Murder trial in Vienna: 28-year-old strangled benefactor due to lack of money!

Murder trial in Vienna: 28-year-old strangled benefactor due to lack of money!

An explosive murder case against a 28-year-old Austrian citizen of Egyptian descent is currently being heard at the Vienna Regional Court. The young man is accused of luring his victim, a 59-year-old man with whom he had a close relationship, into a fatal trap and strangling him. The victim's body was discovered in a suitcase on Quellenstrasse in Vienna-Favoriten on February 28, 2025, which put investigators on the trail of the defendant, who claims to be innocent. sn.at reports that the Vienna public prosecutor's office has submitted the charges to the regional court.

The background to the crime seems bleak. The 28-year-old had a debt of 15,000 euros that he had accumulated with the victim. The two men met in February 2023 in a hotel in Döbling, where the 59-year-old was staying as a permanent guest. In July 2024, the defendant asked for financial support, which was initially granted and continued with further payments. These funds were allegedly used for detective costs to avert execution proceedings. At the end of November 2024, the victim insisted on issuing a promissory note for the outstanding debts, which apparently put the defendant in a hopeless situation. vienna.at describes that this was the turning point at which the defendant planned the killing.

The killing and disposal of the corpse

As a result, the 28-year-old rented an apartment on Humboldtgasse in order to put his sinister plans into action. Equipped with cable ties and fabric tape, he lured his victim into the apartment on February 26, 2025. There was an attack in which the defendant strangled the 59-year-old victim with a cable tie. The body was hidden in the apartment for two days while the defendant considered how to dispose of it. On the last day of the tenancy, he finally bought a hard-shell suitcase in which the body was hidden and placed by the garbage on Quelle Street. A passerby finally alerted the police to the find.

So it happened that the defendant was arrested on March 7, 2025 after he had previously withdrawn 24,000 euros from the victim's account. According to the public prosecutor's office, he has not yet confessed and is exercising his right not to provide any information. The trial before the Vienna jury does not yet have a specific date, but the possible punishment for the defendant could be between ten and twenty years or even life imprisonment. sn.at emphasizes that such criminal offenses are not the exception in Vienna.

Crime in Vienna in context

The year 2023 was a year of record crime for Austria, with over 528,000 crimes reported, marking the highest level since 2016. In Vienna alone, the city accounts for around 186,000 crimes, which accounts for over a third of the total reports. This indicates a worrying feeling of security among the population. Statista highlights that there has been an increase particularly in the area of ​​foreign suspects, which is often controversially discussed in society.

The developments in the current murder trial shed light on the dark underbelly of social relationships and the sometimes tragic financial difficulties that burden people today. The case is further evidence that crime is increasingly penetrating people's everyday lives and that the judiciary is called upon to ensure justice.