2023-12-06 16:08:00
The 26-year-old defendant received 15 years in prison, his 20-year-old half-brother received 18 years in prison. The two men are said to have robbed and killed a 31-year-old Iraqi on January 2, 2023 in the city of Salzburg during an agreed car purchase. The man’s body has not yet been found. The verdict is not yet legally binding.
“Assault resulting in death”
The older defendant pleaded not guilty at trial. His younger half-brother admitted causing bodily harm resulting in death. He explained to the jury that on January 2nd, following the sale had been completed, he got into an argument with the Iraqi in the stairwell of the Salzburg apartment building in which they lived. The man was killed in the ensuing scuffle. He put the body in the trunk of the car he bought and unloaded it outside the city of Salzburg, but he doesn’t know where it was. The defendant’s older brother said he did not witness the scuffle. He neither stole the car nor had anything to do with the Iraqi’s death.
The 26-year-old, previously blameless first defendant and his half-brother, who had a criminal record in Hungary, were living in an apartment in the Elisabeth-Vorstadt district of Salzburg at the time of the crime. According to the investigation, the Iraqi had been offering his BMW SUV for sale online since October 2022 for 17,000 euros. The half-brothers expressed an interest in buying at the turn of the year.
“No sign of life for 330 days”
According to public prosecutor Elena Haslinger, the purchase and handover of the car were carried out in an underground car park at Salzburg main train station (Elisabeth-Vorstadt). The two Hungarians are said to have already decided to steal the car. It can be assumed that the Iraqi died in the course of handing over the vehicle to the defendants. His wristwatch was also stolen. “There has been no sign of life from him for 330 days,” said Haslinger. “The body was taken to an unknown location.”
According to the prosecutor, there were no signs that the man wanted to end his life. The last location data from the Iraqi’s cell phone was determined on the followingnoon of January 2nd in the Elisabeth suburb. Further investigations showed that the two Hungarians probably drove around from Nußdorf am Haunsberg to Großgmain in Flachgau. A search for the body by police officers, sniffer dogs, drones and helicopters was unsuccessful.
Traces of blood in the trunk
The BMW was seized on January 17th. Traces of the Iraqi’s blood were discovered in the trunk. The missing man’s wristwatch was in the interior of the car and there were DNA traces from the first defendant on it, according to the public prosecutor. Further traces of the victim’s blood were found on a towel in the apartment in the city of Salzburg during a house search on January 19th where the two Hungarians had lived. The first defendant was arrested on January 21st, his half-brother in February.
The offense of aggravated robbery resulting in death is punishable by a prison sentence of ten to 20 years or life imprisonment.
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