Two murder trials in Graz in November: Teenager and Slovenian ex-partner to face court
Two murder trials are scheduled for November at Graz Regional Criminal Court. A teenager and the ex-partner of a Graz influencer must answer to the courts.
Graz Regional Criminal Court: Two murder trials scheduled for November
Two murder trials are on the agenda at Graz Regional Criminal Court in November, according to the Kleine Zeitung. First, on 18 and 19 November, a teenager will be tried on suspicion of murdering a pensioner and attempted murder of his wife. Just a few days later, on 27 and 30 November, a 31-year-old Slovenian must answer for the alleged killing of his ex-girlfriend, a Graz influencer.
Teenager confessed to knife attack on couple
The defendant from southeastern Styria admitted to police that in April he had broken into the house of a married couple he did not know in St. Peter am Ottersbach (South-East Styria district). He stabbed both the man and the woman with a knife. As a motive, the former butcher's apprentice cited "murder lust". He deliberately selected the couple because he expected little resistance given the age of the victims. He subsequently discarded the hammer used to commit the act; the alleged murder weapon, a knife, was secured.
After the attack, the teenager himself called the police and surrendered without resistance. A child and adolescent psychiatric assessment confirms a mental disorder but establishes that the 17-year-old was of sound mind at the time of the act. Detention on remand was converted in June to placement in a forensic therapeutic centre.
Influencer transported in suitcase across the border
The second trial concerns the killing of a Graz influencer, which occurred almost a year ago. Her 31-year-old ex-partner is alleged to have killed her on 23 November 2024 in her own flat, subsequently transported the body in a suitcase across the Slovenian border and buried it in a remote wooded area there. He himself made these statements to investigators. He has so far denied the killing itself.
The investigation against the accused's brother and stepfather, who were suspected of assisting in the transport and burial of the body, has since been discontinued. No evidence emerged of criminal offences by the two Slovenian nationals on Austrian soil; acts committed on Slovenian territory fall under that country's jurisdiction.
No trial date yet for Cobra officer
Also charged with murder is an officer of the Cobra special unit, who is accused of strangling a 34-year-old woman from Tillmitsch in January. The indictment has already been filed, but no trial date has yet been set. The police officer admitted to being connected with the woman's death but described the incident as an "accident" and denies intentional killing. He also confessed to burying the body near his parents' home. He is charged with both murder and disturbance of the peace of the dead.
Source: Kleine Zeitung