Alarm mat remained silent

Fatal Fall from Roof at Nursing Home Remains Unexplained

The resident (89) had apparently climbed onto the canopy of the nursing home secretly after midnight and fallen three meters.(Bild: Horst Einöder/Flashpictures)

An 89-year-old resident fell from a height of three meters off the awning of a nursing home in the Mühlviertel region during the night. Why the signal mat lying in front of his bed did not trigger an alarm remains, it seems, a mystery forever. The Linz District Attorney’s Office has closed its investigation. 

It was a shocking discovery that nursing staff made on September 22, 2025 (shortly before 3 a.m.) in the entrance area of the district senior care home in Bad Leonfelden. A resident was lying on the floor there with life-threatening injuries. Erwin P. (89) was unresponsive; he died two days later in the hospital.

Asleep During a Routine Check
No one at the facility could explain the tragic death, as all safety precautions were reportedly followed. A signal or sensor mat had apparently been placed in front of the bed, which sounds an alarm if someone steps on it or falls out of bed. During a routine check by the nursing staff around midnight, the 89-year-old was reportedly still asleep. The door was unlocked, and the window was closed.

It is presumed to have been a tragic accident. The case against three caregivers has now been dismissed.

Ulrike Breiteneder, Staatsanwaltschaft Linz

Bild: Kerschbaummayr Werner

On suspicion of negligent homicide, the Linz Public Prosecutor’s Office had launched a criminal investigation against three nursing staff members. However, the questioning of the accused did not substantiate the suspicion.

The mat was in working order
The senior, who was still physically very fit, may have stepped over the safety mat—as inspections showed, it was technically fully functional. He is said to have moved it out of the way once before. And he may have mistaken the window for the door. In any case, he is said to have walked about 25 meters in the dark on the awning of the nursing home before falling.

It is no longer possible to say with certainty what actually happened. Due to a lack of incriminating evidence, the district attorney’s office has now dropped the criminal charges against the caregivers. “We are assuming it was a tragic accident,” confirms STA spokesperson Ulrike Breiteneder.