In Vienna, an entire family has to appear in court. Elderly women in particular have fallen victim to them: “They are helpful,” describes the public prosecutor. The Serbs feigned an emergency situation and then emptied the victims’ apartment. “I hope you’re embarrassed!” a victim’s granddaughter calls out to the defendants.
The dock in Hall 16 of the Vienna Regional Court is full: “It is a family clan with an approach that cannot be surpassed in terms of audacity,” is how the public prosecutor describes the eight defendants, all of whom have the same surname – four men and four women. The Serbs used tricks to gain access to apartments – especially those of old women. Gold and jewelry were missing after being invited to tea. “The bell rang for me. “Someone forgot their key,” says a 90-year-old witness. “I can’t leave a poor pregnant woman out in the rain.” So she invited two defendants to tea – when they left, the gold and jewelry were gone. In total, their damage amounts to 22,770 euros. But what really counts for the Viennese: “I don’t care about the money. I want my jewelry back. There are a lot of memories associated with it.”An 80-year-old victim drags himself onto the witness stand with the help of a walker. She had a similar experience: “A woman came and asked if she could come in and warm herself. It’s cold outside.” The elderly woman offered her drinks and food. She also lacked money afterwards. “I hope that you are at least a little embarrassed about what you are doing to people,” her granddaughter hisses at the eight defendants before she helps her grandmother out of the hearing room. Key safes broken into entrance doors They are just two of the many victims who can testify in the trial in Vienna – some have already died. The alleged acts occurred three years ago. Aside from faking an emergency situation, the family clan also used another tactic: breaking into key safes at front doors. Then they cleared out the apartments. While the prosecutor speaks of objectified evidence – DNA hits, recognition by victims, telephone evaluations – the defense lawyers Peter Philipp and Alexander Philipp see it differently: “There is not just this one group of perpetrators. There are ten, 50, even 100.” You couldn’t attribute all of the burglaries to the family clan. But at least some of them were provable to the jury: three of the defendants were acquitted, “there is a lack of evidence.” Five family members received eleven months conditional to 24 months partial conditional suspension for, among other things, burglary and membership in a criminal organization. They also have to make amends to the victims. The verdicts and acquittals are not legally binding.
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