Air rifle

Fatal shot after barbecue remains a mystery

The unexplained incident took place in this green house on the town square in Mattighofen.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Manfred Fesl, stock.adobe.com null)

After a barbecue in the summer, a 49-year-old Romanian man was found dead in his bed by his colleagues in Mattighofen (Upper Austria) – killed by a bullet from an air rifle. Who was responsible for the shot will remain a mystery forever. The investigation has been closed.

Who fired the shot that killed Andrei K.? This question will probably remain unanswered forever. The 49-year-old Romanian was found dead in his bed by a colleague after a lively barbecue on July 7 last year in Mattighofen.

The public prosecutor's office ordered a routine autopsy of the body to determine the exact cause of death. This revealed a 4.5-millimeter projectile from an air rifle.

Died of internal bleeding
This small projectile had a huge impact on the worker. The pellet had damaged a large blood vessel in his abdomen, and the Romanian man ultimately died of internal bleeding. This circumstance brought the Life and Limb Department of the Upper Austria State Criminal Police Office onto the scene.

The unexplained incident occurred in this green house on the town square in Mattighofen.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Manfred Fesl, stock.adobe.com null)

In the end, it was not possible to determine whether it was an accident or whether someone else had fired the shot.

Franz Joseph Zimmer, Sprecher der Staatsanwaltschaft Ried

An air rifle – like the kind you see at fairs – was found in a locked room in the house in the middle of Mattighofen's town square and was confirmed as the murder weapon. Ammunition was also found in the house and taken away by investigators.

Expert reports without results
In addition, the public prosecutor's office commissioned a DNA report to clarify who actually had the weapon in their hands, as well as a ballistics report. All the results have now been received by the prosecution.

"However, they did not provide any conclusive findings. There were suspects, but nothing could be proven against them. Even at the end of the investigation, it was not possible to say whether it was an accident, whether the victim shot himself or whether someone else did it," explains Franz Joseph Zimmer, spokesman for the Ried public prosecutor's office, in response to a question from "Krone." For this reason, the investigation has now been closed.