Granddaughter accused

82-year-old victim: “She knows no boundaries”

The young woman appears rather inconspicuous in the Viennese countryside.(Bild: Pratschner Sophie, Krone KREATIV)

Grandma and granddaughter sit opposite each other in Vienna Regional Court: According to the indictment, the 26-year-old allegedly robbed the pensioner. With her testimony, the grandmother now wants to protect the young woman from even worse: "She is in a negative spiral that keeps going round and round." However, the facts of the case are not sufficient for a conviction.

The 82-year-old waits patiently for her testimony in front of the courtroom in Vienna. Which is certainly not easy for her. Because she is testifying in the trial against her own granddaughter - as a victim. "It was a decision I had to make for my family. It's bad enough that I have to sit here as a grandmother. She's in a negative spiral that keeps going round and round. That's why I'm testifying, because maybe it's not too late now," she explains to the judge.

300 euros demanded from the grandmother
At the end of February, she visited the 26-year-old in the retirement home. "I went to get some money, as I often do," explains the young woman. "What for?", the judge asks - "I can't tell you anymore." She wanted 300 euros from her grandmother. But the elderly woman didn't have that much money in her room at home. "Then it got louder. I didn't want to come to her again for the rest of the money," says the 26-year-old.

82-year-old wants to help granddaughter with incriminating statement
According to the indictment, she allegedly threatened the 82-year-old and pushed her. Until she agreed to take her granddaughter to an ATM. "She's always demanding. She knows no boundaries. She needs drugs, that's clear. And maybe she's being blackmailed herself. Her environment is very bad." This was not the first incident with the 26-year-old, the pensioner explains: the whole family has had to call the police again and again for 13 years, and she now has five previous convictions - she will be brought from prison for trial.

Her grandmother now hopes that her testimony will bring about a change, an improvement: "Things can't go on like this." However, the facts of the case are not sufficient for a conviction for robbery. That is why the young Viennese woman is not legally acquitted ...