Woman (35) in court

German woman (35) attacked police officer with an axe

Prosecutor Richard Gschwenter was very surprised by the sudden memory lapses of the defendants.(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

During the trial at Feldkirch Regional Court, the defendant refused to remember anything. But she has a lot on her plate.

Handcuffed, the former nurse is led into the courtroom by prison guards. The 35-year-old does not want to comment on the prosecutor's accusations. "I can't remember," she says. And that's what it's all about. At around 1.30 a.m. on April 11, a wild peeper alerted the police and reported an eerie encounter with a woman on a stranger's property. The woman was wrapped in a woollen blanket and had been staring at him while he was relieving himself. The creepy woman is said to have had a mastiff with her.

When the officers arrive shortly afterwards and ask the woman to put the dog on a lead, the situation escalates. "Do you want one in the mouth now or later?", the 35-year-old woman retorts and then slaps an officer. A scuffle ensues and the two of them roll down an embankment and a two-metre-high wall.

Hair cut off with a kitchen knife
A few days later, the second incident. This time in her ex-partner's apartment in Weiler. When the 45-year-old came home from work in the evening, he couldn't believe his eyes. The woman had not only cut off her hair with a kitchen knife and scattered it everywhere. "My entire apartment was trashed. It was just a mess. When I told her to pack her things and leave, she tried to hit me with a cane." The man alerted the police and fled the apartment.

"A bad show"
When the officers arrive, the 35-year-old is sitting on the sofa armed with a tomahawk. Shortly afterwards, she swings the axe at the officers with full force. The weapon misses them and lands in a tarpaulin. Fortunately, the second attempt to hit the officers also fails. The handcuffs click. Two psychiatrists and a psychologist then examine the woman. A certificate of sanity is issued. But during the trial, the accused is not only apathetic. She also suddenly suffers from massive memory loss.

After a brief deliberation by the panel of lay judges, Judge Verena Wackerle found her guilty of attempted grievous bodily harm, resisting public authority and damage to property. Twenty months' imprisonment and she awarded the ex-boyfriend 800 euros in compensation. "We don't believe your memory lapses. You have never suffered from this before and suddenly you don't know anything anymore. The court considers your responsibility to be a show, and a very bad one at that."