Trial in Salzburg

Three years in prison for Hungarian professional burglar

Salzburg courthouse, seat of the regional court(Bild: Tschepp Markus)

A Hungarian professional burglar tried to escape punishment with adventurous explanations: At the continuation of the trial, however, he was sentenced to more than three years in prison.

According to the indictment, the accused Hungarian (73) is said to have committed seven burglaries between October 2021 and November 2022 and caused a high six-figure loss. "I didn't commit these crimes," denied the short family man at the start of the criminal proceedings in April, and immediately provided some adventurous explanations: In a jewelry store burglary in Linz, he had touched the broken shop window while strolling around, which is why his DNA was there.

And in another case in Salzburg, he got lost after a night of drinking and spent the night in a garden shed. There he had accidentally touched the tool that had been used for a burglary.

This week, the trial continued in Salzburg Provincial Court. The judge handed down a verdict: the Hungarian was sentenced for the three cases - including the two previously mentioned - where his DNA was found. He received an additional sentence of three years and two months unconditional imprisonment.