For resistance

Two-time manslayer sentenced again

The double manslayer in Krems provincial court.(Bild: Attila Molnar, Krone KREATIV)

A 49-year-old man who killed a neighboring couple with an iron bar in Leonding (Upper Austria) in 2016 was sentenced in Krems on Tuesday to twelve months in prison, three of which were unconditional, for attempted resistance to state authority. According to the court, the conviction is not final.

The now divorced family man should have been transferred to another ward in Stein correctional institution on June 2, 2023, but is likely to have refused. Defense lawyer Andreas Mauhart argued that his client was not exactly enthusiastic about the new accommodation after a series of previous transfers because, as a non-smoker, the man did not want to be in a smoking cell.

"Tearing bricks out of the wall"
According to the Krems public prosecutor's office, the accused subsequently said to a prison guard: "I'm not going into a common room. You can do what you want there." The 49-year-old is also quoted as follows in the criminal complaint: "If I have to go in there now, I will use violence against whoever opens the door to the detention room and I will also tear the bricks out of the wall if I have to in order to get out of the detention room." The statement was interpreted by the prosecution as a threat of violence and an attempt to prevent the officer from carrying out his official duties.

Verdict not legally binding
The 49-year-old was incriminated on the first day of the trial on 30 January by the statements of two prison officers. On February 16, further witnesses were questioned, which yielded little. On Tuesday, the man was found guilty and probation was ordered. As neither the public prosecutor's office nor the accused made a statement, the verdict is not legally binding.

Years of neighborly dispute
The bloody deed in Leonding, for which the 49-year-old is serving a prison sentence, caused quite a stir in 2016. It was preceded by a years-long neighbor dispute. When the man saw the retired couple on the street in February, he first kicked them, then grabbed a sharp iron bar from a nearby building site and stabbed them several times. The 74-year-old and his 72-year-old wife died in hospital.

He was due to be released in August
The Upper Austrian was sentenced to seven years in prison for manslaughter by the Linz Regional Court. The sentence was increased to nine years by the Linz Higher Regional Court in an appeal hearing. According to defense lawyer Mauhart, the 49-year-old was first sent to Garsten prison and then to Stein prison via Linz. As a result of a compensation payment, the convicted man received a retrospective reduction in his sentence and was to be released in August.