Murder trial in Vienna: 14-year-old accused of stabbing pensioner to death at Baumgartner Cemetery
A murder trial begins in Vienna on 17 June against a 14-year-old girl who is alleged to have killed a 64-year-old woman at Baumgartner Cemetery in late February.
Trial begins against teenager after fatal stabbing in Vienna-Penzing
According to meinbezirk.at, a murder trial against a 14-year-old girl begins on 17 June before the Vienna Regional Court. The teenager is alleged to have killed a 64-year-old pensioner at Baumgartner Cemetery in the 14th district in late February. According to the public prosecutor's office, she stabbed the victim multiple times in the head and neck area. The woman died at the scene of the crime.
At the time of the offence, the accused was living in a socio-psychiatric facility. An expert assessment concluded that she was competent to stand trial and capable of guilt. She is currently held in the forensic therapeutic centre of Asten prison in Upper Austria.
The proceedings will be heard before a lay court, in which professional judges sit together with lay judges to decide on guilt and sentence. For juveniles aged 14 to 16, the law provides for a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment for murder. A jury court is therefore not competent to hear the case.
The public prosecutor's office additionally requested the placement of the teenager in a forensic therapeutic centre pursuant to § 21 para. 2 of the Criminal Code. This measure applies when a person, despite being capable of guilt, is deemed dangerous due to a mental disorder and further serious criminal offences are to be expected. The teenager's defence counsel, Astrid Wagner, objected to this — however, her objection was dismissed.
Following the offence, police arrested the teenager at her shared accommodation. Officers secured a pocket knife as the alleged weapon used in the crime, along with blood-stained clothing and her mobile phone. According to investigators, the device also contains a video of the offence. The Vienna resident confessed to the investigators.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)