Murder trial in Innsbruck: DNA traces in case of 2005 murdered student in focus
A 42-year-old man is on trial in Tyrol for allegedly stabbing a 19-year-old student to death in Innsbruck in 2005. The continuation of the trial centres on the evidential value of DNA traces.
Murder trial of slain student in Innsbruck continues
As vol.at reports, the trial against a 42-year-old man will continue, who is accused of killing a 19-year-old student from Lower Austria in Innsbruck's Rapoldipark on 23 June 2005. The defendant, a former fellow student of the woman who has long lived in Australia, is said to have inflicted two heavy stab wounds to her chest and back. A pensioner found the blood-soaked body of the young woman in front of a telephone box – both had previously attended a student party.
On Friday, a decision will first be made on whether to admit or reject the defence's evidence applications. If the applications are rejected, closing arguments, jury deliberations and the verdict will follow. The defendant declared on Monday that he had "absolutely nothing to do with the matter".
The evidential value of DNA traces is at the centre of the trial. Public prosecutor Adelheid Steiner stated that DNA traces of the defendant were "with high probability" left at the crime scene. Defence counsel Mathias Kapferer countered that, given the shared celebration beforehand, there were many ways these traces could have come to be on a discarded cigarette, the woman's bicycle or her clothing. The expert acknowledged that various DNA traces of the defendant had been found on and near the deceased, but she could not say "that any trace must have been created at the crime scene". If convicted, the defendant faces up to life imprisonment.
Source: Kleine Zeitung