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CRIME

Body found in lake thought to be bank killer

The suspected body of the 'Robin Hood' killer has been found, months after he allegedly gunned down a banker in Liechtenstein.

Body found in lake thought to be bank killer
File photo: APA/BARBARA GINDL

A fisherman notified Austrian maritime police of the discovery of a body floating in the waters of lake Constance on Thursday, which is now thought to be that of a man who went missing in April, after apparently murdering a banker in Liechtenstein.

Police have announced that the body appears to be that of Jürgen Hermann, who on April 7 shot and killed Jürgen Frick, 48, the chief executive of Liechtenstein private Bank Frick.

Frick was gunned down with three shots in the garage of his bank near Balzers shortly after he arrived for work. His killer was seen fleeing the scene in a Smart car.

Hermann, 58, a well-known fund manager with the nick-name "Robin Hood" had been involved in a personal feud with Frick and his bank for more than seven years.  Hermann blamed Frick for the ruin of his investment company.

Hermann's car was discovered 20 km from the scene of the crime close to the Rhine river, and it was suspected at the time that he had committed suicide.

A police spokesman said that a passport and clothes were found nearby, and that tracker dogs were able to trace him to the river bank.

“In the passport there were handwritten notes confessing to the crime, as well as parting words,” a police spokesman said. “Because of the circumstances and  the evidence, suicide has to  be assumed.”

The discovery of the body, which is awaiting formal identification, brings to an end this bizarre incident in Liechtenstein banking history.

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CRIME

Austria investigates 17 teens for alleged sexual abuse of girl

Austrian authorities on Friday said they were investigating 17 teenagers - including 12 minors - over the alleged months-long sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl in Vienna last year.

Austria investigates 17 teens for alleged sexual abuse of girl

The alleged offences took place in a disadvantaged area of the capital’s south “between February and June 2023, in toilets, garages, a hotel and in the perpetrators’ homes”, Florian Finda, deputy director of the Vienna police, told a news conference.

The suspects in the rare case – most of whom are aged between 14 and 18 – are of Bulgarian, Italian, Serbian, Syrian and Turkish origin.

Two of them are under 14 and therefore below Austria’s age of criminal responsibility.

The suspects – almost all of whom were known to police for other offences – are accused of serious sexual abuse of a minor, including the pornographic depiction of the abuse of a minor.

Thirteen suspects were questioned on Thursday, with some of them partially denying the allegations.

The suspects and the Austrian victim met through one of the accused, with whom the then 12-year-old is said to have made out with.

She was then introduced to the rest of the group.

The boys allegedly exchanged videos and photos of the abuse via social networks including WhatsApp chats, with one of them allegedly threatening to share the pornographic material.

According to the police, none of the material was made available to the wider public.

In October, the young girl, now 13, informed her mother, who subsequently filed a complaint.

The ongoing investigation is due to be transferred to the public prosecutor’s office.

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