At her husband's grave

Trial: Gold chains torn from the necks of elderly ladies

The Bulgarian, who is unemployed and has a criminal record, is in custody.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

One was walking with a rollator, the other with a walking stick. An elderly Viennese woman mourned at the grave of her deceased husband. A 29-year-old Bulgarian picked out easy victims and suddenly ripped their jewelry from their necks - not all of the women survived unharmed. In court in Vienna, he says dryly: "That may have happened." He receives a long prison sentence.

Supported by a walking stick, an 89-year-old woman enters the courtroom at the Vienna Regional Court. She does not want to look the accused Bulgarian in the eye. Understandable when you hear what happened to her: "She was at her deceased husband's grave," begins her victim's representative. "Suddenly he grabbed her from behind and yanked on the strap of her handbag and then with full force on her necklace."

89-year-old knew how to defend herself
The courageous reaction of the elderly woman at the Südwestfriedhof cemetery in Vienna-Meidling: "I hit the man twice on the skull with my walking stick." The victim fell and injured himself. The 29-year-old fled. In addition to her handbag, her gold medallion was also lost. "My late husband gave it to me," says the 89-year-old with a trembling voice. Probably the worst consequence of the robbery: "I can no longer go to the cemetery. I don't dare anymore," she sobs.

The approach was almost identical in all eleven cases. The victims were elderly, frail women.

Staatsanwältin im Wiener Landesgericht

And the Viennese woman was not the only victim - there were eleven others. "All of the robberies took place in broad daylight and in places where the victims felt safe," explains the public prosecutor at the Vienna Regional Court. "The approach was almost identical in all eleven cases. The victims were elderly, frail women." The 29-year-old followed them home from shopping or other errands. He then struck them in the stairwell or elevator, tearing their gold chains from the elderly women's necks. 

Fractured vertebrae and bruised skull
Not all the victims survived unharmed: While some of the women got off relatively lightly with scratches, redness and swelling on their necks, two elderly women were hit harder - they suffered a fractured vertebra, a bruised hip and a bruised skull as a result of falling.

"It may have happened that I took jewelry"
The defense lawyer for the man with a criminal record rightly admits: "What happened is terrible, frightening and repulsive. The background is drug addiction. He will be in prison for a long time. He knows that too." But the Bulgarian does not show this in front of the jury. There was no trace of remorse at the beginning of his interrogation. Although he admits to a few of the horrific robberies of elderly ladies, he says dryly: "It may have happened that I took gold jewelry."

Accused presses the tear ducts
Suddenly, the defendant's sudden emotional outburst: in tears, he struggles to apologize. "I actually regret it. I didn't do it to enrich myself. I only did it to buy heroin. It totally kills me that they were old women," the interpreter translates for the Bulgarian.

However, these are not the only crimes that the 29-year-old is accused of. He threatened two young men with a knife after they had attacked an elderly victim. There were also car break-ins, ID cards taken and assault on an eyewitness. "You can see from this list alone that there is a lot involved," said the public prosecutor.

Twelve years in prison
And this is also reflected in the sentence. "These are massive offenses that require massive sanctions," said the presiding judge, explaining the strict twelve-year prison sentence. An outstanding sentence of two years and nine months was also revoked. The verdict is not final.