Trial in Pasching: Second Hearing Day in the Case of the Knife Attack on Mother and Sister

The mother managed to wrest the utility knife from her son, whereupon, according to the indictment, he fetched a butcher's knife from the kitchen and stabbed her again. The 13-year-old sister, who had tried to come to the mother's aid, was also attacked with the knife and slightly injured. The sister had previously fled to the neighbors. The mother ultimately also managed to escape to the neighbors, who called for help. A neighbor described in court that on that day, the mother had stood "blutüberströmt mit einem Messer in der Hand" in front of the terrace door. "Es war uns ganz klar, dass da was ganz, ganz Schlimmes passiert ist," the witness said.

The defense, on the other hand, classifies the offense as bodily harm and not as attempted murder. According to a court-appointed expert, the defendant suffers from schizophrenia and was deemed not criminally responsible at the time of the offense, which is why a criminal conviction is not an option. The central question of the proceedings is therefore that of placement. The public prosecutor's office is demanding placement in a forensic therapeutic center, citing the risk of further serious offenses.

Statements of the Neighbor and Prior History

According to the neighbor, about half a year before the offense, there had been an incident in the family's garden prior to the defendant's discharge from the hospital, in which the youth had been "außer sich," had wanted to reach for a knife, and had run away. He had been pursued by the neighbor and the father, and the police were called. The neighbor also reported that something had not been right with the youth "for a year or two": he had dropped out of school and had mostly stayed inside the house. After the hospital stay, he had at times been "a different person," but had made strange noises in the garden.

The defendant described in the proceedings that he had felt overwhelmed in 2025 and had refused to shower. On 15 June, his father had given him an ultimatum that he would have to go to a home if he did not take his medication – "danach ist eine sehr stressige Situation entstanden," he said, according to the court. He stated that he had distrusted the doctors and therefore refused the medication. The death of his grandmother in 2023 had hit him hard. In court, he stated for the first time that he was now "krankeneinsichtlich" and willing to take the medication.

Status of the Proceedings

On the second hearing day, the psychiatric expert Adelheid Kastner, among others, was called as an expert witness. In the evening of the trial day, the jury panel was to decide on the placement. The parents and the sister had previously been questioned by the judge in a separate room in private; the questioning was broadcast live into the courtroom.

The defense attorney accused the parents of failing to ensure adequate treatment for their son and saw this as a significant background to the offense. The first hearing day had taken place on 1 April.

The public prosecutor's office had already described the mother's survival as a lucky coincidence on the first hearing day. It argued that the defendant had "mit einer derartigen Intensität so oft auf sensible Körperteile zugestochen, dass er den Tod billigend in Kauf genommen hat," thereby supporting the allegation of conditional intent to kill. At the same time, the prosecution pointed to the high risk of further offenses: there was reason to assume that the youth would "mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit wegen seiner psychischen Störung erneut eine mit Strafe bedrohte Handlung mit schweren Folgen begehen."

The trial is being held before a jury court. Since the defendant, due to his severe mental illness, bears no criminal guilt, the outcome is not a sentence, but solely the decision on the form of placement. The placement in a forensic therapeutic center, as requested by the public prosecutor's office, is on the table.