Stays for life! The 37-year-old who murdered a prostitute in Ternberg thirteen months ago had his appeal rejected at the Oberlandesgericht Linz. This confirmed the original judgment of the Steyr court. The chief prosecutor spoke of a “beastly act that can hardly be surpassed”.
The Steyr Regional Court had justified the maximum sentence, saying the crime was “committed in a bestial manner, accompanied by the martyrdom of the victim.” The OLG also saw it that way and rejected the suspect’s appeal.
Dispute about wages
The now 37-year-old had sent the 23-year-old to his apartment via the internet on September 24. An acquaintance of the Romanian took her to the customer, waited briefly in front of the apartment building and then drove away. An argument broke out in the suitor’s apartment over the agreed payment, after which he beat, choked and strangled the young woman with a rope.
A friend of the escort lady reported her missing to the police the next day. Research led to the suitor’s address. The apartment was stormed and the woman was only found dead on the floor. The man was arrested without resistance.
“Knew what was right and wrong”
Psychiatric expert Adelheid Kastner stated that the suspect was healthy. Despite his heavy drinking, “he was able to decide between right and wrong at the time of the crime,” she noted.
The lawyer justified the appeal against the sentence partly because of the high alcohol content – 3.6 per mille at the time of the crime. He said his client was on the “lower limit of insanity”. Moreover, the judgment at first instance did not sufficiently take into account the mitigating factors of purity and remorseful confession.
‘No reason for a reduced sentence’
The senior prosecutor, on the other hand, said that the “bestial act can hardly be surpassed” and therefore sees “no reason for a reduction in the sentence.” The Higher Regional Court also came to this view, saying that Steyr’s sentence “does not need to be corrected” and that the life sentence is therefore legally binding.
Source: Krone
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