“Memory Fails” – Trial for Attempted Murder: Knife Attack in Beisl

The 40-year-old pleaded not guilty to attempted murder but admitted bodily harm. His alcoholism and drug use meant he could only vaguely remember the night. It is said he had a blood alcohol level of around two per thousand at the time of the crime.

Combined personality disorder
“I have no specific memory,” he said. Because of a combined personality disorder, which carries with it the risk that he will continue to commit serious crimes in the future, the Public Prosecution Service has also requested that he be admitted to a forensic-therapeutic center in accordance with Article 21/2 of the Criminal Code.

The Viennese is actually a trained waiter and should have taken a retraining course in September, because he has repeatedly come into contact with the law in the past due to his alcohol and drug addiction. “Working in the catering industry was no longer possible because of my alcohol addiction,” he told the jury (chaired by Eva Brandstetter). He does not drink every day, not even at home, but when he goes out ‘unfortunately a lot’.

Used cocaine and amphetamine
The afternoon before the crime, he often visited the pub in Margareten. The landlady was friends with him; he was supposed to get a car for her that day, but he had forgotten his driver’s license. So he sat at the bar all evening and drank – including seven beers, Jägermeister, a Bacardi-Cola, and he also drank cocaine and amphetamines. “An explosive mixture,” according to his defense attorney Amir Ahmed.

A friend came by late at night and at some point his cell phone was missing. A group at the next table was asked where the phone was, turned on the lights and searched the restaurant. During this, there may have been an argument between the two Viennese and the group of Serbs in the restaurant.

Fracture of the jaw and fracture of the eye socket
How and why the suspect took the knife from the bar was not 100 percent clear during the trial. The suspect could only vaguely remember it and said that the only thing he had internalized was the argument and the knife. He believed that a group of men had attacked him. Then he had a tear in his film. He came to on the street when he realized that he was covered in blood. He also suffered injuries, including a broken jaw and a broken eye socket. It is unclear who did this to him.

His friend claimed that one of the Serbs approached the 40-year-old in a threatening manner, after which the two got into an argument and the 40-year-old defended himself alone. The other guests agreed that the suspect came to the table and stabbed one of them in the neck. Two Serbs came to the attacker’s aid and were also injured.

Stabbed eleven times
According to the prosecutor, he stabbed the men eleven times. One suffered life-threatening injuries and would not have survived without medical attention, the other two were seriously or slightly injured. The witnesses spoke of the first stab as a targeted attack, after which the 40-year-old swung the knife back and forth.

“He is very sorry. He himself is stunned by what happened that night,” said his lawyer, who pleaded guilty to two counts of intentionally causing serious bodily harm and one count of aggravated assault. His client understands that he needs to stop drinking alcohol and drugs, and he also wants therapy for his personality disorder. In everyday life, he behaved normally; his friend described him as a good person. “That was an exceptional situation that did not fit his type,” the friend, with whom the suspect had also lived, said on the witness stand. He always committed his crimes under the influence of drugs.

Request for toxicological report
In order to determine whether the 40-year-old committed the attack while intoxicated and whether he was mentally incompetent at the time of the crime, the lawyers requested the summons of a toxicology expert. The request was granted and the hearing was postponed until October 22.

If found guilty, he could face a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years or life.