The two are accused of torturing or neglecting minors, younger or defenseless people – but they are not charged with the girl’s death, the regional court announced on Friday.
A year ago, the 14-year-old was taken to the Graz Clinic, where she died of the tumor a few days later. The hospital filed a complaint because the tumor had been treated incorrectly or not in a timely manner. The parents’ defense lawyer, lawyer Alexander Todor-Kostic, rejected the allegations. The girl was already so mature that she might and did make decisions regarding therapy herself.
Up to three years in prison
As the criminal complaint states, the parents inflicted “physical torment” on their daughter – she was “defenseless due to frailty and illness” and had received “no adequate information regarding her illness, its course and treatment options”. Despite her serious health problems, the parents failed to provide the girl with medical treatment that might have alleviated her suffering. The parents face a prison sentence of up to three years.
