It was a “cold execution,” the judge said in her ruling. It took the jury barely two hours at the Steyr Regional Court to reach the verdict on Roland K. (38): life imprisonment. In doing so, they followed the prosecutor, who had emphasized the “cold-bloodedness” of the crime, especially the steps after the fatal shots. The convict appealed against the sentence.
“I take responsibility for murder,” were the last words of Roland K. (38) before the jury in Steyr. Because, as expert Adelheid Kastner explained, he did not act emotionally when he drove from Ennsdorf to Grünburg on the night of March 5 to visit his hated ex-brother-in-law (47), whom he considered a narcissist who blamed his sister before his accident.
Two more names on the death list
But in the course of the trial and also from the statements of the expert, it became clear: the aggression was not so much directed against the ex-brother-in-law, whom he had not seen for years and whose custody conflict with the suspect’s sister concerned him. the two children (11, 12) had not been a problem on the day of the crime.
“The recipient was actually her partner,” Primaria Kastner confirmed. Constant jealousy and control – on March 4 she also followed Roland K. to the inn in Mauthausen, where he met a friend – caused the relationship to collapse. In court, it took questions from Judge Dagmar Gursch before the 42-year-old could decide that she was “still together” with the defendant and therefore avoid the statement.
But on the night of the crime, Roland K. decided that the “narcissists” were responsible for all the misfortune. The ‘ex’ of the sister with whom the children now lived, then the ‘ex’ of his partner and also a former superior. He also wanted to kill the last two when he took the Glock pistol and three full magazines from the living room in Ennsdorf.
12-year-old had to see dying father
The first route led to Grünburg, where he rang the doorbell for his ex-brother-in-law, then shot open the glass door, removed a jam and fired two fatal bullets into the 47-year-old’s chest. “There would have been only a minimal chance of survival if surgery had been performed immediately,” said forensic pathologist Fabio Monticelli.
“I have never seen such behavior in 25 years,” prosecutor Andreas Pechatschek asked for a “life sentence.” And by that he did not mean the murder itself, but the ‘nighttime behavior’: after the shots, Roland K. went to the first floor, grabbed his twelve-year-old nephew – his godson – and left him his dying father. He then sent him, as well as his ex-brother-in-law’s partner, to sleep after congratulating his niece (11), also a goddaughter, on his birthday.
He was arrested afterwards
He then drove away after collecting the family’s mobile phones, but was deterred from further action by a phone call from his partner and was arrested.
“The crime took place in a state of great emotional excitement,” said lawyer Hans Jürgen Riedl, who asked for a lenient sentence, and in his closing argument he abstained from a manslaughter conviction. The lawyer for the victim’s family, Andreas Mauhart, demanded a total of 230,000 euros in compensation for pain, suffering and mourning for the relatives. The verdict was swift and 8:0: life imprisonment, 120,000 euros in damages for pain and suffering. The lawyer appealed against the sentence, so the verdict is not yet final.
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.
