Not legally binding

18 years in prison after attack on online girlfriend

The 26-year-old must serve 18 years behind bars, the verdict is not yet final

(Bild: Markus Wenzel, Krone KREATIV)

The verdict for the 26-year-old Israeli from Munich is in: after he held his eight-year-old online girlfriend, whom he had met on a chat platform, for several hours, attacked her with a knife and then tried to commit suicide, he has now been sentenced to 18 years behind bars in Upper Austria.

A 26-year-old man was sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempted murder in Wels on Friday. He allegedly attacked his former internet girlfriend in Regau in October 2023 and seriously injured her with a knife. The verdict is not final.

Intent proven
The jury considered it proven that the accused had attempted to kill his internet acquaintance by making a deep cut to her neck. The defendant denied the intention to kill and injure in front of the police and in court, saying he wanted to "talk and commit suicide". He had previously held his victim in the apartment for hours. He is also guilty of aggravated coercion and deprivation of liberty, which he confessed to.

Knife to the neck, there is no doubt about that. In this case, someone wants to kill or accepts it.

Staatsanwältin vor Gericht

No doubts
In its closing statement, the prosecution spoke of the perpetrator's "unprecedented criminal energy" and emphasized the "deep despair that could be felt in the victim during the recorded interrogation. He behaved towards the woman in an incredibly cruel and agonizing manner." The public prosecutor demanded a guilty verdict for attempted murder: "Knife to the neck, there is no doubt about that. In this case, someone wants to kill or accepts it."

No defensive wounds
The defense referred to contradictions in the demonstration of the crime as well as unanswered questions in the expert's statements. The lack of defensive injuries would also point to the defendant's version of events. "Of course my client is to blame for the injuries and the crime, no question, but he did not want to kill her," said the defendant's lawyer.

Relationship only online
The 36-year-old and the accused had met on the online platform Discord in 2022. They had got on well, their backgrounds were similar and the exchange became personal. Their connection was purely online, including via video chats.

She broke it off
A kind of long-distance relationship developed, although they never met in person. But as the 36-year-old Dutch woman explained, the conversations became unpleasant and she ended the contact. However, the man kept trying to approach her via the platform. In the end, she stopped replying to his messages and thought the matter was over.

Started in the garage
In October last year, the accused, who now lived in Munich, turned up at her home with a knife in his hand and attacked her in the underground garage. This is where the cuts to her hand occurred. Then they both went into the apartment, and after about three hours he led her to a nearby wooded area. When neighbors and police finally approached, the serious neck injury occurred.

Suicidal intent
The defendant claimed in court that he only wanted to take his own life and that the injuries were unintentional. The prosecution contradicted this and the victim also believed that the deep, nine-centimeter-long cut on his neck was intentional: "I think it's almost impossible that something like that could happen by accident".