Austria
Dog crate trial: 20 years in prison for victim’s mother
The mother was convicted of attempted murder, torturing or neglecting minors, younger or defenseless people, and for deprivation of liberty. photo
© Helmut Fohringer/APA/dpa
A mother and her friend are said to have tortured a child in Austria almost to death. The verdict: long prison sentences for both.
In the Austrian trial for the attempted murder of a child, The mother and her accomplice were sentenced to long prison terms by the Krems regional court.
The 33-year-old mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the 40-year-old second defendant to 14 years in prison. In both cases, placement in a forensic therapeutic center was also ordered. The judgment is not final. The eight jurors deliberated for around seven hours before the verdict.
The mother was convicted of attempted murder, torturing or neglecting minors, younger or defenseless people, and for deprivation of liberty. Her former friend, who is said to have ordered the abuse of the then twelve-year-old boy, was prosecuted for continued violence as an instigator and for aiding and abetting.
In a dog crate for hours
The judge said the amount of the punishment was because the defendants had almost destroyed a life with their actions. On a psychological level, the boy was definitely completely destroyed. The two women also have to pay a total of 80,000 euros to the child. The fact that the child’s torment came to an end is also thanks to the intervention of a social worker.
The 33-year-old had, among other things, tied up her son, gagged him, starved him and doused him with cold water in freezing room temperatures. On top of that, she had locked him in a dog crate several times for hours at a time.
The extremely emaciated child had a body temperature of just under 27 degrees and was in a comatose state when he was admitted to the hospital. The defendant also recorded her son’s martyrdom in several videos. The motive she gave in court was that she wanted to raise her allegedly aggressive and rebellious son to be a good child. But she denied the intention to kill. The 40-year-old fueled the actions with numerous instructions.