Perpetrator in a blood rage

Neighbor (72) beaten to death over ant trail

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18.01.2026 06:00

A 53-year-old man from Graz struck his neighbor 18 times with a spade. And all because of an ant trail leading from her terrace to his balcony. The public prosecutor's office requested that he be committed to a psychiatric hospital due to mental illness. The murder trial will begin in March.

A horrific femicide has already shaken Styria this year. It will be some time before the trial of the suspect, Manuel M., takes place. However, 53-year-old Andreas M. will have to face the jury in Graz at the beginning of March after allegedly murdering his neighbor last year.

72-year-old Eva K. was considered very popular. Neighbors spoke highly of her, saying she helped everyone. This made the shock among residents of Scheigergasse in Graz-St. Peter all the greater last May when it became known that the 72-year-old had died. Beaten to death by the son of a neighbor who lived in the apartment above the victim. The motive for the bloody deed: a simple ant trail.

Terrace as a point of contention
Andreas M. had discovered the ants on his mother's balcony. Searching for their source, he ended up on the 72-year-old's ground-level terrace. A terrace that had been the subject of several complaints by the 53-year-old for years, as it allegedly belonged to the common area. The 72-year-old used it by climbing out of the kitchen window.

The case will be heard in the jury courtroom at the Graz Regional Criminal Court on March 11.
The case will be heard in the jury courtroom at the Graz Regional Criminal Court on March 11.(Bild: Christian Jauschowetz)

Eva K. and Andreas M. immediately got into a heated discussion about a flower pot where the ant trail began and which the defendant had moved. When the pensioner called him a "troublemaker," the 53-year-old saw red.

No chance against the attacker
He struck the frail 72-year-old woman, kneed her, threw her against a ventilation grille, kicked her head, and finally struck her at least 18 times in the neck and skull with a spade. The pensioner, who did not stand a chance against the 95-kilogram attacker, bled to death on the terrace.

The psychiatric expert attests that the trained engineer, who describes himself as a man of independent means and an investor, suffers from a severe mental illness that developed over many years and culminated in a bloodlust. Due to the great danger posed by the defendant, a committal is being requested. 

This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.

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