He then attacked his daughter

Mother Released Four Years After Killing Her Baby

The suspect was conditionally released from a psychiatric facility in 2022. She is now alleged to have attempted to murder her second child (stock image).(Bild: Martin Schachenhofer)

Just under four years after the murder of her eight-month-old son, a woman from Vienna was released from custody. The mentally ill woman (45) is alleged to have attempted to murder her second child, a 13-year-old daughter, on Monday in Bad Goisern, Upper Austria. However, the psychiatric prognosis for the suspect was favorable.

The killing of the eight-month-old boy had made headlines nationwide in 2018. The woman, who was 37 at the time, had been admitted with her baby to the pediatric ward of a Vienna hospital, where she then suffocated the child on January 3, 2018.

She is also said to have attempted to kill her daughter in the same manner, but the daughter survived. After the crime, the woman attempted suicide but was discovered in time by nursing staff and saved.

Severe mental or psychological abnormality
According to a psychiatric evaluation, the mother had acted in a state that precluded criminal responsibility, a state based on a severe mental or psychological disorder. She could not therefore be prosecuted for murder but was committed to a psychiatric facility because there was concern that, due to her mental state, she might commit further serious crimes.

Conditional Release, Conditions Met Thus Far
On August 31, 2022, the woman was conditionally released from custodial treatment with a ten-year probationary period. The Linz Regional Court had jurisdiction over the case. Its spokesperson, Walter Eichinger, noted on Friday that six conditions had been imposed.

These concerned psychiatric medication and its monitoring, check-ups with medical specialists, psychotherapy, and a social network conference involving around 20 people from the woman’s social circle as well as experts, whose agreements had to be adhered to. The Vienna Regional Court is responsible for monitoring compliance with the directives.

As far as the court could determine, the conditions were met. The mother is believed to have been living with the child’s father—who is evidently the legal guardian—and her daughter as a family unit since then. After the incident in 2018, the man had supported her, stating that she was “sick.”

The court had also convened a social services conference before approving the conditional release subject to conditions.

Walter Eichinger, Sprecher des Landesgerichts Linz

Bild: Jürgen Pachner

The risk had “subsided”
A psychiatric evaluation was also conducted in 2022 prior to the conditional release. According to the report, the woman suffers from a schizophrenic disorder that requires treatment. She demonstrated a sufficient level of insight into her illness and the need for treatment.

Even under relaxed conditions, there had been no deterioration over a sufficiently long period of time. Ultimately, the expert concluded that the danger had subsided and that conditional release under certain instructions was possible. However, Eichinger emphasized that the court had nevertheless convened an additional social support network conference before approving the conditional release with restrictions.