No Verdict in Attempted Murder Trial Against Vienna "Santa Claus"

The 60-year-old, who is referred to as "Santa Claus" in the Josefstadt prison due to his appearance - a distinctive white beard. The jury rejected the charge of attempted murder with a vote of 7:1 and instead decided on serious bodily harm. Subsequently, the three professional judges overturned the verdict due to an alleged error by the jury.

Attempted Murder Trial Against Vienna "Santa Claus" Must Be Repeated

This means that after reviewing the case files by the Supreme Court (OGH), the trial against the man at the regional court must be repeated before a newly composed jury court. The previously unblemished man remains in pre-trial detention until then. His defense attorney, Anita Schattner, criticized the actions of the professional judges. "If what the jury decides after a thorough evidence procedure is not accepted, it leads the lay judiciary to absurdity," she told the APA. The defendant had denied the attempted murder alleged by the prosecution. He admitted, however, to having stabbed a 55-year-old during a physical altercation in Sigmund-Freud-Park in Vienna-Alsergrund on July 29, 2024. He claimed self-defense or emergency assistance.

He described that he had repeatedly knocked the opponent, who had initially insulted and offended a friend and then fought with him, to the ground, the 60-year-old recounted. The 55-year-old, however, kept getting up and became increasingly aggressive: "I was eventually in a state of exhaustion. I felt my stamina leaving me. That's when I got scared." He feared being "beaten up," emphasized the "Santa Claus": "That's when I reacted wrongly and stabbed him in the stomach with the knife. I hoped he would finally stop and be intimidated." When asked how many times he had stabbed, the previously unblemished man replied: "It must have been five times. But I didn't count. The moment he stopped, I immediately stopped." The "stabbed" man "looked at him reproachfully," and then he "fled in panic."

Victim of Vienna "Santa Claus": "I Saw How I Had Holes in Me"

The 55-year-old was critically injured. The blade of the folding knife penetrated his left chest twice, opening the chest cavity and reaching a stab channel up to the fat tissue in front of the heart. The heart itself was not damaged. One stab went into the right chest, which also opened the chest cavity and caused a pneumothorax - an accumulation of air between the lung and chest wall. Two more stabs opened the abdominal cavity, pierced the abdominal muscles, and reached the colon loop, which remained undamaged.

The 55-year-old had no recollection of a physical altercation preceding the stabbings in court. He revealed as a witness that he had drunk five to seven cans of beer and a small bottle of vodka in the park at the time. At some point, he reprimanded the defendant's companion because he had harassed a woman: "That's when he started stabbing me." The defendant probably didn't stop because "I stayed standing. I saw that I had holes in me."

A quickly functioning rescue chain and an emergency operation saved the man's life. The defendant, represented by Vienna lawyer Anita Schattner, voluntarily turned himself in at a police station at the end of August. Before that, a photo taken by a witness of the incident for entertainment purposes of the "Santa Claus" shortly before the stabbing in Sigmund Freud Park and posted on TikTok was used to search for him through media publication. Due to his striking appearance, the 60-year-old was probably aware that he would be recognized and identified as the wanted stabber.

Viennese "Santa Claus" Armed Since Fiaker Days

When asked by the presiding judge why he was armed with a knife, the defendant replied: "It's a bad habit since I became a fiaker." The 60-year-old had learned the trade of stove fitter and tile stove builder, and as a later fiaker driver, he "achieved the bronze driving badge," he explained to the jury. Recently, however, he had not pursued this profession: "There are reasons why I'm no longer happy there. The environment is partly criminal."

The defendant had met a friend in front of the Votive Church on a mild summer evening, where the two indulged in alcohol. As the evening progressed, they danced to the music played by a group of young boys and girls who had laid on the grass and were celebrating. According to the indictment, this led to a mutual brawl between the defendant and the later victim for trivial reasons. The "Santa Claus" eventually pushed the 55-year-old into a bush. It was a "judo throw," the defendant emphasized to the jury. He had practiced martial arts in the past and had achieved a brown belt in his younger years. When asked why he didn't use another judo technique and instead stabbed when the adversary didn't let go of him, the 60-year-old replied: "It was a completely wrong and exaggerated self-defense." He had "already had a headache" due to the prolonged fight. "But that could have been from the wine," the presiding judge interjected.

(APA/Red)

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