner and told him to give us money or we'd go to the police," admits the 14-year-old. This then escalated into an outburst of violence - there was never any intention of murder.

Six years in prison for the boys
After a long deliberation, however, the jury saw things differently: they found the three Lower Austrians guilty as charged. The 14-year-old boy gets six years in prison. The 19-year-old must serve 13 years in prison. The eldest was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. None of the sentences are final.