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Woman (20) murdered in Saalfelden

A 20-year-old woman has been killed in a knife attack in Saalfelden, in the Pinzgau region of Salzburg province.

Published: 9 October 2014 12:05 CEST
Woman (20) murdered in Saalfelden
The murder happened in one of these apartments. Photo: APA/NEUMAYR

A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of her murder, according to a report from the Austrian Press Agency.

Police received an emergency call around 1am on Thursday after the woman’s neighbours reported hearing a loud argument.  

When police and paramedics arrived they found the woman lying on a bathroom floor with stab wounds. The 21-year-old man was in the apartment and did not resist arrest.

It is believed the woman was murdered with a kitchen knife. 

Police spokeswoman Irene Stauffer said that the man and woman are believed to have been in a relationship, but it is unclear what the motive for the attack was. 

Saalfelden's mayor Erich Rohrmoser said that everybody in the community was "asking how such a thing could happen", and promised to help the victim's family. 

Around 16,000 people live in Saalfelden. 

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CRIME

Austrian court approves incest rapist Fritzl’s transfer to regular jail

An Austrian court said Tuesday it had approved the transfer of incest rapist Josef Fritzl to a regular jail as the 89-year-old was now unlikely to commit a crime.

Published: 15 May 2024 11:37 CEST
Austrian court approves incest rapist Fritzl's transfer to regular jail

Fritzl, who has changed his name, repeatedly raped his daughter he locked in a cellar for over 24 years, fathering seven children with her.

Served with a life sentence in 2019, Fritzl has been held in jail for the mentally ill who pose a high degree of danger in Krems, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of Vienna.

In a ruling published Tuesday, the Krems regional court said Fritzl “can be transferred… to normal detention” since he “no longer poses a danger that requires placement” in a jail psychiatric unit.

It noted Fritzl’s “advanced dementia and physical decline” and said he was “no longer likely to commit a criminal offence with serious consequences”.

It also set a 10-year probation period.

READ ALSO: Could Austria’s notorious incest rapist Josef Fritzl one day be released?

The decision confirms an initial ruling in January, which was overturned by a higher court in March after prosecutors appealed.

Monday’s ruling follows a hearing on April 30, where updated findings by psychiatric experts were presented.

The verdict can still be appealed within the next two weeks.

Contacted by AFP, Fritzl’s lawyer, Astrid Wagner, called the ruling “a big success”, adding that she doesn’t expect prosecutors to appeal.

“Fritzl could be transferred as soon as the appeal period of two weeks has lapsed,” Wagner said, adding that she would apply for a conditional release from jail by 2025.

Fritzl was jailed for the murder by neglect of a newborn baby he fathered with his daughter Elisabeth while holding her in the specially-built basement of his house.

He was also found guilty of incest, sequestration, grievous assault and 3,000 instances of rape.

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