Trial in Innsbruck

Tyrolean man allegedly tortured wife for five months

(Bild: Markus Stegmayr)

Beaten, kicked, bitten, pulled by the hair and locked in the bathroom! A Tyrolean man (36) is said to have been violent towards his wife almost every day for five months. "None of this is true", the man declared loudly and visibly upset.

Between January and May of this year, the 36-year-old man from Innsbruck is said to have repeatedly and violently assaulted his wife. However, she did not even appear at the trial. The accused himself also arrived more than half an hour late for the trial on Monday.

"I simply forgot," he briefly justified himself to Judge Heide Maria Paul, who had previously contacted him by telephone and thus arranged for him to appear in the first place.

New trial date after adjournment
Whether all the witnesses and the victim had forgotten the same thing or something similar could naturally not really be clarified during the trial. After all, not only the alleged victim, but also her sister and other witnesses had failed to appear without excuse. A new trial date and thus a new attempt to bring all the players together in one place was set for September 19.

None of this is true.

Der Angeklagte in Innsbruck vor Gericht

Beforehand, however, the considerable accusations against the man were brought up: for example, he is said to have repeatedly hit his still-wife - who now lives with his mother - in the face with his fist and the flat of his hand, kicked her, pulled her hair and locked her in the bathroom. "None of this is true," the man declared loudly and visibly upset on several occasions.

According to the accused, his wife was "intoxicated with drugs"
 Rather, it was true that his wife was sometimes "intoxicated with drugs" and had "gone procuring" without his knowledge. Her sister, whom the accused described as the "boss of the escort ladies", was also in cahoots with her and, together with her sister, wanted to do him lasting and thorough damage. "My current wife has already taken everything I ever had," he complained to the judge.

Death threats in the room
Further accusations were also made: the accused is said to have threatened to "kill" his wife's sister and to have destroyed his nephew's computer hardware. He also vehemently and categorically denied all of this. "This is fictitious", as his nephew and, above all, his mother can testify.

The defendant then also called his mother to testify on September 19. "Above all, she will be able to say that I didn't do anything to my wife," he was convinced.