Suitcase Corpse in Vienna-Favoriten: Murder Charge Against 28-Year-Old

A 28-year-old Austrian citizen of Egyptian descent is accused of luring the 59-year-old victim into a specially rented apartment, overpowering him there, and strangling him.

According to the indictment, which is available to the APA, debts totaling 15,000 euros were the decisive motive for the killing. The accused and the victim met in February 2023 at a hotel in Döbling, where the 28-year-old worked as a receptionist and the 59-year-old was a long-term guest. The two became friends. In July 2024, the 28-year-old, due to his financial distress, sought help from the 59-year-old, who initially lent him 10,000 euros. Repayment was agreed upon by the end of the year. Subsequently, there were two more money transfers, with the receptionist pretending to the 59-year-old that he needed the money to pay a detective or to avert an execution procedure.

Victim in Vienna reportedly insisted on promissory note

According to the indictment, repayment was not possible for the 28-year-old, as he also had other outstanding liabilities. At the end of November, the 59-year-old then insisted on the issuance of a promissory note after being repeatedly put off by the 28-year-old when he brought up the money. The outstanding 15,000 euros were to be recorded in writing, with the 28-year-old committing to repayment with his signature.

Strangled with cable tie according to indictment

Since this was not possible for him, the accused felt "compelled to solve the problem in another way," according to the indictment. He temporarily rented an apartment on Humboldtgasse, procured garbage bags, cable ties, and gray duct tape from a hardware store, and lured the 59-year-old into the apartment on February 26 under the pretense of a friendly meeting. Once there, he allegedly overpowered the man, put a sleep mask over his eyes, gagged him with a dish towel and duct tape, and strangled him with a cable tie.

The body remained in the apartment for two days because the 28-year-old was reportedly undecided about how to dispose of it. On February 28, the rental agreement for the apartment ended, so the 28-year-old eventually procured a hard-shell suitcase. Upon returning from the store where he had purchased it, he encountered a man in front of the apartment who was supposed to clean the place on behalf of the landlord and make it ready for the next guests. To prevent the cleaner from discovering the dead body, "the accused went into the apartment, where he finally packed the body headfirst into the hard-shell suitcase with bent hip and knee joints, after partially covering the body with black garbage bags," as stated in the indictment.

Worker Saw Human Foot in Not Completely Closed Suitcase in Vienna-Favoriten

The 28-year-old is said to have placed the suitcase near garbage containers on Quellenstraße, where shortly before 3:00 PM, a man engaged in clearance work noticed the container. "Since the zipper was open about 20 centimeters at the top, upon closer inspection, he noticed a human foot inside the suitcase, whereupon he turned to his boss, who informed the police," the responsible prosecutor describes in her indictment.

In the course of the investigations by the State Criminal Police Office, the 28-year-old was identified as a prime suspect and arrested on March 7. At that time, he had withdrawn a total of 24,000 euros from the deceased's account using his ATM card, according to the indictment. The 28-year-old has not yet confessed. Initially, he claimed he met the victim at Reumannplatz, then he couldn't remember. He then found the bound dead man in an apartment on March 28 and "considered how to get rid of the corpse," as quoted in the indictment from a police interrogation of the 28-year-old. That's why he got the suitcase.

28-Year-Old Recently Exercised Right to Remain Silent

Recently, the defendant exercised his right to remain silent and did not comment further on the allegations. His defense attorney Philipp Wolm did not provide a statement upon APA's request. "I do not wish to comment on an ongoing case," Wolm said on Thursday.

When the case will be heard before a Vienna jury court is still open. There is no trial date yet. For the defendant, a conviction could mean ten to 20 years or life imprisonment.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.