A 43-year-old former waitress set fire to the cellars of two restaurants in Graz. She was unable to answer the trial at the Graz Criminal Court on Thursday. Only a surveillance video with overwhelming evidence led her to confess. She was fined, a five-month suspended prison sentence and instructions for psychotherapy – not legally binding.
Plumes of smoke from a crowded bar in central Graz caused a stir in February and sparked a major firefighting operation. Fortunately, no one was injured by the basement fire, but the material damage was considerable at more than 60,000 euros.
On Thursday, a 43-year-old was on trial in Graz for serious material damage, who had served tables in the restaurant at the time. The woman is also charged with a fire at an Asian restaurant where she had worked about two months earlier.
Surveillance video led to confession
Before judge Erik Nauta, the mother of five initially denied everything. Someone else started the fire. A more than clear surveillance video from the downtown bar probably helped her with the jumps. You can clearly see the woman enter an adjoining room in the basement, come out with a quick step with a lighter in her hand – and seconds later it’s ablaze.
“What is there to discuss?” asked public prosecutor Hansjörg Bacher sharply. Apparently not much, after consultation with her lawyer, the 43-year-old then made a confession.
Motive? “I don’t know”
Despite repeated inquiries from the judge, she could not name a motive: “I don’t know”, the taciturn woman repeats several times. The Afghan woman, who has lived in Austria since 2005, appeared to have been under psychiatric treatment for some time. “The war in Afghanistan must have affected me,” the woman explained.
“You urgently need psychiatric treatment again,” the judge said, including this statement in the verdict: a €3,600 fine, five months suspended jail time and probation, including instructions to resume psychiatric therapy. The verdict is not final.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
