Mover beaten to death

Ex-girlfriend incriminates murder suspect

Salzburg investigators securing evidence at the scene of the crime, the mover's apartment in Gabelsbergerstraße.(Bild: Markus Tschepp)

The statements of a young woman have shed new light on the murder case surrounding the furniture removalist Stefan M. (52), who was killed in Salzburg in mid-2023: A failed burglary is said to have led to his death. The suspect, a man from Salzburg (35), has so far denied the accusation of murder.

For more than a year and a half, it was completely unclear who could have killed Stefan M. (52) on the night of May 31, 2023 in his apartment in one of Salzburg's tallest residential buildings on Gabelsbergerstraße. Until early January, when a DNA match led investigators to a 35-year-old man from Salzburg - now the murder suspect. So far, suspect K. has denied the allegations and claims not to have known the victim at all.

But now the pressure on the suspect is increasing: the reason is the testimony of his former girlfriend. According to "Krone" research, she recently told investigators about a planned burglary of the murder victim. And she apparently revealed that the murder suspect is said to have confessed the crime to her.

Killed "out of reflex"
According to her statements, the woman drove her then boyfriend K. to the apartment building at around 10 p.m. that evening. Apparently, K. was planning to break into Stefan M.'s apartment on the third floor of the house. When he returned a few hours later, he allegedly said to her: "He was at home, it didn't go well." He is also said to have told her that he "hit his head out of reflex" and that the victim was "now dead". After what happened, he is also said to have threatened the woman and advised her to keep quiet because "otherwise she would go to prison".

Suspect filmed with a "green bag"
There were also indications that the two had scouted the crime scene several times. Due to her chauffeur services, the ex-girlfriend is considered a possible contributory offender - but for burglary, not murder. According to "Krone" information, there are also images from surveillance cameras that show the suspect near the house with "green bags". The 35-year-old is said to have stolen coins and jewelry from the apartment.

K. has been in custody since his arrest. His defense lawyer Kurt Jelinek only says about the new findings: "We will examine the statement." For victims' lawyer Stefan Rieder from the White Ring, however, one thing is certain: "With the DNA matches and this statement, the case is clear for me."