Advertisement

Suspect in stepbrother shooting released

The Local Austria
The Local Austria - [email protected]
Suspect in stepbrother shooting released
The street in Währing where the shooting happened. Photo: Krone.tv

A banker suspected of killing his stepbrother by shooting him in the head in an apartment in Vienna’s upmarket 18th district last September has been released from pre-trial custody.

Advertisement

The decision to release him was made by the Korneuburg public prosecutor, spokesman Friedrich Köhl confirmed.

In a statement, the prosecutor said that ballistics and forensic experts had concluded that the shooting could have been an accident, as the accused had claimed, and that there was no conclusive evidence to suggest it was murder.

Köhl said that the investigation into the shooting on September 18th is still ongoing. The case was passed on to the Korneuburg public prosecutor as the accused’s ex-wife works for the Vienna public prosecutor and justice officials wanted to avoid any allegations of bias.

On the night of the fatal shooting the 44-year-old banker called the police and said there had been an accident. He told police that his stepbrother had been showing him two guns that he had a weapons permit for, and had accidentally pulled the trigger on one - shooting himself in the head.

Police arrested the banker that evening, saying that he was very drunk. His 42-year-old stepbrother worked for the same bank, and had also been drinking heavily that evening.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also