The Tragic Case of Max – “It was an accident, so let it be”

In September 2020, a couple lost their beloved child. It died at just 16 years old. The cause of death was an acute pulmonary embolism. It turned out that the son had used drugs before. Since then, the parents are trying to find out exactly what happened and put all their hopes on the “crown”.

Max’s father (name changed) is sitting at the table in a Tyrolean coffee house with a large mountain of files in front of him. “This is our investigation. We finally want to understand what happened,” he explains. This indicates that the cause is complex. An impression that was confirmed in the course of the conversation.

That is why the “Krone” devotes a series to this family, in which we show everything: Max’s entry into the drug circles, the types of trafficking among children and young people, the role of the Landhausplatz and the Mentlvilla – both in Innsbruck -, the behavior of youth institutions , the “strategy of the cover-up” – as the father calls it – sometimes by authorities and much more.

Lifeless in an unlocked room
It was a Sunday in September two years ago when Max’s mother found her son lifeless in his unlocked room – which he had otherwise always locked. “He was dressed, lying on his back. The alarm clock was set at 2 am. She immediately called the emergency services, but the resuscitation attempts were unsuccessful,” explains his father. The next day the couple was given the cause of death: acute pulmonary embolism. As is known, this combination can lead to respiratory arrest – especially where our son had heart problems,” emphasizes the father. Until the end, there was no indication that Max was taking any such drugs, “that came as a complete surprise”. So the couple spent months looking for clues.

performance pressure and bullying
“Our son was always very funny and talkative, he quickly enjoyed a lot of sympathy in our village. But he could never really live up to performance expectations, especially in the new high school,” analyzes the Tyrolean. Through his right ear – his hearing in this ear was only 50 percent – and also because of his slightly crooked jaw, there were more bullying attacks. “The first friends became cruel perpetrators”, describes the father. Max was looking for a boyfriend or especially a girlfriend until the end. Despite countless conversations and increasing knowledge of toxic personalities, he went along with the principle that he meant well to the others.”His kindness and devotion were probably his downfall,” he explains.

In 2019, Max was caught with marijuana and his driver’s license was put on probation. “He had to do regular urinalysis for months. Our son was certainly not addicted to drugs, but had trouble falling asleep, which the GP also attributed to puberty.”

“He stayed with us again, had recovered very well”
In November of that year, Max started an internship in a Tyrolean hotel, where he also moved into a staff room. Due to internal turbulence, he went on sick leave for two months in February 2020 and then successfully completed the first course at the vocational school. “He stayed with us again until August. He recovered well, returned to the hotel in September and really thrived,” recalls the Tyrolean.

Many conversations about drug abuse — such as the 13-year-old who died of an overdose — seemed to work: “We were completely confident in his social interactions.”

It all happened in a sheltered apartment
Because Max only had Saturday off that weekend, he wanted to stay in Innsbruck. Friday he met an acquaintance at Landhausplatz. Both went to the apartment of a juvenile detention center – the young person who lives there was there too. Soon a couple joined them, all the same age as Max, but only he had a steady job. “One of them told us afterwards who had slept where and that our son had gone to Mentlvilla twice with his friend to buy drugs. My son spent 45 euros,” says the father.

Then it was said that they had organized a “competition”, a mixture of a test of courage and an experiment. “Drugsitters” are people who accompany or accompany the journey – the hallucinogenic drug experience – of another or a not-too-large group. “There is a video that makes this theory believable. In addition, my son’s toxicological findings – especially the high value for benzodiazepines – underscore this version.” But this finding also shows the consumption of ecstasy and cannabis, “you don’t just consume that in the toilet, as was later claimed”.

According to one of those present, Max himself went “dizzy” to the bus stop. Late Saturday night, his acquaintance took “a few stops with him and set him the big alarm clock he would have had in his backpack”. Then he drove on alone.

“They all have a protective version”
The surviving youngsters – from the amicable scene and a youngster from the drug party – repeatedly contacted Max’s parents. Again and again they promised to tell them what had happened that night. But they always went backwards. “It is clear to us that the scene and the counselors of the youth services have known for a long time what happened this weekend. However, during their interrogations they put on a protective version, there a social worker from the child and youth care (KiJu) and the lawyer present took care of it,” the father is convinced. “Suddenly Max should have hidden from himself and consumed the drugs in the toilet – but they knew exactly which one.”

The juvenile detention center that manages the apartment where everything happened said it would conduct regular nighttime checks. “That is not true, that can also be seen in the said video. Their behavior is problematic because information about my son’s intercourse would have had consequences. My child would still be alive today.”

The head of an institution offered the parents an informational interview. He spoke to two young people involved, but the meeting fell through. “I was going to prepare a list of questions, but the social worker refused to answer them.”

The head of another institution agreed to meet with Max’s father. “He admitted that the care concepts that already existed at the time were not suitable for drug-addicted young people. But he wasn’t interested in a real elucidation of the cause either. “It was just an accident, so let it be,” he told me. The cover-up strategy became increasingly clear to me,” emphasizes the father.

‘Police have not used essential information’
He is shocked by the interrogation of two young people involved by the police. “The police officer did not use vital information that I emailed him. Even the toxicology report was no reason to question this weekend’s dramaturgy. He also didn’t ask her who was there. Contradictions in the statements were simply accepted. The key witness was not questioned at all and the video had no meaning for him either.”

Through a random phone call from Max’s employer about two days after the night of his death, the parents found out that “the police handed someone the key to our son’s room and thereby also opened the seal on the door without the police was present – because of an alleged water damage”. Furthermore, Max’s public transport card, his razor and his clothes were stolen from the room. “To date, we have not received a detailed explanation from the police. A preliminary investigation has been launched against a suspect. However, to this day we do not know to whom the key was handed over and where this key ended up. to this day still not sure what really happened on the night of death.”

‘Research yielded a shocking picture’
In particular, the parents’ research on Instagram and Snapchat and a conversation with a drug consultant “gave us a shocking picture of the normal daily drug life of children and young people as sellers and buyers around Landhausplatz and Mentlvilla, and of what Paradise youth facilities can be offered to these companies. to be”.

Read Monday: Details about the young people who attended the night of Max’s death, as well as the booming drug trade on social networks.