Mother arrested

Dead infant in Vienna: father charged with murder

In the case of the baby who died in Vienna in February as a result of a shaking trauma, the father has now been charged with murder. The 29-year-old denies having harmed his son. "He loved his child more than anything," says defense lawyer Astrid Wagner.

The public prosecutor's office has now filed charges in the case, authorities spokeswoman Nina Bussek announced on Monday afternoon after the defense lawyer was served with the document. The indictment is not legally binding. The 29-year-old has 14 days to appeal against it.

Doctors fought sacrificially for the baby's life
On February 3, a 29-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman brought their child to the Ottakring clinic. The three-month-old boy was probably already unconscious. In any case, the doctors diagnosed severe shaking trauma - various bones in the little boy's body were probably also broken. The baby was transferred to the General Hospital, where the doctors fought tirelessly for the life of the boy, who was only born in November 2023. Ultimately in vain - the damage to the brain was too severe.

Then the police came into play
The hospital subsequently alerted the police, as the baby showed the brain injuries typically associated with shaking trauma. In addition to the head injuries, the baby also had a broken rib and a broken arm.

Parents arrested on suspicion of murder
The parents were subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder and taken into custody. The mother was released at the end of May because, in the opinion of the public prosecutor's office, there was no longer any urgent suspicion against the 26-year-old. This did not change until the end, while the prosecution considered the evidence to be sufficient to accuse the father of deliberately killing his son. The proceedings against the mother were dropped on all counts, reported the woman's lawyer, Rudolf Mayer. 

Astrid Wagner represents the defendant.(Bild: Klemens Groh)

Expert reports were "decisive"
On the one hand, the autopsy report and other findings had shown that the baby had "clearly" died as a result of shaking trauma, the public prosecutor's office said at the end of May. The expert reports were "decisive", authority spokeswoman Bussek now confirmed. It had also emerged that the injuries inflicted on the baby "fit into the periods when he (the accused, note) was alone with him".

There are no witnesses
The father has always denied having inflicted violence on his son. He could not explain the injuries, he claimed after his arrest. There are probably no witnesses to any violent acts either. The mother was demonstrably not at home at the time when the ultimately fatal injuries probably occurred, but at a party while the father had the child in his care. The 26-year-old is also not considered by the public prosecutor's office to be responsible for older injuries.

Trial to take place in October
The man's defense lawyer, Astrid Wagner, cited complications during the difficult birth - the child was delivered using a suction cup - as a possible cause of the injuries. 

"My client feels completely innocent and hopes that the truth will come to light during the trial," Wagner told the "Krone" newspaper. There is also a psychiatric report, which is completely unremarkable. The trial is scheduled for October.