Crime Reconstruction – Steirer Admits: “Slitting Wild Grandma’s Throat”

It was a mild August evening when the 21-year-old visited his grandparents in Frohnleiten (north of Graz). The young Styrian came into the house through the terrace. He went first to the bathroom and then straight to the kitchen, where he grabbed the sharpest knife he could find. ‘I must kill my grandparents’, that was the thought that suddenly crossed his mind.

Inflicted cuts on the cheek
With the knife (blade length 20 centimeters) he attacked his grandmother first. “I wanted to slit her throat,” the Styrian explained emotionlessly during the reconstruction of the crime. But the 63-year-old screamed and fought back. She suffered cuts to her cheek and superficial wounds to her neck and chin.

Suspect dumped murder weapon in a creek
When the grandfather came to the aid of his wife, the grandson fled. Apparently he himself was now afraid that his grandfather might do something to him. The 63-year-old was taken to hospital with cuts to his hand.

While fleeing, the Styrian threw the knife into a stream, where it was pinned. According to statements from the 21-year-old, the grandfather should also have died.

Whole car completely demolished
The motive for the act is diffuse. The young man must have imagined things that didn’t happen that way. According to a psychiatric report, the 21-year-old suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. This is also supported by the fact that he once wrecked a car because the driver glared at him aggressively.

The grandparents no longer want contact with their grandson – the shock is too deep.