Vienna murder trial: 33-year-old admits to strangling Jennifer S. following 2018 separation
A 33-year-old has been convicted of murdering Jennifer S., whom he strangled and buried in January 2018. The verdict is not yet final.
Chokehold lasted at least 15 minutes – body undiscovered for eight years
According to Google News AT – Crime (de), a 33-year-old has been convicted of murdering Jennifer S. In addition to the maximum sentence, the court ordered his commitment to a forensic-therapeutic centre pursuant to § 21 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code. The verdict is not yet final: defence counsel Astrid Wagner lodged an appeal for annulment and an ordinary appeal.
Confession and admission of guilt in court
The defendant fully admitted his guilt at the beginning of his examination. "I confess full guilt to murder," he declared. He said he had strangled Jennifer S. and "did not want to let her go". "I could not bear that the person I love so much was no longer in my life," he said. The presiding judge Petra Poschalko pressed further: "Anger, then." – "It was definitely overlaid with anger," admitted the man, who had previously had no criminal record.
The defendant publicly apologised to the relatives of the deceased: "You have suffered for eight years because I was unable to take responsibility." He hoped "that I will be helped". Judge Poschalko replied dryly: "There is no help for the victim anymore. That is what is so tragic about it."
Facts of the case: flat in Vienna-Brigittenau, 21 January 2018
According to investigations, the man killed Jennifer S. on the morning of 21 January 2018 in her flat in Vienna-Brigittenau, after she had finally ended the relationship. The prosecutor told the jury that the couple had been together for approximately a year and a half at that time. The man had exercised "absolute control" over the woman but had taken "freedom" for himself and maintained contact with other women via social networks. "A relationship with one person was not enough," the 33-year-old admitted.
On the day of the crime, an argument escalated. Jennifer S. demanded that he leave the flat immediately, according to the defendant's account. She struck him in the face and became "violent". After the man, who was 1.96 metres tall and weighed approximately 90 kilograms, had overpowered the much physically weaker woman, he applied pressure with a forearm chokehold. Forensic pathologist Katharina Stölzl explained that Jennifer S. died as a result of this chokehold from asphyxiation. The strangulation had lasted "at least 15 minutes"; it could not be determined when she lost consciousness.
Body undressed, transported in a box, buried twice
Following the crime, the defendant undressed the dead woman, placed her in a box, and transported her away. Initially, he buried the body in the area around Großweikersdorf in Tulln district. "At first I didn't know where I was driving to. I was without a plan, without anything," he said. When the judge asked what he felt at the time, he replied: "Fear. That I would be caught."
Later, he relocated the remains to the vicinity of the Allentsteig army training ground in Zwettl district and buried them there. The remains of missing Jennifer S. were identified on the basis of skull bone.
Eight years of uncertainty for the family
Jennifer S. was reported missing when she disappeared in January 2018. The now-accused man was suspected from the outset of being connected to her disappearance, but nothing could initially be proven against him. Criminal investigations into suspicion of unlawful restraint were discontinued in April 2019.
Only because the man described in detail in a chat in 2025 how one could dispose of a body without leaving traces did he come back into the sights of the prosecution authorities. He admitted in court that this had "put him under pressure". He said he "could not bear the burden" after having "suppressed" what happened for years and "distracted himself with work or other diversions". In December 2024, he finally made a confession and led police to the buried remains.
Relatives: "The mother searched for her daughter for eight years"
Andreas Schweitzer, legal representative of the deceased's mother, described the family's years of suffering. "For eight years the mother searched for her daughter. With hundreds of police officers, with excavations that she financed herself," he said. Jennifer S. had been "successful in her studies" and "a person with a zest for life". Her disappearance had psychologically "destroyed" not only her mother but also her sister and the deceased's nephew and niece. Schweitzer criticised that too little had been said about Jennifer S. during the trial: "It was only about the defendant."
Prosecution demanded maximum sentence
"He strangled her in cold blood," the prosecutor had declared at the beginning of the trial. "He could not accept her decision to leave him." She explicitly demanded the maximum sentence for a crime that had remained undetected for almost eight years.
Defence counsel Wagner emphasised that her client was "not a cold-blooded killer" and was "relieved that it has been cleared up". He "could not cope with her wishes to separate". With her appeal for annulment and ordinary appeal, the case now lies before a higher court.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)