In the case of a 91-year-old Viennese woman who allegedly set fire to her own apartment last July – her 93-year-old husband died in the course of the fire – charges of murder and arson have been filed. The woman allegedly set fire to the building because she was overwhelmed by the living situation.
The elderly man had been in need of care for some time. According to the indictment, he had not left his apartment in the Simmering district since 2019 and was suffering from dementia. Perhaps the elderly woman could no longer cope with her living situation and in her desperation decided to end this life.
On the night of July 21, she piled clothes and toilet paper into a pile, poured methylated spirits over it and set it on fire. She also turned on the gas in the kitchen – and tried to cause an explosion. However, this did not happen. However, the fire in the apartment quickly spread when the 91-year-old opened the balcony door.
Rescued from balcony, husband dead
The sudden concentration of oxygen caused the flames to shoot up in no time, the 91-year-old, who from law enforcement’s point of view may have acted with suicidal intent and probably wanted to kill her husband, did not dare go back to the apartment. She fled to the balcony, where she was rescued by the fire brigade with a rotating ladder. All help came too late for the bedridden husband. According to the autopsy report, the 93-year-old died of smoke inhalation.
The professional fire brigade in Vienna was alerted at 02:30 by other residents of the house and took about two hours to extinguish the fire with respiratory protection. The operation involved 27 men and six vehicles.
As spokeswoman for the Regional Criminal Court, Christina Salzborn, announced on APA request, the 91-year-old is due to appear before a jury on February 17.
Source: Krone
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