The twelve-year-old who had been tortured by his mother for months was in imminent danger of death when he finally received help. Even more gruesome details emerged in court on the second day of the trial…
“A body temperature of only 26.5 degrees is normally incompatible with life,” says the doctor who treated Gerhard (name change) after his admission to the clinic in Donaustadt on November 23, 2022. He was “positively surprised” that the boy was still lived. At the last minute, the boy, who had been seriously abused and tortured in a dog crate by his mother in the Waldviertel, was taken to hospital.
The child survived, partly thanks to a social worker. The second defendant, a “close friend” of Gerhard’s mother, called the woman on November 22 and told her in confused words that Gerhard was in a “precarious condition.” Together they drove to the apartment. “I am very shocked,” the social worker remembers. The emaciated child lay on the floor next to the mattress and was unresponsive.
“No Emotion”
“The mother stood there like a bystander and showed no emotion.” – “Okay, then I’ll take him to the hospital tomorrow,” the tormentor is said to have said. “It’s better if you call the rescue team right now,” said the second defendant, who allegedly gave the instructions for the child’s months-long torture.
The social worker asked the mother twice in a low voice and once in a loud voice to call the emergency doctor, which she did: “Mechanically, as if she were ordering a pizza.” – “The boy owes his life to you,” the judge said to the witness.
The school had already reported a threat on October 25. A teacher called child and youth care five times.
Youth Care Office: come back on November 18
An evaluation took place on October 28, 2022. Although the boy had his arms bandaged and answered only in monosyllabic answers, there was no one-on-one conversation with the child. The refrigerator had not been checked.
Unbelievable: On November 18, 2022 there was another home visit. The boy stood at the bare table and wrote something. According to the social worker, he was shaking, his hands were blue and he was behaving ‘very abnormally’. It was “extremely cold” in the apartment. Nevertheless, the man saw ‘no immediate danger’ – a few days before Gerhard was admitted.
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.
