91-year-old brutally murdered: lifelong imprisonment for dangerous perpetrators!

91-year-old brutally murdered: lifelong imprisonment for dangerous perpetrators!

On June 5, 2025, a shocking judgment fell at the regional court in Vienna: A 52-year-old Slovak was convicted of murdering a 91-year-old woman. The crime, which occurred on the night of September 4, 2024, was not only brutal, but also shaped by terrifying intentiveness. The man confessed to suffocating and raping the old lady in a garden shed in Floridsdorf after breaking into the building. For the cruel offense, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and instructed in a forensic-therapeutic center. Das Urteil ist rechtskräftig, und der Angeklagte akzeptierte die Höchststrafe, äußerte jedoch den Wunsch, diese in Österreich abzusitzen, wie Salzburg24 reported.

The crime itself was shocking in its brutality. The man had broken up the door of the garden shed with a pipe tongs and attacked the woman in the bedroom. After the killing, he stole 150 euros and two rings. The police not only found DNA traces at the scene of the crime, but also a lemona dinner with his fingerprints, which led to his rapid identification. After his arrest on September 21, 2024 in Slovakia, he was transferred to Austria in October.

a dangerous repeat offender

testimonies and the investigation showed that the accused already had a criminal past. He spent 29 years in prison and was convicted several times, including murder and robbery. A psychiatric expert found a dissocial personality disorder and described it as very dangerous. This raises questions about dealing with mentally ill people in the criminal system, especially in the context of relapses, as described in a current report on mentally ill criminals. There it is discussed that mentally ill people are not generally more violent, but that certain diagnoses in connection with drug abuse can promote aggressive behavior, according to the DGPPN in one of their press releases. The balance between punishment and therapy is often discussed in the procedures against mentally ill perpetrators.

Meanwhile, the events in Vienna, where a man murdered three sex workers in a red light studio with over 100 knife stings, in February 2024. This perpetrator was not found guilty due to a mental state and instructed to a forensic-therapeutic center. An expert opinion found that he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the crime and could not remember the deeds. These cases lead to intensive discussions about the treatment of mental illnesses in prison and the dangers that certain diseases can assume, such as Meinverzirk describes.

The challenges of the measurement enforcement

The critical situation in the enforcement of measures, which is characterized by overcrowding and lack of resources, is repeatedly perceived as inadequate. Prof. Dr. Jürgen Müller calls for reforms to improve the framework. The challenges are similar in Austria. It must be asked how effective the current systems in the prevention of relapses in mentally ill perpetrators are. It is estimated that up to 88% of the inmates in correctional facilities suffer from mental illnesses, which makes an adequate treatment all the more necessary, as is underlined in numerous studies and reports.

These events and judgments throw a bright light on the complexity of crimes, perpetrators and the often inadequate reactions of the system. The company faces the challenge of finding the balancing act between security and help in order to prevent such tragedies in the future.