The ball is in the court's court

“Throw yourself into Danube”: Final act in the torture drama

Jozef L. and Jozef P. are said to have struck in this cellar. The victim Patrick S. is said to have been maltreated for hours.(Bild: zVg)

Stock exchange trader Patrick S. was lured into a trap by a business partner in Kittsee (Bgld.) last year, threatened and brutally abused - but was able to flee from his tormentors. After extensive investigations, the ball is now in the court's court!

Last October, the incredible story of Patrick S. caused quite a stir. The Viennese stock exchange trader and cryptocurrency specialist was invited to Kittsee (Burgenland) by a business partner on October 13 - it was about debts amounting to around 80,000 euros.

There, however, the debtor (40) was lured into a trap: S. was shot, threatened with death and abused in the cellar. After his escape, he reported the perpetrators - as reported - and the investigation was then in full swing. The final act now reads like a crime novel.

Patrick S. showed the "Krone" the bullet wounds from the CO₂ revolver seized in October 2023.(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

Among other things, the main suspect had a Heckler&Koch assault rifle at home.(Bild: zVg)

L.'s diplomatic passport was a brazen total forgery.(Bild: zVg, Krone KREATIV)

The main suspect Jozef L. had a veritable arsenal of weapons at home. Instead of using his Heckler&Koch assault rifle or Glock 43, however, the Slovakian "only" shot the victim with a CO₂ revolver. After his arrest, L. also tried to identify himself with a fake diplomatic passport from the Order of Malta, but that didn't help either.

Death threats and a series of charges
The accusations against L. and his accomplice Jozef P. are serious. The threatening gestures in the torture cellar are clear proof of this: "You won't get out of here alive. He's my cleaner, he'll throw you in the Danube. This isn't the first time we've done this."

Following the investigation, the ball is now in the court of the public prosecutor's office in Eisenstadt. The charges include deprivation of liberty, aggravated coercion, assault and forgery.