Conditional prison sentences

Senior citizen dies of thirst: Daughter and grandson on trial

Mother and daughter had to stand trial.(Bild: Thurner Samuel)

It is a particularly tragic case that will be heard at Innsbruck Regional Court on Tuesday: The 59-year-old daughter and 31-year-old grandson of a senior citizen (84) had to answer for neglect following her death from dehydration in Dölsach in East Tyrol. The defendants pleaded not guilty. The verdict was handed down in the early afternoon!

Both the daughter and the grandson of the deceased were convicted of gross negligence manslaughter. Both received five months' conditional imprisonment. The 31-year-old was also fined 1,200 euros, while the senior citizen's daughter had to pay 960 euros. The sentences are not yet final. The mother and son were originally charged with neglecting or torturing a minor or defenceless person.

The senior citizen had been unable to get up in May after an alleged fall and had been lying on the kitchen floor in her excrement for a week, it was reported in the run-up to the trial. At least the grandson claimed that the woman lacked the will to live. 

"Heard rumblings from the kitchen"
She had said to him "she didn't want to get up", explained the second accused grandson during his questioning at the beginning of the trial before Judge Paul Menardi and the lay assessors. He also reported that she had not complained of acute pain after the alleged fall. His impression was also that she "no longer had the will to live".

Before that, he had briefly described the situation. "I heard a rumble from the kitchen and then went there," said the grandson. His grandmother ended up lying on the kitchen floor. "We then tried to put her on the sofa, but we couldn't manage it." Finally, his mother fetched a mattress and the 84-year-old lay on it for a long time.

I asked my mother after the fall if she was in pain, but she said no.

Die angeklagte Tochter vor Gericht

"Always gave my mother something to drink"
The first accused mother also pleaded not guilty afterwards. "She said that she wanted to go out again soon," she explained. Moreover, it did not appear to her that the 84-year-old's "courage to face life" had been dampened. "I asked my mother after the fall whether she was in pain, but she denied it," reported the first defendant.

She also refused the help offered "by the rescue service". When she laid her on the mattress, the mother said that she "just wanted to sleep" and that she should be "left alone". "I always gave her something to drink and looked after her," the 59-year-old affirmed. Of course, her mother "ate and drank less than before", the defendant admitted.

The defendants at the start of the trial.(Bild: Thurner Samuel)

The woman's hygienic condition was "extreme"
The public prosecutor had previously described the situation from her perspective in her opening statement. "The woman first lay on a mattress, then later only on the kitchen floor." The 84-year-old woman finally had to relieve herself on the floor: "The hygienic condition was extreme." The woman had "feces on her body and hands", the public prosecutor outlined the circumstances.

It was also obvious that the fluids provided to her by her daughter and first defendant were insufficient: "The woman ultimately died of dehydration."

Lawyer: "Mother received the best possible care"
The defense lawyer then spoke on behalf of the defendants and pleaded "not guilty" for both of them in advance of their statements. "They provided the mother with the best possible care", the lawyer explained. In addition, they had made a point of "fulfilling her wishes in the best possible way". It was also the case that the 84-year-old woman had previously "looked after herself".

Family apparently lived in seclusion
The 84-year-old had lived in a shared household with her daughter and grandson, who were her only carers. The alleged fall occurred on the morning of May 18. On May 26, the woman died as a result of a lack of fluids in the apartment.