In the case of six-year-old Leon, who was found dead in August 2022 in the Kitzbüheler Ache in St. Johann in Tirol, the trial dates have now been set. The boy’s father, who was charged with murder in April, will then be in the dock.
The murder trial against the 39-year-old father, who is an emergency suspect, will start on July 17. A second trial day was scheduled for August 1. This was announced by a spokeswoman for the Innsbruck Regional Court.
The Innsbruck Public Prosecutor’s Office filed murder charges against the man at the end of April. The German must also answer for suspicion of falsifying an act that can be punished. If convicted, he faces life in prison. The suspect’s defense recently decided not to object to the charges.
Father allegedly faked a robbery
It was initially believed that the case, which also made international headlines, was a robbery of the father. The man was said to have been knocked unconscious with a bottle that night and robbed by a stranger on a promenade next to the Ache. The six-year-old, who was in poor health, is said to have gotten out of the stroller under his own power, fallen into the stream and drowned.
But after months of intense investigation, during which no solid lead emerged for the alleged robber, the 39-year-old was targeted and was eventually arrested in late February 2023. He allegedly killed the boy and faked the robbery. Concrete research results would weigh heavily on him.
Defense is critical of investigative work
However, the defendant has always protested his innocence and stuck to his image of a robbery. His lawyers also repeatedly criticized the investigative work of the police, the state criminal investigation agency and the prosecutor’s office. The Public Prosecution Service, in turn, has sharply rejected the accusations.
Source: Krone
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