Body found in basement

Girlfriend killed: Neighbors laughed in his face

The crime scene in Lower Austria was carefully examined and sealed off by criminal investigators.(Bild: Josef Poyer)

After repeated arguments, Stefan S. allegedly strangled his 36-year-old girlfriend with a rope on January 5 and then hid the body in the earth cellar. He then smiled in the neighbors' faces for days!

An eerie silence and icy cold prevailed on Wednesday morning during the "Krone" local inspection in the Helenental district of the 2,000-strong community of Wilfersdorf in the Weinviertel region. A classic "Brettldorf" with some extremely dilapidated houses.

Violence was the order of the day
One of these houses had been home to 47-year-old Stefan S. and his partner Joyce P. (36) since last year. According to neighbors, the Austrian and the German woman with Caribbean roots had been addicted to drugs and alcohol from the start. Violence was often the order of the day, and both had already been issued with official restraining orders. The last police call-out was in the summer: she dialed 911 because he refused to give her her bank card.

The crime scene in Lower Austria was carefully examined and sealed by criminal investigators.(Bild: Josef Poyer)

Another relationship dispute then escalated completely on January 5: According to his statement during questioning, S. was threatened and attacked with a knife by the victim. Allegedly with two knife wounds to the back. "There are also two slight scratches on the man's back," said a criminal investigator.

Ms. B. and her son knew the neighbors quite well. Their impression was not the best.(Bild: Josef Poyer)

During the alleged fight, the murder suspect suddenly grabbed a rope and strangled his girlfriend, the mother of a daughter. He then walked with the body to the adjacent earth cellar and laid the remains there.

The stick with which the neighbor's daughter was allegedly beaten for no reason the previous year.(Bild: Josef Poyer)

Neighbor: "He smiled at us"
"We didn't see anything, everything was normal. He had been out walking several times in the last few days and smiled at us," said neighbor Renate B. For her, the crime comes as a surprise, even though her children have also been victims of the violent neighbors: "The woman beat my daughter with a stick in October, so we filed a complaint."

S. confided in an acquaintance on Tuesday evening and then confessed during police questioning. He is now in custody!