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CRIME

Austrian murder suspect captured in Portland

An Austrian man implicated in the murder of his mother has been captured in a hostel near to Portland, Oregon in the USA.

Published: 18 October 2014 17:12 CEST
Austrian murder suspect captured in Portland
The apartments in Strasshof where the body was found. Photo: APA/Punz

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) said Friday that the man was detained upon receiving a tip as to his whereabouts, after receiving an international arrest warrant from Austrian authorities.

It is believed the 22-year-old man, Stefan W. from Strasshof, killed his mother by stabbing her more than 30 times in the neck at the apartment they shared in August this year, reported the Associated Press.  

It is believed the man lived with the corpse of his mother, Sabine W. (43) for around a week after her death.

The man arrived in the USA on September 8.  He has been taken to a federal detention facility in Tacoma, Washington to await the results of extradition proceedings.

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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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