The public prosecutor’s office confirmed investigations against the woman on Monday. However, a corresponding fire report is still pending, it was said. The case also caused a stir because of a temporary police search for the father and siblings. The man did not show up for work on February 26th and the children were also missing from the childcare facilities. After receiving the notification, the then 34-year-old immediately drove to her apartment in Floridsdorf. She told the police that afternoon that she saw clouds of smoke coming from the apartment around 5 p.m. and called the fire department.
The fire department extinguished the fire after an hour and a half, but did not discover anyone in the apartment. The police then started a search for the father and the two children. Two days later, the Austrian was located in Frankfurt, Germany, with his two-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. Employees of the municipal department 11 (MA 11), which is responsible for child and youth welfare, brought the siblings back to Austria a short time later. “They are doing well, the father is very cooperative,” emphasized the spokeswoman for MA 11 when asked at the time.
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The accused denies the allegations
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the mother accused of arson is currently at large. “There is no urgent suspicion and no reasons for detention,” said spokeswoman Nina Bussek. There is no evidence of any other suspects, but the woman denies the allegations, said Bussek.
MA 11 has been aware of the family’s situation since October 2023 and has likely been conflict-ridden for some time. At that time, the police had imposed a no-entry ban on the man, but this was no longer active at the time of the fire. The 33-year-old is said to have reported to the authorities that the mother was endangering the child’s well-being. Divorce proceedings are also said to have been pending at times. The two parents with legal custody are said to have then sought couples counseling from the youth welfare office and found each other again. On the day of the fire, the two parents were actually supposed to take part in a conversation with MA 11.
