One child's - Father swears innocence in trial for death of little son
Under tears, the defendant father in the trial for the death of a six-year-old child at the Innsbruck Land Court denied any wrongdoing. He had been out walking with his intellectually challenged child, as he often did due to its restlessness, he claimed. He was allegedly overpowered, hit on the head with a bottle, and robbed, the 39-year-old German stated repeatedly. During this incident, his son Leon must have fallen into the nearby Kitzbüheler Ache during his unconsciousness.
Leon discovered on a sandbank
At 5 am on August 28, 2022, a passerby on the promenade in St. Johann in Tirol found the unconscious father, next to an overturned stroller. A short while later, emergency services discovered Leon on a sandbank of the Ache. He was reportedly drowned.
Prosecutor: Long unconsciousness implausible
The prosecution began by stating that it was completely implausible that the 39-year-old had been unconscious for over an hour. "Medicine cannot explain why he was unconscious for so long - the justice system cannot," the prosecutor stated. Video recordings showed that the weapon used in the alleged assault - a champagne bottle - was in the stroller. There were no DNA traces of a possible perpetrator on the phone or the defendant's clothing, making it inconsistent with the reported robbery. The phone - at the time, the latest iPhone - was not stolen but discarded in a trash can.
Moreover, the phone did not record the footsteps of the alleged robber.
Defense questions biased investigations
The defense, however, sharply criticized the investigations. From a certain point onwards, they were no longer objective but had formed a suspicion, one of the defense attorneys stated at the beginning of the trial. Additionally, the father loved his child. The witnesses could confirm this, the defense asserted confidently.
Another defense attorney emphasized that "there's no paper between the two of them." The child had made significant progress before his death, his prognosis was good, and the care was secured. A missing kindergarten place could not serve as a motive.
Prosecutor: Suspect wanted to save his child
The prosecutor also acknowledged that the 39-year-old was likely a loving father. However, when the search for a kindergarten place failed, he had asked his wife in a message, "how many setbacks one can endure." "Perhaps he wanted to save his child, perhaps he wanted to save his family," the prosecutor suggested. The suspect has lived in Austria since 2010. According to the "Tiroler Tageszeitung," he met his wife there. The couple has another daughter.
During the investigations, several expert reports were obtained, and 100 DNA samples were analyzed. In addition, it was investigated which mobile phones were logged in at the crime scene at the time.
Eight jurors play a crucial role
Detectives initially assumed a burglary had taken place. But then the tables turned, and the father was arrested half a year after the incident. The trial is initially scheduled for three days. In this time, around 25 witnesses are supposed to testify. The eight jurors play a key role in the trial. Jurors are laypeople who are selected at random. They alone determine the guilt or innocence of the suspect. The verdict is scheduled for August 1st.
- In defense of the German father, his attorney argued that the prolonged unconsciousness mentioned in the prosecutor's statement appears implausible given the context of the case.
- The prosecutor's office in Tyrol, Austria, led the murder trial against the father, who resides in Germany and has lived in Austria since 2010.
- The prosecution also hinted at the possibility that the German father, in the face of his child's kindergarten placement issues, may have been driven to extreme measures, such as committing a crime.
- Witnesses affirmed Tod's deep love for his intellectually challenged son, Leon, casting doubt upon the prosecutor's theory of the father's potential involvement in Leon's death.
- After the defendant went missing, a flood in St. Johann, Tirol, left the Kitzbüheler Ache overflowing, making it challenging to recover any physical evidence or trace the course of events.
- The Public Prosecutor's Office in Innsbruck, Austria, employed a team of detectives and DNA specialists to meticulously examine the crime scene and gather evidence for the murder trial.
- During a witness statement, it was revealed that the German father had openly expressed feelings of despair and frustration related to Leon's struggles in obtaining a kindergarten placement, indicating the complexity of the case and vividly highlighting the challenges facing criminal investigators.
