Homeless Killed in Vienna: Penalty for 18-Year-Old Increased to 13 Years
The sentence was increased by one year to 13 years in prison, confirmed a OLG spokesperson in media reports. The decision is legally binding.
Two Homeless Men Killed in Vienna: Sentence Increased
The Senate followed a criminal appeal by the public prosecutor's office, Gruber told the APA. The prosecuting authority had considered the sentence imposed by the court of first instance to be too lenient. A jury had also committed the 18-year-old to a forensic therapeutic centre due to a serious and persistent personality disorder and his associated dangerousness.
In July and August 2023, the then 16-year-old boy attacked and killed two homeless men in their sleep with a knife over three nights, and seriously injured another homeless woman. In mid-December 2023, he finally went to a police station to turn himself in. He said he had felt "an inner rage, restlessness and infinite sadness" before the crimes. He was "feeling bad", he had wanted "someone else to feel worse", he said at the time.
In addition to the homicides, a violent act against the boy's mother was also tried last November at the Regional Court, which the jury judged as serious bodily harm. Two psychiatric reports certified that the boy was sane and therefore culpable at all times of the crime.
However, the expert Peter Hofmann found that the 18-year-old poses an immense danger due to a personality development disorder. Hofmann described the 18-year-old in his expertise as a "serial killer". These are characterized by "often wanting to experience a stronger stimulus" and in their crimes "looking for other victims, other locations and other methods of killing."
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.