One year of investigation

Fatal fall of a teacher: no third-party fault

The Leoben public prosecutor's office discontinued the proceedings.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

After the fatal fall of a teacher at a school in Leoben, the public prosecutor's office has closed the investigation after almost a year. There were no indications of third-party culpability.

The fatal fall of a teacher at the Pestalozzi School Center in Leoben, Styria, at the beginning of 2024 was widely reported by some media outlets, causing rumors to swirl. This was despite repeated requests from the police to be considerate of the family's already difficult situation and not to spread speculation.

The investigation revealed no evidence of third-party culpability. The case was dropped.

Andreas Riedler, Sprecher der Staatsanwaltschaft Leoben

The investigation took almost a year and the Leoben public prosecutor's office left nothing to chance. Among other things, a toxicology report was carried out, which revealed no significant abnormalities. In the end, not even the digital forensic experts at the Federal Criminal Police Office in Vienna were able to carry out the ordered analysis of the teacher's cell phone, which had been severely damaged by the fall.

Third-party culpability not initially ruled out
All of this was done because it was not possible to rule out third-party culpability with the necessary certainty. "However, there was no evidence to that effect," explained Andreas Riedler, spokesman for the Leoben public prosecutor's office. The investigation has now been completed and the case has been closed. "There was absolutely no evidence of third-party culpability," said Riedler.