A 38-year-old man, who allegedly tried to kill his brother-in-law with a cleaver in Riedau (Schärding district) at the end of March, had to answer for the regional court of Ried on Wednesday. Prosecutors charged him with attempted murder. According to the indictment, the act could only have been prevented through the courageous intervention of third parties. The 38-year-old pleaded not guilty.
The suspect is said to have ambushed his brother-in-law at night on the side of the road on March 26. After a scuffle, he allegedly pulled a knife he had brought from his waistband and tried to hit his relative with it. However, this did not happen, because passing witnesses fixed the attacker’s arm and took the weapon from him. The overwhelmed man allegedly yelled that he wanted to kill the 37-year-old and his family, later denying any intent to kill.
Defense demands acquittal
The prosecutor clearly sees an attempted murder. The suspect has said three times that he wanted to kill his brother-in-law – once in front of his wife, then during the crime, and then again. However, the suspect presented the attack in long-winded statements as a misunderstanding and pleaded not guilty, the defense demanded acquittal.
Accidentally had the ax with me
While the defendant claims to have been “completely intoxicated” at the time of the crime, the judge sees “no state of complete intoxication”. The 38-year-old drove home after the crime, where he was arrested. He had 1.7 per thousand. The alleged murder weapon is a special knife – a cleaver with a blade 17 centimeters wide, which the suspect had stuck in his waistband. The man said in court that he happened to have it with him, that he “actually” wanted to grind it.
Source: Krone
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