Murder of caregivers

“Twenty years is too little for dad’s death”

Lawyer Josef Wimmer discussed the verdict in detail with his client, who feels she is a woman.(Bild: Scharinger Daniel, Krone KREATIV)

What will happen to the 24-year-old trans murderer now that her sentence has become final? Due to her dangerousness, she was committed to a forensic institution, where she faces life imprisonment if she does not improve. 

"For what he did to Franz and us, 20 years is too little" - for the foster daughter and four siblings of Franz Sch. (82), who was stabbed to death by his transgender nurse (24), the sentence handed down by the regional court in Ried im Innkreis is too lenient. "He accepted it immediately, I asked him three times in the presence of the interpreter," said defense lawyer Josef Wimmer.

"My client feared that the sentence would be increased in the event of an appeal. And then we'd be looking at life imprisonment," says the public defender, for whom the case is over once the verdict becomes final.

Male or female wing?
But there are still some unanswered questions for the convicted "Vanessa", who will also be committed to a forensic institution due to her dangerousness. Will she be placed in the men's wing or with women - biologically, "Vanessa" is a man despite her breast implants? So far, she has been in the men's section of Ried prison, and there have been no complaints from the trans nurse there.

Murderer is considered sane
The 20-year sentence could also mean life imprisonment: Only when an expert confirms that she is no longer dangerous can consideration be given to releasing her from prison or - if the 20 years are not yet up - transferring her to a normal prison sentence. This is because the transmurderer is considered sane and must therefore serve her sentence. If she had been of unsound mind, she would "only" have been committed to an institution without a sentence and would have been released after successful therapy.