14-year-old tried in Vienna for knife murder on cemetery
A 14-year-old Viennese girl is standing trial for the killing of a 64-year-old pensioner on Baumgarten Cemetery. According to an expert assessment, she was criminally responsible.
Trial in Vienna: 14-year-old accused of stabbing pensioner on cemetery
A trial began on Wednesday in a Viennese magistrate court against a 14-year-old Viennese girl accused of killing a 64-year-old pensioner with multiple knife stabs on Baumgarten Cemetery in the area of Waidhausenstraße. According to oe24.at, the older woman died next to a grave, and no help came in time.
Investigators believe the teenager committed the act consciously and deliberately. Based on findings so far, the two women did not know each other – the pensioner apparently became the defendant's target completely by chance.
During the investigation, the 14-year-old was examined by an expert. The assessment found that the girl suffers from a mental disorder, but recognised the gravity of her actions. The expert therefore classified her as criminally responsible.
At the time of arrest, investigators secured not only the alleged weapon and blood-stained clothing, but also her mobile telephone, which the teenager is believed to have used to film the act. There is also suspicion that she had taken ten tranquilliser tablets before the deed.
At the time of the act, the defendant was living in a supervised shared housing unit, a crisis facility for intensive-care young people. She had previously been accommodated in a social psychiatric care facility. She is currently in a forensic therapeutic centre.
Since the maximum sentence for murder for juveniles between 14 and 16 years of age is ten years' imprisonment, the case is being tried before a magistrate court. The public prosecutor is additionally requesting permanent placement in a specialised therapy facility for offenders. An attempt by the defence to prevent this request failed.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)