Murder investigation in Lower Austria

Criminal mystery surrounding dead young man in hole in the ground

The body of Alexandru O. (pictured top right) was found in Sankt Pölten, on the banks of the Mühlbach stream.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Martina Prewein)

A 31-year-old man from Lower Austria allegedly just wanted to go out to buy cigarettes - and was thought to have disappeared ever since. Weeks later, his already badly decomposed body was found in a tiny pit. Now the criminal investigation department has begun a murder investigation into the ominous case.

For days, residents in a suburb of Sankt Pölten had noticed an unpleasant odor in the spring of 2024, but had not found any cause for it when looking in the area; no carelessly discarded garbage bag, no animal carcass.