Accomplice in play? – Boy in a dog cage: the background of the horror act

The torment must have been almost unimaginable: according to the OGH, a twelve-year-old in the district of Waidhofen an der Thaya (Lower Austria) was held lovelessly and above all helplessly in a dog kennel measuring about 50 x 80 centimeters. o’clock. And that of his own mother. Even one day after the horror act became known, new details kept coming to light. As reported, the 32-year-old allegedly tied and gagged her son in a dog cage during the winter. Turned against the wall and weighed down with objects, she wanted to make it impossible for her child to escape.

The boy’s condition was life-threatening
Without food, but weakened by daily beatings and cold showers in sub-zero temperatures, the boy miraculously escaped his near-fatal fate. According to the OGH, the 12-year-old was found half-starved in a life-threatening condition with a body temperature of 26.8 degrees. The child would now be in the care of the father. The boy’s health has improved, police said. He will suffer from the psychological consequences for the rest of his life.

As can be heard from the environment of the woman with a clear tendency towards sadism, the 32-year-old is said to have come from a good family, but has distanced herself from her family and subsequently spent her house, car and all her savings. The reason for this would be a 40-year-old woman in addition to a mental illness. The 32-year-old was said to have been in slavery with the mother of four children. According to information from “Krone”, the 40-year-old has already been arrested. It is still unclear to what extent she knew about the gruesome act or possibly even had her fingers in the game.

The case was known to child and youth care
One thing is clear: a bitter custody dispute rages between the divorced parents. The police investigation is currently focusing on the immediate area. Conflicting statements and assessments of the data carriers give rise to this. Further arrests are therefore expected in the near future.

Meanwhile, the relatives are deeply shocked by the events. “Why didn’t anyone notice that?” Visibly emotional people from the Waldviertel wondered about the “Krone”. “The child should have gone to school,” one woman wonders. According to circles close to the authorities, the boy has often attracted attention because of his condition at school. However, his absence from class was duly excused. The criticism of the failure of the authorities, which again emerged in a tragic case of abuse, is refuted by the youth welfare and the Lower Austrian education department with a reference to data protection.

Mother currently in custody
In the end, it was a social worker who called the rescue service at the last minute and thus saved the boy from certain death. At the insistence of her father, who lived separately, she sounded the alarm during an inspection on November 23 last year and the mother was arrested as a result. The 32-year-old is in custody. They are being investigated for attempted murder, torture or neglect of a minor, young person or defenseless person and imprisonment. A psychiatric report is pending.

Appeal against pre-trial detention rejected by Supreme Court
Particularly macabre detail: Although the 32-year-old held her own flesh and blood captive for weeks, the Waldviertel woman insists on her “fundamental right to personal freedom” and filed a complaint with the Supreme Court over her detention. This was rejected. Also because, according to the initial findings, there is a risk that the mother could also direct future acts of aggression against other people, according to the Supreme Court.