Homeless killer

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On Monday, the trial of a high school student who killed homeless people begins in Vienna's regional court. His target was not specifically homeless people, Thomas A. roamed the streets looking for defenceless victims. The motive of the now 18-year-old Viennese for the terrible acts: "Anger, restlessness and sadness."

At night he wakes up in his cell bathed in sweat, his terrible deeds haunting the 18-year-old defendant in his dreams. On Monday and Tuesday, Thomas A. (name changed) will once again be confronted with his crimes in detail - he will have to face the jury in Vienna's Landl district for two counts of murder and attempted murder: Between July 12 and August 9, 2023, the teenager stabbed to death two homeless people who were sleeping, another victim survived seriously injured.

My client has confessed and deeply regrets his actions.

Rechtsanwalt Manfred Arbacher-Stöger

Death of his stepsister threw him off course
The case history is tragic and also introduces the eight-page indictment. In 2021, the accused's stepsister died at the age of just four - the girl was shot dead by her mother in an extended suicide. Post-traumatic stress disorder in Thomas A. is just one of many mental illnesses that a total of five expert witnesses will report on during the trial. According to the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office, the accused cited "inner rage, restlessness and endless sadness" as his motives.

The teenager turned himself in
Thomas A. is classified as dangerous due to a serious personality disorder. He was sane when he committed his crimes - he is facing 15 years' imprisonment and a detention center. The fact that the teenager turned himself in in December 2023 - with the words: "I am the wanted homeless killer" - could be seen as mitigating. 

"My client has confessed and deeply regrets his actions," says his lawyer Manfred Arbacher-Stöger ahead of the trial, which has also been announced for the international press.