The old lady stands small, delicate and quiet in the Vienna Regional Court. The 72-year-old even goes without handcuffs – there is no trace of aggression. Things were different in July 2023, when she deliriously tried to kill a social worker – accommodation.
It is one of the most serious crimes that the Austrian penal code allows: murder – even if it remains an attempt. And yet you almost can’t help but feel sympathy for the 72-year-old in the Vienna regional court. The little woman stands quietly in front of the hearing room in an oversized sweater and sweatpants, constantly looking around with a friendly face and waiting for her trial. Untreated for decades The former cleaning lady has been suffering from severe schizophrenia for decades, but has never been treated. When her husband died in July 2021, she lost her closest person. The 72-year-old then lived in an apartment with no electricity, gas or water. So she gets an adult representative who also has her pension. “Developed strengths that are almost impossible.” “But she didn’t understand her illness and didn’t want to accept this help,” explains the public prosecutor. When a social worker wanted to bring the old lady her pension in the middle of last July, she attacked him. The petite 72-year-old hit his head with a hammer – luckily it didn’t hit him. “In such a state, those affected can develop strengths that are almost impossible otherwise,” explains the public prosecutor. During the plea, the woman repeatedly whispers “fear” and the prosecutor agrees: “I believe that she has the situation perceived as very threatening.” The jury’s decision based on the recommendation of psychiatrist Peter Hofmann: placement in a forensic-therapeutic center – not legally binding.
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