For the most part, he confesses that he stole around 3,000 euros from the entrepreneur. The 62-year-old was arrested in France in December, the police informed.
The businessman, owner of a plastering company, was in a pub in Gaißau on the evening of June 19, 2003. Because he lost his wallet, he paid for the bill with company money that he carried with him – a bundle that consisted of 15,200 euro notes. The 62-year-old became aware of the money and robbed the entrepreneur after the curfew in front of the restaurant. To do this, he hit the man who was sitting in his car on the head with a full beer bottle and severely injured his head and limbs with blows with a board and a square timber. The victim lying next to his car was discovered shortly after the crime, bleeding profusely and unconscious, by the host and another local guest.
Case in file number XY
The then exhausted investigations and a broadcast of the case in the program “Aktenzeichen XY … unsolved” did not bring about a breakthrough. Investigations began again at the beginning of 2020. Existing DNA traces ultimately led to success. Last June, Interpol Bern reported that the DNA profile matched a person recorded by the police. The 62-year-old, who had made his way through various European countries as a migrant and casual worker, homeless person and beggar, was found through further investigations. He was extradited to Austria in January and is now in the Feldkirch prison.