- The death of Leon: acquittal of the accused
In the trial for the death of six-year-old Leon, the accused father was acquitted. The jury at the Regional Court of Innsbruck found it unproven that the 39-year-old had pushed his intellectually disabled child into a river. Leon had drowned in a flash flood of a river while on a walk with his father in St. Johann in Tirol in the summer of 2022.
The defendant, who is from Germany, had consistently maintained his innocence. He had claimed that he was attacked and knocked unconscious by a robber. His son then allegedly got out of the stroller and fell into the river.
However, investigators found inconsistencies in his account. Six months after the incident, the father was arrested on suspicion of murder. In court, the boy's mother and wife of the defendant also expressed their belief in his innocence, stating that he was incapable of such an act due to his loving nature.
The defendant, a German national, expressed his residence in Germany during the proceedings. Despite being arrested six months after the incident, he continued to assert his innocence about the tragic incident.
