Three shots, then a dealer in Graz collapses in a forest, mortally wounded. Did a red light buddy give the kill order? The search for the perpetrators is still going on almost 30 years after the crime.
When it dawned on him that he had fallen into a trap, it was too late: three shots hit Werner Happer, two projectiles pierced his head and the third lodged in his chest. The 1.90 meter tall man with beautiful curls bled helplessly on a pilgrimage route. His pursuers, using a pretext to lure the man from Graz to the Betleitengraben near Deutschlandsberg on that fateful June 30, 1995, only buried the 30-year-old in an improvised manner.
His body was not found until two days later: two pilgrims found traces of blood and initially assumed that a deer had been shot. On their way back from Osterwitz, the two noticed drag marks, whereupon they climbed down an embankment and discovered the dead man. Dressed in a tracksuit, covered in blood, between large branches, pieces of wood and dirt.
Drug war ends in execution
The next day it becomes clear who the man was who was executed in cold blood: Werner Happer is a fixture in the Graz drug scene who got in the way of established dealers. He allegedly cheated cocaine suppliers, sold the “stuff” at dump prices and made a lot of money himself.
With this he put the underworld – and especially a great mastermind – against him: the ‘professor’. Criminals suspected that the “Big Boss” would have ordered the murder (there was never any evidence for this). There had been bloody clashes before, culminating in a shot to the leg for the ‘professor’ and attacks on Happer. But who did the “dirty work” for the “professor”?
Process ends in farce
Two men are suspected, a 28-year-old and a 39-year-old. The first had a silenced submachine gun, had called Happer 17 times before he was killed, and knew the crime scene like the back of his hand. The second had cocaine with him, which the murder victim had smuggled from Hungary to Graz.
Preview of the ATV show “Unsolved – Cold Case Austria” with Gerald Schwaiger (“Steirerkrone”):
It soon became clear to the criminals that they had caught the perpetrators. The 28 and 39-year-olds are charged, but the trial against them ends with a farce: the Graz jury acquits the alleged killers despite numerous clues…
Only months later did it become known that enormous pressure had been exerted on witnesses, police officers and their relatives. Successfully – the murder case is still unsolved to this day. On Friday, the ATV broadcaster reopens the murder in the drug environment: from 8.15 pm to be seen in “Unsolved – Cold Case Austria”.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
