A mother kills her child and throws him in the trash, receives a lenient sentence
In a horrific crime, a 21-year-old woman from the Burgenland region confessed to killing her newborn in a hotel bathroom in Vienna. The court at Landesgericht Wien issued a lenient sentence of 16 months in prison, suspended, which sparked controversy.
The accused admitted her act in front of the court, confirming that she did not know she was pregnant until the moment of birth. She stated that she did not take any pregnancy tests and continued to take contraceptive pills until the end, indicating that she thought the weight gain in the last months was just a normal physical change, without any visible pregnancy belly. Even her close ones did not suspect that she was pregnant.
On December 8, 2024, the accused arrived in Vienna with her partner for a weekend getaway. After visiting the Christmas market, she began to suffer from severe abdominal pain and vomited several times, but she did not go to the hospital; instead, she consulted her doctor who advised her to take a painkiller. The next day, the pain intensified and she experienced contractions while sitting in the hotel lobby, so she went to the restroom where she suddenly gave birth to the child.
According to the public prosecutor's statement, the newborn fell into the toilet, and the mother cut the umbilical cord and held the baby with both hands "strongly and for a long time," as stated by the prosecution, which led to the child's death due to pressure on the neck. She then tried to hide the traces of the crime by placing the body in a garbage bag and covering it with her coat. When the hotel staff arrived, she claimed she was having a heavy menstrual cycle and managed to dispose of the baby's body by placing the bag in the trash bin.
The autopsy revealed that the child was born alive, measuring 53 cm and weighing 3.1 kg, and that the death resulted from strangulation or suffocation in the bag. Despite the seriousness of the crime, no murder charges were brought, but the case was opened under Article 79 of the Austrian Penal Code, which pertains to the killing of a child at birth, a provision used exclusively in cases involving women during childbirth, allowing for lesser penalties than those for intentional murder.
Psychological experts considered that the young woman was in an "exceptional state" both psychologically and physically at the time of birth. The psychologist "Sigrun Roßmanith" described her as immature and childlike, but above average intelligent. She mentioned that she was in a state of shock at the time of the act and was not fully aware of her actions.
Accordingly, the court decided to grant her a suspended sentence for 16 months with a probation period of three years, subject to social monitoring, and exempting her from psychological treatment due to lack of financial coverage.
Despite the seriousness of the incident, the young woman remains free while awaiting a final decision from the public prosecution. She stated during the investigation that she lost her job and is currently living in a new place, mentioning that her social life collapsed after the incident, and that she is even prohibited from seeing her younger relatives. During the discussion about this, it was the only moment she showed her emotions.