After the death of 13-year-old Leonie, the lawyer is now considering her parents’ legal liability lawsuit against the Republic of Austria in order to investigate possible failure by the authorities. The girl was found lifeless on a green strip in the Vienna district of Donaustadt last Saturday. Three alleged perpetrators or accomplices – Afghans aged 16, 18 and 23 – are in custody. The search continues for a fourth possible party involved.
It is now important to first study the file and await the criminal proceedings. Legal representative of the family, Florian Höllwarth, announced on Friday afternoon that he would “calmly and thoroughly” examine possible errors by the authorities that were obvious to him. The reasons given by the lawyer in the APA interview were that among the arrested suspects there were men who had long since received a legally binding negative asylum decision and were no longer allowed to be in the country at the time of the offense.
“People don’t understand that. On the one hand, well-trained, well-integrated refugees are deported, apprentices who fill a job and are there for their boss. And these people (meaning: the suspects, note) are still there uncontrollably and their asylum procedure cannot be brought to an end, ”said Höllwarth.
Two suspects have been detained
Two of the alleged perpetrators, the 16- and 18-year-olds, were imprisoned on Friday, and neither of them confessed to the judge. Rather, the younger said in an interrogation that he had been in a relationship with the 13-year-old and had nothing to do with the act – currently investigated on suspicion of fatal rape. At the time of the act, he was passed out, he said, according to his legal representative, Peter Philipp, during interrogation.
Like the 13-year-old, he was served a drink – apparently with knockout drops – and passed out “shortly after the first sip”. When he woke up again, the apartment was empty. He also claims to have carried the 13-year-old out of the apartment and put it on the green area. He also claims to have been the one who alerted the rescue team. An emergency call was received by the emergency services at 6.59 a.m.