Curious miscarriage of justice

Fatal dog attack: two cells for a woman

In court, the 38-year-old accepted full responsibility for the fatal bites for the first time and accepted the verdict.(Bild: Dostal Harald, Krone KREATIV)

After the fatal bites in Naarn, the 38-year-old owner was sentenced to fifteen months in prison - five of them "harsh". Now, however, the woman has received several orders to return to various prisons within the space of a few days. Her lawyer is puzzled by the miscarriage of justice.

"Please choose where you want to serve your sentence!" - The justice system is not quite so accommodating, but in the case of the Naarn death bites, it almost seems to be. Due to an obvious mishap, the judiciary sent the convicted owner of the killer dog "Elmo", who, along with two other American Stafford dogs, had bitten jogger Herta A. (60) to death, two indenture dates. As reported, she has to serve five of the 15 months in prison.

Two different prisons
And there were not only two different summonses, which arrived a few days apart, but also two different prisons. "Once Linz and once Wels," confirmed defense lawyer Philipp Wohlmacher in response to a question from Krone about the curious double mail. The lawyer is also puzzled as to which of the two detention requests is valid: "I first have to speak to the judge to find out what happened."

Waiting in freedom for an ankle bracelet decision
However, the lawyer hopes that his client, who was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, will be able to serve her sentence at home with an ankle bracelet. Legally, this is possible for sentences of less than one year "sharp". "You can only submit the application for an ankle bracelet after you have received the notice to appear," explains Wohlmacher, who is now working on this application. As soon as this is submitted, it suspends the start of the sentence, as it is called in legalese. Translated: The convicted person is then allowed to wait in freedom to see how the decision on the ankle bracelet is made.

After being served with the summons to enter prison, you have one month to move in. This is the first time I have experienced two summonses.

Philipp Wohlmacher, Anwalt von „Elmos“ Besitzerin (38)

Bild: Dostal Harald

Comparatively strict sentence accepted
The 38-year-old woman from Mühlviertel immediately accepted the comparatively strict sentence on March 7. The judge had justified it by stating that the incident on October 2 of the previous year had caused "great unrest" in society. The fact that three dogs attacked a jogger and bit her to death was a matter of concern to everyone and had sparked a discussion about a new dog ownership law in Upper Austria.

The owner was charged with taking three dogs for a walk at the same time, even though she was unable to control them. The 38-year-old took full responsibility in court.