A homeless lawyer living in a tent in the forest in Eastern Styria is said to have chased a hiker with a box cutter. “He harassed me,” she explained at the trial in Graz. The victim – a hearing-impaired 73-year-old – saved himself from the neighbours. The 50-year-old is mentally ill and has been admitted.
The 50-year-old lived on the streets of Vienna for four years. “But only in winter,” she tells Judge Elisabeth Juschitz. “In the summer I cycled around and looked at things.” Last fall she returned to her home in Eastern Styria. “I wanted to settle down.” However, she did not go home, but into the forest. “I wanted to spend another winter outside.”
“I felt very provoked”
She camped in a hanging tent among the trees – with the forest owner’s permission. “What happened that day?” The judge questions the woman sensitively. “I just pulled a tarp over my tent.” – “You had a box cutter in your hand?” – “Yes, to cut the cords.” Suddenly there was a man: “Why don’t you move in with your family?” he would have asked. She felt very provoked.
The 50-year-old ran after him with the knife in her hand and stabbed in his direction. “I was very scared,” says the hearing-impaired 73-year-old, who went to get his mail. “She was very angry. I didn’t expect the reaction.” He fled to neighbors who alerted the police. “The situation was already threatening from the screams and the knife,” they describe.
“Being locked up is very sad”
“Do you have an explanation for the victim’s fear?” the judge asks the lawyer. “I think because I screamed out loud.” But she would have felt bothered and also scared. “I just wanted my rest.” She’s not sick, “at least that’s what I thought until now.” That she has to stay locked up makes her very sad.
Expert Manfred Walzl sees a high risk of recurrence without treatment. That is why the jury also decided on admission. The Styrian has asked for a three-day reflection period, the decision 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.
