Seven of the eight jurors were in no doubt that a 20-year-old killed her seven-week-old son by shaking him. And the father is also guilty. Because he watched aimlessly. She now has to serve 16 years in prison, he 12 years. The judgments from Salzburg are not final.
By 9:00 a.m., the jury had retired to deliberate. The decision was not made until late afternoon: the 20-year-old from Salzburg murdered her own seven-week-old child, the lay judges ruled by seven to one for murder. And they also found the father, a 25-year-old from Salzburg, guilty: for watching and not intervening when the mentally ill 20-year-old took her baby out of the cot and shook it to death. In addition to 16 years in prison, the 20-year-old was also admitted to a closed psychiatric hospital. The 25-year-old was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sustained bodily harm resulting in negligent homicide. The judgments are not final.
The act, which took place on October 22, 2022, caused horror across Austria. “She violently shook the child seven to 10 times and punched her in the face,” prosecutor Elena Haslinger charged the suspect. At the time, the couple lived together in a 21 square meter room in a residential care home in Salzburg. On the day the terrible thing happened, they lay in bed together, arguing over who should feed the child. According to the indictment, the 20-year-old would have shaken her son Elias to death afterwards. And then go back to sleep. What only came up later through coroners: Elias was assaulted, beaten and shaken several times. Therefore, Haslinger charged the parents with continued violence in addition to murder.
At the beginning of the trial, they blamed each other, usually sobbing. The 20-year-old even spoke about the man’s physical violence against her. She stuck with it to the end: “It was him.” She only allowed it because, “I didn’t care about the kid. I wanted to save the relationship.” Forensic psychiatrist Peter Hofmann stated that the mother had a mental illness: she had “disturbed emotions” and lacked empathy. “I think they are dangerous in the future without treatment.” The 25-year-old, on the other hand, stressed on the first day of the trial : “I never hit Elias”. He also does not want to have violated his girlfriend. On the third day of the trial, the suspect, who already has two children, admitted that he had neglected his son: “I had taken the child to should bring the doctor and not just google it.” Ultimately, Elias was allowed to live alone in this world for seven weeks.
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.
