'Warning signs' before teen murder
More details are starting to emerge about a 16-year-old boy who was arrested after a rape and murder in a middle-class area of Graz. Parents who sent their children to a Kindergarten which his mother ran say that official complaints were made about his behaviour when he was younger.
Sebastian S allegedly shot and killed his friend Marcel S (also 16) because Marcel forced him, at gunpoint, to rape a 14-year-old girl.
Sebastian’s 86-year-old grandfather, Walter, has been arrested for allegedly helping him bury the body in Hungary.
On June 22nd Sebastian was entertaining friends in the basement of a building where his grandfather lives, in the upmarket area of Geidorf.
A 16-year-old acquaintance of his from Villach (Carinthia) allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl, and then tried to force his friend to do the same.
In revenge, or to free the girl, Sebastian went upstairs to his grandfather’s apartment, took a small rifle from his gun cabinet, and shot Marcel. He then confessed what had happened to his grandfather, who drove him to the Hungarian border to dispose of the body.
The traumatised girl is currently in psychiatric care and is not in a fit state to be questioned by police.
The prosecutor’s office has not confirmed whether the teenagers had been taking drugs on the night in question.
"Horror" Kindergarten
Sebastian’s mother, who was away on a spa holiday in Bad Vöslau, used to run a crèche and private Kindergarten in the building where the murder happened.
Several people have now come forward to say that “monstrous things” happened in the Kindergarten.
One mother (who didn’t want to be named) told the Der Standard paper that “there was a dead guinea pig in the nursery, that had been tortured to death with pencils. The children were pelted with screws and stones when they were in the garden.” Parents believed that Sebastian was to blame.
"He also attended the Kindergarten and would often pop in when he was a teenager… like his grandfather, he always had access," another parent said. They described him as being "very maladjusted", but said that his mother and grandfather had always made excuses for him.
When a rumour circulated that he was having archery lessons "many parents took their children out of the nursery."
One father, who also wished to remain anonymous, said that he is “furious” that the authorities never responded to parents’ complaints about the Kindergarten. "They even threatened us about making false claims,” he said.
He added that “there was strong evidence that something was wrong in this house. We realised that the Kindergarten teachers would often walk for hours in the rain with the children because they were afraid of the nursery owner and the grandfather, too. There should have been some psychological help for this family."
The Kindergarten was closed in 2009, but later reopened and is run by a private company. The manager told Der Standard that "any incidents immediately stopped when we took over - but it’s a horrible feeling when you consider what happened here in the basement, but thank God, the kids know nothing about it..."
Meanwhile the Kronen Zeitung paper reports that Marcel, the murder victim, was sentenced to 11 months in prison last year after he stormed a school music event in Villach armed with knives.
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Sebastian S allegedly shot and killed his friend Marcel S (also 16) because Marcel forced him, at gunpoint, to rape a 14-year-old girl.
Sebastian’s 86-year-old grandfather, Walter, has been arrested for allegedly helping him bury the body in Hungary.
On June 22nd Sebastian was entertaining friends in the basement of a building where his grandfather lives, in the upmarket area of Geidorf.
A 16-year-old acquaintance of his from Villach (Carinthia) allegedly raped a 14-year-old girl, and then tried to force his friend to do the same.
In revenge, or to free the girl, Sebastian went upstairs to his grandfather’s apartment, took a small rifle from his gun cabinet, and shot Marcel. He then confessed what had happened to his grandfather, who drove him to the Hungarian border to dispose of the body.
The traumatised girl is currently in psychiatric care and is not in a fit state to be questioned by police.
The prosecutor’s office has not confirmed whether the teenagers had been taking drugs on the night in question.
"Horror" Kindergarten
Sebastian’s mother, who was away on a spa holiday in Bad Vöslau, used to run a crèche and private Kindergarten in the building where the murder happened.
Several people have now come forward to say that “monstrous things” happened in the Kindergarten.
One mother (who didn’t want to be named) told the Der Standard paper that “there was a dead guinea pig in the nursery, that had been tortured to death with pencils. The children were pelted with screws and stones when they were in the garden.” Parents believed that Sebastian was to blame.
"He also attended the Kindergarten and would often pop in when he was a teenager… like his grandfather, he always had access," another parent said. They described him as being "very maladjusted", but said that his mother and grandfather had always made excuses for him.
When a rumour circulated that he was having archery lessons "many parents took their children out of the nursery."
One father, who also wished to remain anonymous, said that he is “furious” that the authorities never responded to parents’ complaints about the Kindergarten. "They even threatened us about making false claims,” he said.
He added that “there was strong evidence that something was wrong in this house. We realised that the Kindergarten teachers would often walk for hours in the rain with the children because they were afraid of the nursery owner and the grandfather, too. There should have been some psychological help for this family."
The Kindergarten was closed in 2009, but later reopened and is run by a private company. The manager told Der Standard that "any incidents immediately stopped when we took over - but it’s a horrible feeling when you consider what happened here in the basement, but thank God, the kids know nothing about it..."
Meanwhile the Kronen Zeitung paper reports that Marcel, the murder victim, was sentenced to 11 months in prison last year after he stormed a school music event in Villach armed with knives.
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