Murder alert in Vienna

Automatically saved draft

Construction workers found a body in a cellar in Vienna.(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

Murder alert in Vienna-Margareten: A body was discovered in a cellar on Tuesday. Construction workers carrying out renovation work in an apartment building became aware of a large plastic bag during excavations. According to investigators, the heavily decomposed body was found underneath. 

Workers in the Hundsturm district in the 5th district noticed a penetrating smell in a cellar compartment and alerted the emergency services, who made a find just a short time later.

Body hidden under rubble and plastic bag
According to "Krone" information, the body was hidden under a plastic bag and a large amount of rubble. According to initial information, the workers initially only discovered the headless body. In the course of the investigation, the severed head is also said to have been recovered. However, the police do not wish to comment on this information. 

The headless body was seized and taken to the forensic medicine department for an autopsy.(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

(Bild: Martin Jöchl)

Body not yet identified
However, the identity of the person has not yet been established. "The body was seized and taken to the forensic medicine department for an autopsy," said police spokeswoman Julia Schick on Wednesday.

Body was already badly decomposed
It was difficult for the investigators to estimate how long the dead person had been in the cellar. According to Schick, many factors could play a role in the decomposition process of the body, which initially made it almost impossible to narrow down the time period. The cellar was cold and damp, and it was also a winter, albeit a mild one. It is difficult to estimate the combined effect of these factors.

According to "Krone" information, the corpse will be examined on Wednesday.