The evidence was missing – alleged fire devil in Tyrol acquitted

First, the laundry room of an empty house caught fire. Then the carnival wagon of the country youth burst into flames. And finally, on February 26, a car was set on fire in a garage. After three mysterious fires in a very short time, Kundl – as reported several times – became frightened. After all, there was already a blast in the city in 2012 and 2018. But after the car caught fire, the handcuffs clicked on a local (56), who allegedly hurriedly erased tracks in the snow.

“I was shocked myself”
The man, known in the community of Unterland as a junk dealer, with whom more than 100 gas bottles, about 25,000 liters of diesel and many stolen items were found during the investigation, vehemently denied having started the fires. “I was shocked myself,” said the accused, who was only on trial for the latest fire, but not for the entire series and not even those from earlier years. “At the time, I was only outside at night because I wanted to investigate the case myself after the fires,” explains the 56-year-old why he could be seen on surveillance images in the immediate vicinity.

rejected love
The prosecution, on the other hand, was convinced that the suspect reached for the lighter out of rejected love. The owner of the car had danced with him the night before, but then fled the house after prior attempts.

18 months in prison for endangering society
In the end, however, the jury lacked solid evidence. “No traces were found at the crime scene and there were no witnesses,” the judge said. When in doubt, the 56-year-old was acquitted. But he has to go to prison for 18 months because he has endangered the community because of the gas bottles and theft. Not legally binding.