Burglary and murder

Crime mystery: Who beat “Mrs. Grete” (91) to death?

Forensics were still at work on the Bahndammweg on Thursday morning.(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler, Krone KREATIV)

On Wednesday night, unknown persons broke into the garden shed of a 91-year-old woman from Floridsdorf and beat the defenceless senior citizen to death in cold blood. Who is behind the crime is just as unclear as the motive for the gruesome murder. 

Silence descends over the Floridsdorfer Bruckhaufen on Thursday morning. Only the clattering of trains and U6 trains directly over the Nordbahn embankment and construction workers working on a house can be clearly heard. Otherwise, hardly anyone has strayed outside in the late summer heat.

Inconspicuous garden estate
There had been too much going on the day before in the otherwise tranquil alleyway with its small gardens and pretty little houses. Police were everywhere, says a passer-by who, even the day after the brutal murder, still can't believe what happened. 

The garden shed was sealed by the police. Now it's the investigators' turn.(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler)

Signs of burglary visible on the cottage
It probably happened sometime during the night on Wednesday, when one or more unknown persons removed some slats from the fence of the small cottage at Bahndammweg 14 in the dark of the hot and humid night and entered the garden. What happened next is still unclear. According to the Vienna police, there were signs of a break-in, which were examined by forensics on Thursday morning. Lying in bed was "Mrs. Grete" - a 91-year-old senior citizen. She was found by relatives only hours after the crime with serious injuries to her head. 

Nobody in the neighborhood understands why this inconspicuous little house was chosen for a burglary.(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler)

Robbery-murder of senior citizen unimaginable for neighbors
Who killed "Mrs. Grete"? It's a question that nobody can answer. No, there were no frequent break-ins, says neighbor Andi to the "Krone". It is true that his patio door was smashed in years ago, and homeless people have been living in the house next to "Frau Grete" for years. But a robbery-murder in the smallest and most inconspicuous house in the alley? "Unimaginable." He only said a friendly hello to the remarkably sprightly 91-year-old over the garden fence, otherwise he couldn't say anything about it. 

Andi lives diagonally opposite the crime scene.(Bild: Stefan Steinkogler)

I don't feel unsafe, I've also been burgled. If you're unsure, you'd have to move deep into the forest to a clearing. Because things happen here too from time to time.

Nachbar Andi sprach mit der „Krone“

Residents don't feel unsafe despite violent crime
"Mrs. Grete was a Viennese original", says another shocked neighbor. Nobody understands why someone did something to her. However, hardly any of the neighbors feel really unsafe - not even Andi: "You'd have to move deep into the forest to a clearing. And even then, something could happen. Unfortunately, it feels like incidents like this have become more and more frequent in recent years." Now the guesswork begins as to whether a professional gang or just opportunists are behind the murder. 

Blunt object ended "Mrs. Grete's" long life
According to the autopsy, "Mrs. Grete" was hit in the head with a blunt object. Whether this could be found in the cottage is just as unclear as the question of whether the perpetrator or perpetrators took any valuables from the house. In the meantime, neighbor Andi continues to water his well-tended flowers, while numerous bathers make a pilgrimage to the Angelibad and the Romawiese, just a stone's throw away. Nevertheless, a watchful eye will probably be kept more frequently in the area around the crime scene in the near future.