Baby with Shaken Baby Syndrome: Father Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison in Vienna

The father was charged as the direct perpetrator, the mother as an accomplice. The 26-year-old was unanimously found guilty of attempted murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. His 23-year-old wife received a five-year sentence for contributing to bodily harm with severe lasting consequences.

The father's "agonizing act" was considered an aggravating factor. The mother was granted leniency for her "subordinate involvement." The legal representative of the affected parties, Lian Kanzler, was awarded 150,000 euros as a private participant representative.

Verdicts are not final

The verdicts are not final. Defense attorney Andreas Reichenbach filed nullity complaints and appeals for both parents. They had vehemently denied the incriminated acts during the trial. The couple's then six-week-old daughter was brought to a hospital shortly before Christmas with severe brain injuries, which, according to a forensic medical report, resulted from a shaking trauma. The baby survived but suffered irreversible brain damage. The prosecutor initially made no statement regarding the verdicts.

According to the indictment, the 26-year-old father attempted to kill his youngest daughter with at least conditional intent by shaking her multiple times during at least two attacks at unspecified times in December 2024, causing her to suffer a shaking trauma with acute bleeding between the skull and brain, increased brain pressure, retinal hemorrhages, bilateral hygromas (a cystic accumulation of fluids, note), and several bridging vein thromboses, resulting in acute life-threatening danger. The mother, three years younger, was accused of failing to prevent her husband from committing the act, despite being present during the assaults in their shared apartment. She neither protected the child nor informed "third parties" - doctors or the Child and Youth Welfare MA 11.

Baby hospitalized in "severely life-threatening condition"

As forensic pathologist Katharina Stolz explained during the trial, the emergency services brought the little one to a hospital on December 20, 2024, in a "severely life-threatening condition." The baby was immediately intubated. Initial medical examinations revealed fresh bleeding between the hard and soft meninges, signs of brain damage, and atrophy of brain tissue. On the same day, the baby's skull was opened, and a so-called decompression surgery was performed to reduce brain pressure.

"At first, it looked like she wouldn't survive," the expert described. However, on January 1, artificial ventilation could be removed. On January 21, the little one was transferred to a regular ward. "She was unable to drink independently. She still can't do that today," Stolz explained. Subsequently, the baby was taken to a rehabilitation facility and is now in a care facility, severely impaired, as the forensic pathologist explained.

"She does not grasp. She does not move. She does not turn. She cannot move her limbs purposefully. She cannot feed herself," described the forensic pathologist the current condition of the allegedly abused toddler. It is assumed that there is a "limited life expectancy."

Defense Attorney in Vienna: "He is a Loving Father"

The parents maintained their previous stance and insisted they had done nothing to their daughter, born on October 13, 2024. "The injuries are undisputed. The question will be how they occurred," said defense attorney Andreas Reichenbach, who represents both defendants. The father had "always lovingly cared" for the little girl and "never actively shaken" the child.

There is not a single witness in the family's environment who observed violent behavior from the parents, emphasized Reichenbach: "He is a loving father. Only positive things have always been reported about the mother as well." The 23-year-old had not experienced any violence against her children from her husband: "If she had noticed anything, there would certainly have been a huge dispute with her husband. She never noticed anything at all."

Couple Married for Seven Years

The defendants are a Syrian couple who have been married for seven years. The man came to Austria in 2021, and in 2023 he brought his wife and three children over. Since December 2023, they have been living with three small children in a 60-square-meter apartment in Simmering. Last autumn, the youngest daughter was born.

When asked by the presiding judge who took care of the other three children aged five, four, and three after the birth of the youngest, the mother replied: "There was no one except us." Her youngest was taken to the hospital "because her sister fell on her." The baby cried a little and later turned "yellow" in the face. Until then, her daughter seemed "normal": "Therefore, I assumed she was fine."

Father: "My Daughter is My Heart"

The father denied the question of having acted violently against his little daughter. "My daughter is my heart," he assured.

The doctors had suspected a severe shaking trauma from the beginning, the prosecutor reported to the jury. The parents, who were initially treated as witnesses and not as suspects, claimed that the girl had been unintentionally injured by their oldest child. The few weeks old daughter was lying on a mattress on the floor near the heater to keep warm, and her five-year-old sister tripped over her with a cell phone in her hand and fell against her head with the mobile phone.

This version of the cause of the injuries is refuted for the prosecutor. She referred to the forensic medical report obtained, which ruled out that the head injuries could be attributed to the events described by the parents.

Forensic Doctor in Vienna Demonstrated Shaking with Baby Doll

This was confirmed by forensic doctor Stolz during the trial. The siblings of the affected child were physically "not capable of causing this injury pattern." Rather, it is assumed that there was a vigorous shaking shortly before the hospital admission and an incident "two to three weeks" prior. Stolz derived this from the injury mechanism inside the skull and from a non-fresh fracture of the third rib on the left above the spine. A severe shaking lasting five to ten seconds is sufficient to cause a shaking trauma, Stolz stated, demonstrating this process to the jury using a specially made baby doll.

Parents in Custody Since Mid-January

The parents have been in custody since mid-January. Their other three children had already been taken from them earlier due to imminent danger. The Vienna Child and Youth Welfare Service (MA 11) took over temporary custody and subsequently arranged crisis foster parents for the three young children.

The two oldest children - four and five years old - reportedly talked about events at home while at the crisis center where they were initially placed. "It's nicer at the crisis center. We don't get hit there," the five-year-old is said to have explained. As two social educators testified in court, the five-year-old allegedly threw a pillow on the floor and demonstrated alleged violent actions of her father. During this, the five-year-old reportedly said in German "Papa hit" or "Papa kill."

(APA/Red)

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