Teen Couple in Graz Convicted of Attempted Murder
The 17-year-old boy and his girlfriend of the same age are said to have taken revenge on their dealer in Graz in September of the previous year after a failed drug deal. The young man, then only 16, held the victim while the girl stabbed him four times with a knife. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
In court, the two denied any intent to kill, but the dealer survived only thanks to an emergency operation. Everything happened on September 8 of the previous year: The accused boy from the Graz area was ripped off during a drug deal near the Graz train station. The drug dealer took the money during the handover, but the can handed over did not contain the agreed tablets with benzodiazepines - or "benzos" for short. Annoyed by the failed deal, the teenager contacted his girlfriend from Leoben. She came to him in Graz on the same day, and together they are said to have hatched a revenge plan according to the indictment.
Victim's Lung Collapsed
They arranged another meeting with the drug dealer. This is when the stabbing occurred. "The accused tried to kill the victim," was the prosecutor's accusation. Of the four stabs in the back, one pierced the pleura, causing the left lung to collapse. "It was only by luck that it remained an attempted murder," said the prosecutor. The intensive medical care and the emergency operation "prevented worse."
However, the two defendants and their defense attorneys saw it quite differently. Both teenagers admitted that there was a scuffle at the meeting and then the girl stabbed while the boy had the victim in a "headlock." However, there was never any intent to kill. "I wanted to make him give me my money back," said the accused. His then-girlfriend also said: "We wanted to confront him. There was no talk of revenge." She was surprised when a scuffle broke out between her boyfriend and the dealer. She panicked because she thought the other had the upper hand over her boyfriend. That's why she stabbed.
No Intent to Murder Was Present
Since the 17-year-old had the knife, she is considered the alleged main perpetrator in court, her boyfriend as an accomplice. The young woman's defense attorney said: "I met an insecure girl. She is not a cold-blooded murderer." There was no intent to murder. However, the jury saw it differently in their deliberation late in the evening. They unanimously found both teenagers guilty as charged. However, the verdict is not yet legally binding.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.